Not that they'll be zombied out in front of computer consoles. The campers, all guys ages 15 to 20, will use the Center for Advanced Digital Application's cutting-edge facilities to learn the techniques behind best-selling digital masterpieces such as "Doom," "Quake" and "Madden NFL Football."

Camps for musicians, artists and athletes are widespread, but young video-game makers must often embark on a "Myst"-like quest for a mentor.

"It's difficult for kids to get experience in this field. I usually tell the ones who call me to get in touch with companies themselves and ask for internships," said Hal Halpin, president of The Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, which runs gamejobs.com.

Campers will arrive each day for a 9 a.m. warm-up of playing time-tested analog games such as chess or cards, followed by a discussion of the elements that explain the games' persistent popular appeal. Lights-out could happen more than 14 hours later, if they choose to work in the computer lab from 9 to 11 p.m.

Four gaming professionals will serve as instructors, and some of the center's advanced students in the master's program will evaluate campers' work during daily assisted open-lab sessions. During evenings and weekends, guest lecturers from an array of video-game companies will speak to campers in person or through conference calls.

Tommy Tallarico, president of the Game Audio Network Guild, is flying in from the West Coast to talk with students. He has written music for video games including "Terminator," "Aladdin," "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "Spider-Man."

Campers can focus on one of the three main categories of game-making: design, art and programming. They will attend classes with people in their field of interest and brainstorm in teams to hatch a game concept and playable level. At the end of the session, the team will pitch its idea to an industry panel, which will award prizes to the best game concepts.

The programmers of the bunch must have at least a rudimentary knowledge of the programming languages C or Java and experience with Adobe Systems Inc.'s Photoshop or Illustrator. There's no prerequisite for those interested in game design.

Nicole Tecco, director of Entertainment, Technology, Digital Arts and Design at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies, is still receiving applications for spots in Camp/Game.

While declining to identify the campers, Tecco described them as "extremely motivated."

"These guys are like superstars," she said.

Inquiries from high school students about courses in video-game making prompted Tecco to lay the plans for Camp/Game because SCPS offered only graduate and night classes. The program, which runs until Aug. 6, is designed for high schoolers and college undergraduates.

Camp/Game is the first summer camp for game builders on the East Coast. Last year Digipen Institute of Technology, based in Redmond, Wash., held its first video-game creation camp in California, and the University of Illinois Women in Engineering Program hosted one for 30 eighth- and ninth-grade girls.

Campers won't receive school credit through the $5,125 program, but the concepts used to create video games — including 3-D animation, programming, character and environmental design — apply to other fields, including architectural visualization, medical imaging and engineering.

The experience will also help campers decide whether they have the drive to pursue a career in the video-game industry.

Aspiring game creators often have sugarplum visions of the gaming workplace.

"They often assume that programming means they'll play games all day," Halpin said.

Adding to the allure are the relatively generous starting salaries. In the United States, they hover around $45,000 for artists and $58,400 for programmers with less than two years of experience, according to Game Developer magazine's 2003 salary survey.

But Dov Jacobson, an instructor at the camp and founder of Big Fun Development Corp., wants to shoot down the misconceptions of itchy-thumbed gamesters who don't realize that building a game is often much less enjoyable than playing it.

"Sometimes the people who are real good at playing games are people who don't buckle down," he said, "You need someone who can focus in and finish their part of the game."

Employees sometimes clock in 80 hours or more a week and Jacobson recalls "weeks and weeks and weeks of living on pizza and barely going home." But no matter how much family time and nutrition you sacrifice, "it's really hard to come out with a game that's fun and full of spirit."

Jacobson also approves of Camp/Game's emphasis on teamwork.

"The stereotype for game creators is this lone genius," Jacobson said, "But making games these days is not a solo occupation. It requires the ability to share the decision-making and the glory."

But Tecco understands the ego of the young digerati.