VMASC GAME DESIGN CAMPS BEGIN IN JUNE

There are still spaces available for the popular Game Development Summer Camps run by Old Dominion's Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC).

The popularity of the camps in previous years led to the addition of a third camp for aspiring game designers, addressing more complex issues of digital content design. The first camp ran from Monday, June 20, to Friday, June 24, at the VMASC offices at 1030 University Blvd. in Suffolk.

Lead instructor Yuzhong Shen, an assistant professor of modeling, simulation and visualization engineering at ODU, said the Game Development Summer Camps are popular, and an important showcase for ODU's modeling and simulation expertise.

"The 13- to 16-year-old students have fun at the camps. They're designing and playing games that are fun and challenge their minds. What they might not realize is they're also being exposed to the type of research work a modeling and simulation engineer might tackle," Shen said. "It's a way to engage the minds of young computer enthusiasts in the world of modeling and simulation."

The July 11-15 camp is aimed at introductory game development. The intermediate game development camp is scheduled for Aug. 1-5.

Each day of the Game Development Summer Camp starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. The camp consists of interactive lectures, hands-on game development exercises and a game play session at the end of day.

Although no prior programming experience is required, participants should be able to use a computer for common operations, such as running a program, using different menus of the program and locating a file in a file folder.

For information on or to register for any of the Game Development Summer Camps, contact Tracey Vann, camp manager and administrative support specialist at VMASC, at 638-7019 or tvann@odu.edu.