Winner of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence award
Spring Issue 4
Feb. 24, 2015
The Florida Tech Crimson
s e i b m o z . s v s Human s u p m a c s e tak
Photo by Alex Coultrup
Zombie apocalypse hits Florida Tech, adding excitement, intrigue to students’ week Alex Coultrup Campus Life Editor It happens all across Florida Tech’s campus: students chasing and attacking one another with Nerf Weapons. They come from all majors, class years, athletic teams and social groups. Are they coming for you? Humans Vs. Zombies at Florida Tech is a CAB-sponsored event that allows students to roleplay as surviving humans or attacking zombies in a campus-wide moderated game of tag. Players participate in the game in designated areas on campus, attempting to either kill off zombies or “turn” humans, depending on their role. Humans vs. Zombies happens at least once per semester at Florida Tech. Games last for a week of round-the-clock play, with organized missions each evening. These missions contribute to the game’s storyline. Nightly mini-games originate from the Student Union Building, where participating students convene for instructions and an outline of the assignment. Players have 30 minutes to complete their designated mission. If 80 percent of humans get “turned,” it counts as a Zombie victory. On Friday the 13th, the week of play was almost at its close. Players gathered at the SUB, wearing vibrant orange bandanas and armed with Nerf weapons. Human players tie bandanas around either the arm or thigh, while Zombies are identified with a bandana around the forehead. At 6:11 p.m., the voice of Nick Karnes, a student moderator, sounded out. “Go!” he shouted, and players fanned out in groups
across central campus. “The humans are looking for a critical plot device,” said Christopher Bracci, sophomore. The items in question were lengths of PVC pipe hidden near the Crawford area of campus. The PVC pipe represented parts to construct a helicopter, which the humans desperately needed to escape from the zombie-infected region. “They missed ‘em,” said Jean Hirschfeld at 6:20. Hirschfeld is a moderator who wrote the most recent game’s plotline. Each game of Humans vs. Zombies follows a story written by moderators. This game incorporated elements of local politics. The plot involved Florida governor Rick Scott, who brought back the Zombie virus after embezzling money in Ukraine. “We usually use the basic rule that whoever writes the stories sits everything out,” said Hirschfeld. Participating in the game as an Arbiter is acceptable, and allows him to moderate for safety and settle in-game disputes. “I know everything,” he said, grinning. During the mini-game, the humans must discover the missing helicopter parts and avoid getting infected. Meanwhile, Zombies were working to “turn” the humans, which they could do by two-hand touch, Bracci said. Whoosh — one of Hirschfeld’s foam darts cut through the air, striking Bracci on the shoulderblade. He would be “stunned” for one minute, meaning he was unable to tag any humans in that time. It was 6:24 at this point. “We found something,” came a shout from near Crawford Tower. Emerging from a cluster of trees in front of the building,
Alex Woodel held up a PVC pipe. It was 6:27. “Aren’t you meant to be assembling those?” said Caitlin Bigelow, sophomore, in a singsong voice. “They don’t know they have the right parts,” said Woodel, to which Bigelow responded, “they look like the right parts to me.” Bigelow is the only Zombie with a weapon, a right she earned the night before during a V.I.P. event. “Sometimes you just have bad-ass encounters where you go on a killing spree,” she said. Her weapon is a bowstaff, just under five feet in length. Ingame weapons must meet certain safety standards and be no longer than 60 inches. At 6:38, Bracci attempted revenge on Hirschfeld, who swiveled and quickly shot him down. “A way to not get noticed as you come behind me - softer footfalls,” Hirschfeld said, demonstrating. “Game is over!” Karnes’ voice came booming across the quad and Crawford Green at 6:41. The players moved back to the SUB, ready to recap the mission. The Humans lost. “Lots of schools have their own specific rules,” said Jeff Dubois, a moderator in training. The official game rules are outlined at humansvszombies.org, a site designed by game founders Chris Weed and Brad Sappington. Weed and Sappington invented the game in 2005 while studying at Goucher College in Maryland. It quickly became a sensation and was adopted by campuses across the nation. Big schools like the University of Southern California can have up to 3000 players. “This is nothing,” Hirschfeld said.
At lots of bigger schools, fraternities tend to participate more, but Hirschfeld said they’re not as interested in playing at Florida Tech. In fact, They’ve had some bullying issues here in the past. Players get insults from nonplayer frats. This semester, the worst it got was a post on the anonymous, location-based app Yik Yak saying that players take the game too seriously. The trend seems to be changing. “They respect us if we respect them. The perception seems to have changed, and it’s probably for the better.” Some of the essential rules include guidelines that are meant to keep players and their nonparticipating classmates out of harm’s way. Karnes, who moderated last week’s gameplay said, “as a moderator, I’m looking for safety, not just fun.” It’s important to spent time
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as a player before becoming a moderator, Dubois said. “You’re getting insight on how the game works and how to play it better.” This is Karnes’ first year moderating. Students come to participate in Humans vs. Zombies in different ways. “I just saw it my freshman year and it was interesting,” Bracci said. “I made a lot of friends, and now I play every year.” This is his fourth time playing. “Zombies are the best side to be on, it’s like playing as the bad guy in a videogame - you just have to kill,” said Bracci. “Humans have a lot of heavy lifting to do, like carrying weapons and escorting V.I.P.’s” Chesapeake Gustin, who was “turned” mid-mission on the 13th calmly said “I haven’t eaten any humans yet.” Gustin learned about Humans vs. Zombies at the club fair and participated in a minigame soon after. v
Photo by Alex Coultrup