Special Guest Blog: Undead Confessional!

Well, the first Humans vs. Zombies game of the 2010-2011 school year ended Wednesday night when the last human (I understand it was King Aaron) fell to the shambling hordes.

I'm always vastly amused by the HvZ shenanigans, and also tremendously jealous because I don't get to play! Fortunately I get to live (and die) vicariously through my student buddies (and Jamie Thomas's hilarious writeups on Facebook).

I recently asked library student worker (and my right-hand woman) Samantha Morton, an HvZ newbie this semester, to write a guest blog for me about Humans vs Zombies from a player's perspective. Here's Sam to tell you all what it's like to go from mild-mannered college freshman to fearless zombie fighter to undead menace and back again:

Nerf guns. Sock grenades. Bandannas. Fake blood.
Running. Shooting. Chasing. Falling. Tagging.
Missions. Story lines. Paranoia. The thirst for a kill.

This is Humans Vs. Zombies.

As a freshman, it's been my goal to immerse myself in the different activities here at Reinhardt. I couldn't think of a better way to do that than to take up my Nerf gun, and go kill some brain-obsessed zombies.

After securing my bandanna to my arm, snapping my Flip Clip into my Deploy, and stuffing two balled up socks in my pockets, I headed out, ready for a fight. I had no delusions about the game; I knew how it worked. The humans almost always lost, while the zombies were vicious and ready to win.

My goal: survive long enough to make it through the first mission.

I achieved my goal, but not much more.

After the first mission, I was tagged by my roommate, Original Zombie (OZ) Kat Abrams. At first I was disappointed, but as the second mission neared, I realized that being a brain-hungry zombie was much better than a paranoid human.

To zombies, the mission is kill. Turn as many humans as you can, and then feed your fellow zombies. The camaraderie you gain as a zombie is unparalleled. By rushing as a group, it was easy to tag those humans who couldn't shoot their guns fast enough. It's easy to make friends when you're all fighting for the same goal: victory.

HvZ was a life changing experience for me. Here I sit, bruised, bug-bitten, and sore, but pleased. I made so many new friends, found people with common interests as me (braaaains), and had a ton of fun along the way.

I'm so excited to don that bandanna again in October. I think this time though, I'll register to be an OZ.