This summer's interns have been in Cambridge for a little over a week now, and so far they've taken to MIT like ducks to the Charles River. Or like swan boats to the pond in Boston Common. Or, well, like video game fans to a video game lab!

A palpable sense of camaraderie is already growing between many of them. (Of course, an unexpected 24-hour layover in Chicago while en route from Singapore might have something to do with that. Still!) The Singaporeans and the Americans all seem to be hitting it off well and the mentors from both continents are already starting to bat research ideas back and forth. The MIT orientation sessions last week included lectures on everything from team roles to specialist training to the importance of branding (that last one was mine) and we've already had several truly excellent guest speakers, including friends of the lab Darius Kazemi and Jeff Ward of Orbus Gameworks, who spoke to our group about the joys of prototyping. Right now our teams are being paid a visit by game industry legend Warren Spector, who has been regaling us with tales of his days working on System Shock, Deus Ex, Ultima and Thief. Good times, good times.

Warren Spector and Sara Verrilli reminisce about working on System Shock.

In short, overseas friends and family checking this blog for news of their Singaporeans can rest assured: the GAMBIT lab is currently filled with laughter and hijinks as the teams get to know one another and start paper-prototyping their games. I've already been accosted multiple times by students running around with... Ah, but I can't mention that yet. Friends and alumni of the lab, if you thought last year's lineup was awesome, wait until you see what this year's crew is cooking up. Stay tuned to this blog and to our Flickr group, our YouTube channel and our Facebook page. We've got some excellent stuff in the works!