Camp teaches teens what it takes to become next generation of video game developers

They're surviving a haunted house and saving the world from being swallowed by a black hole.

It's safe to say this isn't your typical summer camp.

A new summer program in Winnipeg is getting kids to write code and possibly become part of the next generation of video game developers.

New Media Manitoba's video game camp brought eight youth age 15 to 17 together last week in the Exchange District.

The group split into two teams that created their own video games from scratch in five days.

They did everything from come up with the concepts to animate characters in three dimensions.

Olivia Wilde has loved video games since she was five, when she started playing Kirby Super Star Ultra.

"Ever since I start playing videos games, I was like, 'Wow. I want to figure out how this works, and I want to do it,'" she said.

She wants to turn her love of video games into a career doing game programming or art for a big company like Electronic Arts. 

Part of the camp is about connecting teens like Wilde to mentors in the industry and talking to them about post-secondary options, said Dylan Fries, a game developer and facilitator of the camp.

"It's really fun to be able to connect with them at that level," he said.

"A lot of kids are interested in playing games, but if you can kind of say, 'Oh, well this is actually what it takes' — it's a totally different skill set.

"It's a very different thing than just sitting and playing it."

New Media Manitoba will run a similar camp for kids in Brandon later this month.