Image: Extra Ketchup via Flickr (Creative Commons)
This past fall, I was a guest presenter at my kid’s middle school Career Day. Being a software engineer, I tried to impart on them the wide-open field of possibilities that come with a career in programming (if you work for a progressive company, if you have the entrepreneurial spirit, if you are a go-getter, but I digress).
The highlight of the presentation was my explanation of how multi-player Halo works behind the scenes. The networking involved, the data packet messaging, the raw transmission speed required. For many of the kids, it truly was an eye-opener into the intricacies of today’s computer game play.
So it was with a wild yell of “Woot!”, that I read about this year’s upcoming iD Tech Camps (actually, all props go to the wife for this find; one love Cokie). Imagine being a kid and having five days of hacking, modding, creating Mario-style levels, FPS games, and 3d-model characters. Really?! I would have cashed in all of my nerd cred to attend a camp like this.
id Tech Camps are run by the Ingram-Cauchi family and originally started in 1999 in Silicon Valley (where else?). Since then, the camp has increased its offerings as well as locations. The 2010 sessions will be conducted at 60+ colleges & universities across the U.S. Ages for the camp can range from 7 up to 17. The kids can attend day camp or for the older ones, overnight camps are also offered. While the cost is a bit pricey, this could be a great jump start for your teen if gaming is their thing.
Registration for many of the summer camps have already started. And iD promises small class sizes, thus delay at your own peril. Here’s a great overview video of what you can expect.
