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I have no fear of growing old. I just have a fear of growing average.

(photo by Angie To, HvZ Saturday ‘Last Stand’)

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Hell, university recruiters keep trying to sell the Uni on its extra cirricular activity.  We run something like HvZ for free, and the ANU Media should be all over it saying how damn awesome it is to see the game bringing students together from all walks of campus.

Unfortunately, tonight, someone on campus called the media (not the police or campus security) to file a false report against the game.  Thankfully ANU Security and ANU Media explained about Humans versus Zombies, backed us up, and supported our side of the story.  The consequence of that person’s actions has been pretty serious in terms of changing our gameplay – we already had a bunch of rules prohibiting dangerous looking guns, cammo gear was out, and we’ve gone out of our way not to be idiots.  Now we’re under tighter rules, and a more stringent set of conditions, and there’s a threat of a post-game review by Chancellery which is probably going to go badly.  I want to think that the University will be awesome, and I want to believe that the game will be running in Semester 1 2011, but I just don’t have a good feeling about it.

One big problem is that there’s a whole bunch of people on the campus pissed off that we seem to be having fun, and enjoying being on the university, and being so goddamn young and YOU KIDS GET OFF THE UNIVERSITY LAWN type attitudes to the game.  I just have this wretched feeling that these would be the very same people who decry the lack of university spirit, and how students these days are just here to attend class and leave.

The flipside to this has been the incredibly reasoned calm from the moderators, most of the community, and the ANU Security.  This is probably what bugs me most – the HvZ team has gone out of their way to work with the University to make the game safe, playable and low impact, and we’ve had this happen.

It’s so frustrating because it’s killed a whole lot of joy out of the game for me tonight after feeling pretty damn awesome about it previously.

I don’t much feel like playing knowing that the whole fate of the game is on a knife edge.  Particularly since I only have a black wardrobe, and I’d hate to see the students get their game banned because someone freaked out at the lecturer’s dress sense.

For a brief period, this was a crowning moment of awesome. We were having fun.

Guess that’s just not allowed so much anymore.

The HvZ game is a week long tag game, with nerf darts on the side of humanity, and full palm tags on the side of the zombies.  They have the numbers (what with only ever being stunned, and us having one life before we’re turned).  It was strange tonight, sitting up in 1070, tagging my darts and loading up belt clips of ammo.   I can’t put my finger on it but I do believe that the preparation process was both calming (there’s a level of zen when you’re in repeated task based activity), and a sense of game based forboding.

In the game, I am armed. Well armed. Stupidly well armed.  I have a small arsenal that could support a squad, and we could hold off an interesting volume of zombie assaults.  This is a problem in itself – I’m genre savvy in a genre trope driven game.  We’ve got squads, and arsenal, and a weapons locker. Basically, enough cargo to spark one of those “Let’s remove the weapons stash to make it complicated for the survivors” moments in the story line. Really, I need a weapons caddy. Having more guns that you can carry has drawbacks beyond the usual genre issues- you can’t carry them and fire them.  Admittedly, I probably don’t need three machine guns, two shotguns, four pistols and Vera.

Which brings me to the genre savvy problems.  The game runs from Monday to Saturday. I am equipped with the following genre elements

• A comical buddy sidekick (Hi Andy)
• A squad of hardened veterans (Paranoia in Pajenka)
• An apprentice (technically, one of squad was a former student)
• Genre Savviness
• A BFG (three bfg)
• Named Weapons
• The arsenal
• Being the old man.
• Starring the in the sequel (Not as bad as two of my squad – one is now in the third game, and he’s mentoring new recruits. The other starred in the original and returns for the third act)

We’re up against the Sorting Algorithm Of Mortality.  We’re so screwed.  (Did I mention the two from my squad are going to the secret midnight mission? No? Well, let’s see if anyone comes back from that run)

It’s going to be a long week, or a really damn short one.

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