FAQ
From HvZ Wiki
What is Humans vs Zombies (HvZ)? The short answer: HvZ is a modified version of the game tag that is generally played on college campuses. The Human team tries to avoid being tagged by and turned into a member of the Zombie team. Game play takes place constantly, stopping only in cases of emergency. Everyone starts on the Human team except one person who begins, secretly, as the original zombie. Zombies can be stunned with long range weaponry but are only eliminated from the game if they fail to tag anyone for a certain amount of time (generally 2 days). Zombies win by tagging all of the Humans; Humans win when the Zombies all starve to death.
The long answer: [That website that isn't live yet]
Do I need web hosting to play? The short answer: Playing without web hosting is a lot harder to organize but not impossible.
The long answer: The first game of Humans vs Zombies had 70 players. The organizers used a website to keep track of who was and was not a zombie. They individually emailed every player with an identification code. When a player was tagged they gave this code to the zombie that tagged them. The zombie would then email the organizers with the code and the time of the kill. They would match the code to the player, mark them zombified on the website, then update the excel document with the zombie's new starve timer (2 days from the kill they just made).
Unless this method sounds like fun to you there are basically two other options. First, you can use software that's been designed to automate most of what was written about above. Second, you could decide to have a much more low-key game, you could ask the players to self-moderator and play without an organizing website. The success of this game would depend on the attitude of your school and your players. On some campuses non-playing students will intentionally wear headbands (or the signifying mark that they are playing) only to mess with players. A website helps keep the game more "secure" from outside influence. We are going to try to suggest that you use HvZSource because that's the solution that works for us, but regardless of whether you use our web hosting the information in our resource section will be of use to you.
What are my options for game administration software? (order of list decided by completely unbiased coin-toss)
- HvZSource: The undisputed heavyweight champion of web hosting1. Upon registering players are given a unique ID code. Zombies enter this code into the website, choose two friends to feed from drop down menus (descending from first to starve) enter the time and location (displayed for all to see on a google-map applet of the kill and everything is updated automatically. We have limited chat functionality, profiles and a few other social-networking type features. We're working on updating, documenting and adding a whole lot of features to the code.
If you want your game hosted, please email us at Hosting@HvZSource.com However, there are other options:
- TurboHvZ: Slick, google-y and open source. Requires some knowledge of Turbogears and Python. Features include: Support for multiple games, Text message notifications, Email notifications, User profile images, Player statistics, Game charts, Rule editing, Simple administration, Support for most databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite). You will need to find your own hosting.
- KarlvsZombies: Used in Goucher's 4th game. Set up requires some knowledge of PHP and PosgreSQL. This code is relatively bare bones compared with the other software but will efficiently organize a game.
What if I just want to play? What if I don't want to organize an entire game? It's almost impossible to run a game by yourself. You're going to need the help of other people. If you're unable to enlist the aid of anyone else at your school you could try finding games that are happening at colleges near to you. Ask friends at other schools if they know of any games going. You could organize an afternoon-long game of Nerf capture the flag with one person starting as a zombie and trying to tag both teams. There are lots of things you can do.
1Christopher Weed, His Thoughts, July 12th, 2008
