Local summer camp has kids learning video game history

WILMINGTON (WWAY) — It’s not your typical summer camp, but it’s one that keeps these kid’s heads in the game.

Retroscape, a video game lounge located in the Soda Pop district near downtown Wilmington, has held a video game summer day camp for kids throughout the month of July. Retroscape owner Dylan Pierce says it’s a way for kids of all ages to get acquainted with some well regarded classics of old.

“The kids would come in each day and we would give a presentation on the decade. So we did the seventies, the eighties, the nineties, and the two thousands.” Says Pirece. “And then we’d go over the console wars during that decade or what popular games were going on. And then we’d do some trivia on it, and then we’d actually play the games from that decade for a hour.”

With a wide selection of games from consoles of all eras, finding a new favorite game was no simple task for camp goers, but they all knew a good game when they played one. Brothers Nicholas and Benjamin Reeves took part in the day camp. Benjamin enjoyed using the NES Zapper in a game of Duck Hunt, while Nicholas liked the competition in Super Smash Bros. Finn Gray, another camp goer, discovered Super Mario Bros. 3 for the very first time while at the camp.

At the end of the day, it was more than just giving kids something to do. It was sharing a passion for classic games with the younger generation, which goes back to Pierce’s inspiration to open Retroscape.

“I wanted to kind of design it in a way to bring you back to your friends basement, you know? Back in the day where we used to come together and play video games.” Says Pierce. ” Nowadays, it’s a lot online base and we’re usually in each other’s own homes playing online. I wanted to bring the aspect of coming to each other’s houses again, so that’s where the lounge comes into play where you kind of hangout here and have a good time.”

Retroscape is located at 1123 Princess St in Wilmington. You can visit retrowilmington.com for more information.