Zombies at Penn State

1

Usually when one is waking back to their dorm after lunch there is not much to be scene. Fellow students, occasionally some facility, the many friendly squirrels that inhabit the Penn State campus. However over the past two weeks some people have been experiencing a different sight on Penn state lawns. Hordes of students, all donning green bandanas. The game Humans vs. Zombies is in full swing and has created an interesting occurrence around campus. Just last week I was walking back to the Beaver dorms in the Pollock section of campus when I looked up and saw over twenty “zombies” gathered together in front of the building. The students were planning some sort of attack on a group of humans that were attempting to complete a mission. As they hung around talking and planning a group of five students, wearing orange arm bands and carrying nerf guns came into view. Soon enough a shout went out from among the zombie students as they took off chasing the small group of survivors as other students passed by. While the chase was the main attraction it was bystanders who were the most interesting part of the moment. Some walked by with a disgusted look on their face, some laughed, some ignored them, some even asked how they could join in. Within a few minutes of the charge, both the humans and the zombies were out of sight and the campus quickly returned to normal, as if the entire even was forgotten.

2. Q: “So why did you decided to participate in the Humans v.s. Zombies game?”

A: “I don’t know it seemed like fun, I’m not sure you need another reason” (Scott Moser, 1rst year Penn state student.

Q: “What else does the club do beside HvZ?”

A: “Oh there are a ton of other games in the club, Humans vs. Zombies is only a one event that the club runs, there is other stuff going on every week.” (Lee Diase, second year student)

Q: “Why does the club use nerf guns?”

A: “Probably because you can’t really hurt someone with a nerf gun, and there’s no real way you could mistake it for a real gun” (Lee Diase, second year student)

a. The urban gaming club runs the following games, capture the flag, manhunt, territories, and assassins, Humans vs. Zombies, scavenger hunt, and many ad, hoc games.

b. The Humans vs. Zombies game tracks its participant’s status (i.e. who has been tagged and who has tagged the most people) by having all of their participants signed up electronically with a custom game code.

c. The urban gaming club occasionally runs charity games to raise money for worthy causes.

d. Humans vs. Zombies is not a Penn state exclusive game, there are many games held at many universities all over the country.

Sources

Humans vs. Zombies | The Official Site of the Humans vs. Zombies Game. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. .

Penn State Urban Gaming Club – Nerf™ Battles, Humans vs. Zombies, Assassins, and More at PSU. Web. 30 Sept. 2011. .

4.

Two areas I feel I need to do more research in are in the inner workings of the clubs. I would like to know if the club has ever met with any opposition from the campus administration, as this is common in other schools. I would also like to learn how the club got started and who first thought of the idea. To learn more about these two areas I will likely have to interview one of the senior club members. This may prove difficult however as many classes have exams scheduled in the next week and people may not have time to meet with me.