'Computer camp' nowadays

It has changed over the years. Now there's CampGame, where Arizona high school students spend six weeks learning videogame design at Arizona State University's school of engineering. Besides design, they also learn "the fundamentals of the game industry" and how to "develop concepts and prototypes for new games," East Valley Living reports. "CampGame is a part of the engineering school’s support of a national education effort to interest young students in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics." Then there’s ID Tech Camp at Stanford University, where kids and teens learn just about anything their little hearts desire, from programming, 3D character modeling for special effects, digital video production, game mods, robotics, as well as videogame design, CNET reports. See also the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on under-privileged kids performing major computer surgery.

High school classes in videogame design?

That's what the Ohio Supercomputer Center is promoting, the Cleveland Morning Journal reports. "The process of creating a video game involves reading, comprehending, doing math and physics, plus problem solving to make the game's characters and other features function realistically," the Center says, adding that getting high school students involved in the process gets them hooked on math and science. "Video game design isn't just for entertainment; similar 'games' are used in medical training," editorializes the Morning Journal, citing an Associated Press report. The Orlando Sentinel tells the story of one such class at Edgewater High School in Orlando. "Now offering a four-year track in digital design, the program hopes to reach students who may show great promise in art and other creative pursuits in addition to the basic math and science skills," according to the Sentinel. In Trenton, N.J., Giancarlos Alvarado is designing a videogame called Earthquake Terror: After Shock with his fifth-grade students, game news site Kotaku.com reports. While we're on the subject, here's a library now loaning out videogames: the Guilderland Public Library. The Albany Times Union reports that the library sees videogames as "a gateway to other library materials, such as strategy guides and books that introduce teens to careers in programming."

For aspiring game developers

If a gamer at your house has ambitions to work in the videogame industry, the Detroit Free Press talked to one who's in it. Jeremy Lee, 27, at The Collective in Newport Beach, Calif., told the Free Press that he "knew he wanted to get into videogames as a career when he was a student at the University of Michigan." His advice to aspiring game producers: "Be persistent." And it sounds like you also really need to love gaming. "He got to his current job [directing the production of new games including "Silent Hill 5"] by taking every position associated with games he could." It's a couple of years old, but still relevant - a Fox News piece on schools offering videogame degrees.