Silicon Valley firm hosts gamer summer camp in Ann Arbor

Most kids go to camp to play sports or escape into the wilderness. Kids in Ann Arbor go to camp to capitalize on their nerdiness thanks to iD Tech, a Silicon Valley firm looking to cultivate the next generation of video game creators.

Excerpt:

Remember this: In a world where computers run everything, nerds rule.

So you might think the 31 kids glued to glowing screens last week at the Ann Arbor summer camp run by iD Tech, a company out of California's Silicon Valley, were just a bunch of campers who prefer computers to campfires. But you would be wrong.

These are future masters of the universe, acquiring sophisticated programming skills in video-game design with Flash and Maya animation and other programs that most adults who design games don't get under their belts until they hit college or the professional world.

The campers wore their nerdiness with a cheerful swagger.

"Oh yeah, I'm definitely a nerd," said Alex Eichner, 15, a camper from Alexandria, Va. "No doubt about it."

The week-long program was one of seven iD Tech sponsored this summer at the University of Michigan, as well as at other universities around the country. The last U-M session begins Sunday and winds up Aug. 8.

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