Campus Faces Zombie Apocalypse

Yellow bandanas. Flying marshmallows. The walking un-dead. The sudden presence of these things on campus can only mean one thing: Georgia Tech has come under zombie attack.

For one week every semester, hundreds of students join in to play what’s essentially an elaborate game of tag — Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ). The game is open to all students, faculty, and staff and takes place outdoors, all over campus, with a website tracking each player’s achievements throughout the week.

A few of this year’s HvZ administrators were willing to discuss gameplay, strategy, and how they advise surviving one of the deadliest weeks of the year, which, this semester, will be Sept. 16-20.

From Stephanie Greear, chief disciplinarian and fifth-year international affairs and modern languages major (and an administrator for all 10 HvZ games that have taken place at Tech):

How is HvZ played?

Everyone but the Original Zombie starts off as human, and they defend themselves with socks or marshmallows that they try to hit zombies with to stun them. Zombies are stunned for a default of 10 minutes, during which time they can’t play. We have missions every day where each faction will have some kind of objective to complete to aid their side or harm the other’s odds of winning. (Humans are identified by the yellow bandanas tied around their upper arms. Zombies’ bandanas are tied around their heads.)

Who gets the honor of Original Zombie?

OZ has an application and interview process because it’s such an important job. A bad OZ leads to a bad game, so we always try to get the best person we can.

Is there a winner?

That depends on how you define “winning.” If you define it by humans surviving the finale, then we’ve only had 11 people “win” the game. Humans survived during the very first and fifth games, but none have survived since. For future survivors there is a “Survivor” achievement on our website, which people really, really want. We like to joke that everybody wins when the zombies win, because that means everyone has become a zombie.

What’s involved in your role as chief disciplinarian?

My title springs from being the person who gets to yell at players for doing something wrong. Our players are smart — this is Georgia Tech, after all — and love to find loopholes in the rules or sometimes just blatantly break them, so someone has to step in. The Georgia Tech rules list is the longest of any HvZ game from any school because we have to be so specific with things.

What’s the best strategy for humans? And zombies?

The biggest strategy for both sides is stealth. Taking weird paths around campus and hiding really well will save you from being “nommed” or from starving out as a zombie. (Zombies need to feed every 48 hours.) HvZ players are probably the best people to ask for directions on campus because we’ve learned it so well to survive or hunt.

Where’s the best place to take shelter on campus in the event of a zombie takeover?

Freshman year my friends and I used to spend a lot of time thinking up the best zombie apocalypse plans. I think we agreed that Brittain would be the best place to go because there are so few doors and there would be food of varying degrees of edibleness.

Why should students play?

HvZ is a community building network, a place to make friends. All my closest friends are from HvZ, and we've had so many people meet their significant others through the game that we’ve joked about HvZ being a dating site.

From Wes Hunt, head admin and fourth-year civil engineering major:

What was your experience like as Original Zombie?

The semester I was OZ, I spent the morning tagging a few people that didn't expect me to be out so early. As the day went on, I discreetly kept tagging unsuspecting humans and kept the horde growing. At one point, a human tried to take a picture of me, which made me run back to my dorm room to change clothes. Throughout the week, I did my best to be the zombie leader, with one other zombie running a “hivemind” of sorts — a central information zombie who sends out texts to all other zombies with information about humans moving around.

What are the essential skills for a zombie seeking fresh humans?

Zombies should know where the kill zones are. Howey, Skiles, Student Center, and dining halls are great camp zones. The more zombies group together, the more likely they can kill the humans they find. If it’s one zombie against one human, the human will almost always stun the zombie.

Why is there so much tension between humans and zombies?

Zombies represent everything humans are against: dying, decaying, and eating other humans. They are a walking reminder of the dark horrors of death. Humans fight to survive, and zombies must feed to continue with their terrible un-lives.

Why do you play?

It’s a short break from school, from responsibility, and from reality to run around with socks and marshmallows, throwing them or chasing after the poor, lone human trying to outrun me. Sure, I still go back to my apartment at the end of the day and work on that four-page homework assignment or study for that huge test coming up, but there isn't anything like Humans vs. Zombies that can give such a release from the stress of Georgia Tech.

From Daniel Valdez, admin and third-year applied mathematics major:

What’s your strategy for staying human?

Stay vigilant, stay paranoid. Most players don't die because they are overwhelmed by zombies. Instead, it's because a zombie sneaked up on them. Also, travel during class times. Nothing gets you killed faster than walking around during class change on Thursday or Friday.

What are the essential skills for a human avoiding zombies, or for a zombie seeking fresh humans?

As a human avoiding zombies, you need to understand the zombie mindset. Most zombies are lazy. You can avoid the horde — though not everyone — by simply taking the long, less busy route to wherever you are headed. As a zombie seeking humans, you can really find them anywhere. During my OZ game, I usually just walked around the center of campus. Granted, this is much easier to do if you look like a human. But even later in the week, keeping your eyes open and pursuing any potential kills will work well. A chance at a kill is almost always worth getting stunned. To quote another admin, “Stuns last 10 minutes, kills last forever.”

Why is there so much tension between humans and zombies?

In general, zombies are hungry, and humans are delicious.

How does HvZ compare to what you’d do in case of a real zombie apocalypse?

I would act exactly the same, assuming real zombies are also inexplicably subdued by a rolled-up sock covered in duct tape.

Why do you play?

This week is the most fun of the semester. You wouldn't think paranoia as a human would be enjoyable, but it’s exhilarating. The thrill of killing a human after a valiant battle or a stealthy chase is without equal. And that’s only during regular gameplay; the missions bring a whole new level of teamwork and excitement. Basically, if you don't play, you’re missing out.