Purdue Fort Wayne’s Virtual Reality Camp lets middle schoolers build immersive 3D worlds — no experience required, just imagination.
By Andrew Danielson
Art.
The word conjures images of the classics. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the Mona Lisa and delicate saucers from ancient China.
But fine art has another branch that’s slowly been growing in the family – computer designed art.
Take 3D glasses for example. An artist can, with just a few clicks of a button, create an entire world that can be explored and experienced in 3D perspective.
And it doesn’t take a degree to do it. A child can, too, create a world.
That’s exactly what’s going to happen this month at PFW. The Community Arts Academy, part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue University Fort Wayne, is offering a Virtual Reality Camp for kids in grades six to eight.
The sessions run July 14-18, and July 21-25. The camp will see 30 kids (15 per session) gain hands on experience in using computer technology and virtual reality headsets to create their own 3D games.
“It’s a sweet spot for that age and this technology,” said Molly Papier, director of the Community Arts Academy.
She explained that, at this age range, kids don’t typically have the responsibilities and busy schedules of high school students. However, they do have the technical abilities to appreciate and use computer tech like virtual reality headsets.
For the camp, students are welcome to bring their own VR headsets, although the camp will have some available for use.
The headsets themselves look almost like truncated welder’s masks, with straps that go over the head and support a box-like structure held in front of the eyes. That eyepiece is where the visual magic occurs, because those screens are what provide the 3D experience.
A growing program with lasting impact
But the intriguing world of virtual reality gaming wouldn’t be possible without the computing power of today’s 3D glasses. VR headsets are powerful enough to handle a variety of tasks, stretching from computer gaming to checking email.
“It’s basically a computer in the headset,” said Andres Montenegro, professor of Computer Animation at PFW’s department of Art and Design.
Montenegro has been involved with the camp since its inception in 2018, when it became an immediate hit.
“The whole enrollment was sold out,” Montenegro said with a smile.
And the camp remains a success. Just ask Melanie McCabe, who has seen the impact of the camp on her children.
Both McCabe’s son and daughter attended the 2023 Virtual Reality Camp at PFW, with her daughter returning in 2024 and again this year as a student assistant.
McCabe said that the camp is a great opportunity for kids to learn the behind-the-scenes of game development and coding, particularly for the world of virtual reality.
“I was looking for camps that offered fun and enriching activities and the opportunity to try something new,” she said.
New experiences in a structured learning environment is what this camp is all about.
Students receive a framework from which they can then stretch their creative wings and begin building their own worlds and games. What kinds of 3D worlds and environments the campers create are only limited by their imagination.
“In the past years, they’ve done rollercoasters, they’ve done trains, they’ve done buildings, they’ve done amusement parks,” Papier said.
That’s probably one of the most interesting features of these games. Unlike standard video games displayed on a computer screen, a 3D game “immerses” the player in the game, as if they were actually standing in a different world. By turning their head and using their hands, the user can interact with objects in the game, providing an incredibly realistic experience.
Technology powers creative possibilities
Such realism in computer games wouldn’t be possible without advances in technology, and 3D headsets are no exception to the march of technological progress.
Montenegro explained that, at the beginning, 3D glasses were not just a simple headset worn by the user. When the technology first came out, users had to put special sensors in a room so that the headset could detect the playing area.
Even with the special sensors, the original 3D headsets had to be tethered to a special computer capable of running 3D graphics in order for users to play a game.
Nowadays, much of that set up – tethering, external sensors, special computers – is no longer needed.
Today’s headsets have built-in sensors that track a player’s movements. Games can be accessed directly from the glasses, and players can use either external controls or just their hands to interact with objects.
With such incredible features, starting prices for 3D glasses can run from $299 to over $3,500 dollars.
Some models allow the user to seamlessly blend 3D objects with everyday surroundings, allowing a true mix of virtual and real life experiences. However, the price tag can be prohibitive and not conducive to introducing students to the world of virtual reality or virtual world creation.
And that’s one of professor Montenegro’s priorities – introducing students to the world of 3D art and giving them a foretaste of what this revolutionary technology is bringing to the world of art and design.
“Art and design is transforming into art and technology,” he said. “That revolution is happening now.”
Preparing young artists for a digital future
But Montenegro’s goals go beyond just introducing students to this realm of 3D game creation. New this year, he will be showing the campers how to access the “developer” mode in their 3D headsets, allowing the students to load new projects they might create in the future directly into their headsets.
Together with the “developer” mode tutorial, Montenegro also is hoping to introduce students to the use of AI to creating a game environment. With AI, students can create a basic world that they can then customize and expand to their heart’s desire.
Montenegro explained that tools like AI and virtual reality glasses are not just a thing of the future, they are a present and usable technology that will only continue to develop in importance.
“Every AI tool is quite new actually,” Montenegro commented. “It’s very amazing the number of things you can do with that.”