video game design camp for kids

Summer camps for 2021 are currently being planned for both in-person and online options. However, due to safety concerns surrounding COVID-19, NYFA will be unable to offer housing for in-person teen camps. Families will need to secure their own housing for campers and provide any necessary off-campus supervision, if traveling to a NYFA teen summer camp from another city, state or country. All after-school and weekend camps will be conducted online, until further notice. To view all camps and workshops offered, please click here.

Kids Video Game Design Summer Camp

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We are now accepting applications for online After-School and Weekend Workshops. Click here to learn more.

Whether it's solving puzzles on their smartphones, building worlds on tablets, or exploring new 3D worlds via consoles and PCs, video games have become an integral part of most kids' daily lives. The video game industry is one of the most profitable industries in media and entertainment and is still growing, meaning there are more opportunities available in game design than ever before.

At New York Film Academy, we are committed to training the next generation of game designers in the best technical and artistic practices to help meet the growing need for talented creators and designers. As storytelling is at the heart of game design, our faculty of professional game designers works with our game designer campers to help them become creative and inventive storytellers, with each camper ultimately creating his or her own original game concept.

Offered in one- and two-week increments, NYFA's Kids Video Game Summer Camp is a one-of-a-kind educational experience in which campers learn the primary skillsets required of game designers: Game Design, Art Direction, Sound Design, and Coding. The camp culminates in students programming their own games and turning their game concept into a playable digital prototype.

The camp also helps students to develop their abilities at systems thinking, an essential foundation for better understanding fields such as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

At New York Film Academy's Kids Video Game Design Summer Camp, students can expect a fun-filled experience that will not only help them to grow as game designers, but as creative storytellers as well.

Overview

Designed for campers between the ages of 10 and 13, NYFA's Kids Video Game Design Camp is a unique and exciting summer camp offered at our New York City campus. Over the course of one or two weeks, depending on which length a camper signs up for, students receive a hands-on introduction to designing and building digital games. Campers devise an original story concept for which they create and prototype core game mechanics while producing original art assets, ultimately programming their own games in a hands-on and collaborative "Game Jam" setting.

Please note that this camp employs easy-to-use tools that encourage ample experimentation while requiring no prior experience.

Topics

Whether enrolling in the one- or two-week module, campers in the Kids Video Game Design Summer Camp study and apply the following topics to their own original game concept.

Game Design: Striking a balance between the utilization of goals/objectives, rules, materials, and space, students learn how to create an enjoyable game experience for all players.
Narrative Design: Building environments, objects, and characters, campers inject texture and depth into their games' mechanics.
Art Direction: Constructing a predominant aesthetic that expresses the game's narrative while producing a game's visual identity.
Sound Design: Developing an aural environment that adds to the narrative while providing interaction feedback in support of the game mechanics.
Coding: The basis that translates a game's disparate elements into the digital realm.

Format

Regardless of whether a student enrolls for one or two weeks, campers in the Kids Video Game Design Summer Camp focus on designing a particular game, creating a different one in the second week. Working within simple design parameters gives campers an opportunity to experiment with game conventions and complete a playable game project within a very short timeframe. The "Game Jam" style of approach encourages collaboration, while giving campers the option to create a game all by themselves.

The week breaks down as follows:
Day 1: Introduce people, play games, experiment with rule/goal modification, and introduce the software tools campers will use to produce their games.
Day 2: Develop a concept, write a design document, and "hire" additional team members to help build the game.
Day 3: Build, playtest, and repeat.
Day 4: Build, playtest, and refine.
Day 5: Playtest, publish, and party!

In addition to the development of an original game, we firmly believe that best way to make better games is to actually play them, so campers have plenty of time each day to play games of all kinds, including card, console, board, ball, story, strategy, cooperative, competitive, indoor, and outdoor.

Upon the successful completion of the Kids Video Game Design Summer Camp, students leave the Film Academy equipped with numerous new skillsets and an enhanced appreciation for games that will help them to achieve their own personal game design goals.

To apply now to the Kids Video Game Design Camp or to request more information, please click here.

If you need assistance, please contact us immediately at summerprograms@nyfa.edu or call us at +1 212-674-4300 (New York), +1 818-333-3558 (Los Angeles), or +1 305-534-6009 (South Beach) so we can assist you.