Fall semester has begun. The news is filled with reports of a pandemic—a deadly virus has slowly been infecting the world’s population. Thousands upon thousands become sick, and as the weeks progress, millions more will die.
But they don’t stay dead.
You’re trapped on the campus of Eastern Michigan University with other students, surrounded by hordes of hungry zombies.
What would you do?
This is the basic premise for the new student organization Outbreak: Eastern. According to the group’s president Dustin Miller, the goal is “to provide a fun and exciting live-action, role-playing game that educates and serves as a good place for friends to meet and [learn] about the incoming zombie infestation”
Miller and Vice President Jesse Peck got the idea after hearing about zombie tag games played on other university campuses like Bowling Green.
Their version has essentially taken the concept and changed it. Instead of playing continuously, the game will be played only on weekends, allowing players to be completely immersed without having to worry about getting homework done or missing classes.
Each game will have two parts: the actual mission day, (Saturdays) and a briefing meeting (two Wednesdays before the mission day.)
At the briefing meetings, players will be told what scenarios they will be encountering during the next game, giving them 10 days to strategize and prepare. On each mission day, players will be presented with certain scenarios to play, with the outcome determining what will happen during the next mission.
“We have a general idea of what we want the story to do,” Miller said.
The game has a fairly detailed story, written by Miller and Peck. It can be found on their Web site www.outbreakeastern.tk under “Resistance Logs.” The plot has essentially been pulled from every zombie movie, book or video game—but what sets it apart are the story changes depending on the choices players make.
“The story is there, but you don’t need to follow it hardcore in order to play,” Peck said. “We have guidelines set up so guests can play for just one weekend if they are interested, and they really don’t need to know the story at all just to play.”
During the game there are two sides: humans and zombies. For the humans, the object is to “kill” the zombies by tagging them with a dart from a Nerf gun. There are three types of tags: a head shot is an instant kill, one shot to the body is a stun and three shots to the body is also a kill.
When playing as a zombie, players will have to get close enough to get a firm hold on one of the humans, which would theoretically lead to them getting infected.
On mission days, players will be split into teams depending on how many people come.
“At the beginning we split those teams up,” Peck said. “Every time we get together to play we divide those teams into humans and zombies. They go through the mission, and when it’s over they switch around so everyone gets to play as both a human and a zombie on any given day.”
Games will be moderated by referees who will not only ensure all players are safely abiding by the group’s rules and EMU’s policies and procedures, but will help keep the game fair and determine which side was successful in a particular match. At the end of the day, the group’s board of leaders will deliberate to decide the next direction the game takes.
One other big addition Outbreak: Eastern introduces to the concept of zombie tag is the Nerf launcher, a plastic toy gun that shoots foam darts and is available in nearly every toy aisle.
Anyone can bring his or her own Nerf gun, as long as he or she still has the orange tip and the gun is painted any color besides actual gun colors. This will help the Department of Public Safety and non-players tell a real gunman from someone playing the game. All guns must pass the group’s rigorous safety test.
“Basically, they have to test the Nerf guns out on us before they can shoot anyone else. That test is basically me or [Miller] getting shot in the face,” Peck joked. “If it hurts, you don’t use it.”
When signing up, all players must sign a safety agreement and a waiver of liability, which says they agree to abide by all rules and are responsible for their own actions. The group has one other rule: common sense and courtesy.
Some details are still up in the air, including where the games will be played. The group is hoping it can work with the university to get access to a variety of different places on campus.
The first briefing meeting will take place at 5 p.m. Sept. 24 in the amphitheater at University Park. The first mission day is Oct. 3. For more information or to sign up, visit the group’s Web site, Facebook page or the EMU Student Org portal.
