HVZ is the acronym for a game that I played for the entire first week of November. The game is called Humans Vs. Zombies and was sponsored by the Live Action Games Club here on campus. Overall it was a positive experience and made me consider leadership positions in the club. The event itself was fun, but the most important take away was a great ice breaker/networking event with both students like me and chair members of the LAG club.
The game consisted of two teams of players: the humans and the zombies. The humans had a green armband on always and usually carried nerf guns or socks to use against their “attackers.” The zombie team had their headbands on their head and attempted to tag human players to turn them into zombies. The goal was for the humans to survive the week without being tagged, and the zombies had to try and stop them. Anywhere and anytime outside was fair play area, which made the event incredibly nerve racking. A threat could be right around the corner wherever. With nerf guns and socks, however, humans had the obvious advantage in both numbers and range to start. Starting Monday, there was a nightly mission that all humans had to attend where they had to perform various tasks under the pressure of zombies who had their own intentions. I stayed a human through Thursday night (the last night) and thus mostly got to see things from the perspective of the humans. Missions consisted of defending people, finding things, or walking through dark areas of campus. Even in the face of looming danger, I met several new friends that I am now connected with, and while we walked, we sang songs and shot zombies. As a freshman, getting involved with clubs is hard for me, but this event made breaking the ice incredibly easy for me. Nothing bonds people like walking in the dark with people jumping out of nowhere. I also met Josh and Ryan, the President and Vice President of the club, who gave me their contact information to stay engaged throughout next semester and run for the Public Relations position in the club. This will not only look good on a resume, but will also further prepare me for PR work in the Communication fields I plan to go into. Running from zombies is also a major work out. Between shivering in the cold and running, I feel like I am ten pounds lighter!
Overall my experience was amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone who needs help feeling included and active. This club is very laid back, and I plan to join in on their game of Assassin that should be starting sometime next February. Of course, I will also be taking part in the second semester session of HVZ.