University of Victoria, Canada
From Humans vs. Zombies Wiki
 | |
| Game Info | |
|---|---|
| Location | Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| Founded | 2009 |
| # of Players | 250-300 |
| Game Links | |
| Game Page | [1] |
The University of Victoria has hosted Humans vs. Zombies since the fall semester of 2009.
Contents |
Past Games
The University of Victoria Moderator team prefers running condensed, one day campaigns that focus on forced conflict and high turn/stun rates to maximize player participation. Every campaign consists of missions stringed together through a narrative to complete the post-apocalyptic immersion.
- Fall 2009 - "The Infection Begins" campaign acting as a play test with generic escape plan missions. Players were the abandoned Alpha Team looking for survivors in the quarantined zone.
- Spring 2010 - "Hard Landing" campaign where players were given the role of Charlie Team, a support squad tasked with regaining contact with the lost Alpha Team.
- Summer 2010 - "Six Storeys of Carnage" campaign. The only fully indoor campaign to be run at this school ever.
- Fall 2010 - "Bring the Fight to Them" campaign in which players were tasked as mercenaries for a military contractor group deployed within the quarantine zone to set up and test weapons that will eliminate Zed threats within a widespread area.
- Spring 2011 - "Contested Cure" campaign brought two human factions to a pharmaceutical development lab within campus that had prepared a cure. However, the supply is limited and the two human factions are not into sharing.
- Summer 2011 - "BYOZ - Bring Your Own Zeds" campaign. Really, it was a barbecue with HvZ played.
- Fall 2011 - "Pseudo Pharmaceuticals" campaign. An initial batch of vaccine has been produced and is supplied to ground troops who are working to secure production facilities to start mass production to release to the public.
- Spring 2012 - Will be posted when completed to avoid spoilers.
Game Culture
HvZ at the University of Victoria is run every semester in a one day, large campaign format. Human player weaponry is in general blasters, many of which are modified by a core group of Nerf enthusiasts.
The human team has access to a cash store to purchase upgrades and helpful hints. Part of this list of purchasable items includes a call for various Moderator NPC Mercenaries. These Mercenaries are often extremely varied and specialized for the mission they're purchased in, not to mention ridiculous. Some examples of NPCs that have appeared in the past or will appear in upcoming games include
- Dovakhin - A squad of Nord warriors armed with the traditional "sword and board" and the power of the Thu'um.
- M9001 Honey Badger - A light armour vehicle that just doesn't give a fuck. It's armed with a machine gun turret, two rapid fire sponsons and a bitching sound system. Also it's a shopping cart supported by a team of fully kitted commandos.
- The Drop Squad - An elite task force infused with bass drop and sweet under glow on everything. Tactical brofists all round.
In the past, melee was allowed but has been phased out, however, the complement of shields for humans has not been phased out which has led to the popular Phalanx formation in human last stands. Melee hasn't entirely been removed from the game though. There still exists four foam boffers from games long past. These are the Weapons of Legend. The Weapons of Legend can be won by a player or squad who proves themselves worthy of wielding such a power by completing challenges. These challenges consist of alternate reality games that require puzzle solving and a knowledge of the campus area. A Weapon of Legend can stun almost any zombie player instantly.
To assist the zombie team and giving them an option to form strategy, there are several types of special infected that are can be unlocked by allocating zombie "Rage". Rage is the equivalent to human cash except that it cannot be found randomly and it is never spent or lost. Rage can be won for the entire zombie team by completing missions and meeting victory conditions. Each mission will have a set list of victory conditions and there will always be a baseline of Rage to be won. Rage can also be gathered by turning humans although this is a much slower way of accumulating Rage than winning missions. The special infected types that are available for players include
- Shielded - A zombie equiped with an 18" diameter shield that can deflect darts and socks. Weapons of Legend will still count as a stun if hit on the shield.
- Predator - A dart immune zombie that is marked with green flagging tape tied to their legs. Socks and Weapons of Legend are the only way to stun a Predator.
- Bulletproof - A zombie equipped with a Dart Tag vest that is immune to darts and socks. Sticking a velcro dart to the vest is the only way to stun a Bulletproof zombie.
- Noodler - A zombie with extra reach thanks to pipe insulation foam bound to their arms. Noodlers are dart immune and can only be stunned by socks or Weapons of Legend.
- The Tank - A mean ol' mother Hubbard wearing high visibility coveralls so you know what to aim at. The Tank has an assigned Moderator to follow and act as a spotter. The Tank requires 10 dart hits or 5 sock hits or 3 Weapon of Legend hits to be stunned or any combination of the three to add up to 10 points of damage.
- Gravemind - A mobile spawn point for the zombie horde. The Gravemind wears a high visibility reflective vest and respawns stunned zombies with high fives. The Gravemind cannot stun human players and is dart immune. As well as this, the Gravemind must stay at least 50' away from human HQ locations and objectives.
Moderation
Moderators are broken into three tiers that work together to make the game flow in an organized fashion. Each tier has specific responsibilities to handle and while there is some overlap between the three groups, each has a set area of expertise when running the game. The tiers are as follows.
- Directors - Veteran Moderators who are experienced in game design. This group is tasked with the creation of the campaign storyline and during game play this group is often behind the scenes on computers operating tracking and running Human/Zombie HQ locations.
- Moderators - The core of the moderator team is responsible for game set up and refereeing players as well as providing information to Squad Leaders about game plot and general rules to players. As well as being the hands that prepare the objectives, Moderators on occasion can be purchased as fighting NPCs from the Human Cash Store or be awarded as a bonus for completing a mission.
- Squad Leaders - Veteran players who just love the game and want to share the knowledge while playing. Squad Leaders are the only players allowed to directly ask the Moderators about plot and act as a liason between players and Moderators to help spread the information about objectives quicker to the public. Many Squad Leaders are chosen by Moderators because they are well known players who have made a name for themselves and have a knowledge of the game that should be shared to help make both sides, Human and Zombie, more effective on the field.
In the past Moderators have been distinguishable from the general player base by specially made red "MOD" bandanas worn around their necks, but in the upcoming game a new standardized "Urban Gaming MOD" shirt/jacket/cape will be used.
Player Culture
All moderators are given a bag of Urban Gaming and HvZ buttons that are made in a limited number with different design each game. These act as awards or achievement style unlocks that are earned through acts of courage and general awesome that impressees the moderators. The limited run each term makes them collectible and incentivizes playing the game like a boss.
One of the Moderators who has made a name for himself as the OZ has struck so much fear in the hearts of the players that he was used as a Quick Meme to warn new players of the "Sneaky Kitty" zombie. [2]
