The gun’s name is Veera. Its caretaker says weapons should always have feminine names.
Four multicolored bandanas adorn the orange-and-yellow futuristic-looking Nerf blaster, each one a trophy signifying a past victory over the forces of the undead in the twice-annual University of Oregon presentation of the international Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ) seasons. The paint is chipped and faded in places, showing history, but it speaks of reliability and fictional lethality as well.
His name is Dominic Tringali@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/ws-directory-client/directory.jsp@@, and he’s known as the “Problem Solver” within the local HvZ chapter, Undead Oregon. He’s a grizzled veteran of four seasons, and for the next week he’ll be living two lives – one as a student going through his senior year and one as a zombie hunter.
“Quick feet are going to carry you far in this game. Cardio is going to be the best choice,” he explained, referring to the best way to stay ‘alive’ or untagged by fellow students-turned-zombies. “But barring that, serious firepower is going to be your only friend.”
The game has participants wander around campus in two teams with arm bands and Nerf guns (called “blasters” for the sake of not scaring bystanders) and either try to shoot or tag the other team — which is which depends on whether a participant is a human or a zombie, respectively. Zombies shot by humans sit out for a few minutes. Humans tagged by zombies become zombies themselves.
Fellow student and HvZ newbie Luke Smalanskas@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/ws-directory-client/directory.jsp@@, a veteran of digital zombie shooting in games such as Left 4 Dead, if not Nerf zombie shooting, agrees – and he’s only seen the promotional material for the upcoming season.
“I was walking around campus and saw a big old picture of a zombie,” said Smalanskas on how he came to be in a room learning how to pretend to be a zombie hunter, adding that his hopes for the upcoming game are simple. “I’m expecting an excuse to walk around campus with a Nerf gun and shoot people, and hide, and roll around on the ground, and make a fool of myself.”
There’s a humanitarian aspect as well. Proceeds from things like equipment rentals go directly to the Red Cross, a tradition implemented by game moderators after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
According to Nathan Whitwer@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/ws-directory-client/directory.jsp@@, one of the game’s moderators, this attitude of playful good intentions is one of the reasons so many different types of people come together to play.
“It’s so much fun – you get to hang out with people you never hang out with,” Whitwer said. “I would never have talked to any of these people without this game.”
Although regular sign-ups have closed, anyone who wants to participate in Undead Oregon should email [email protected] within the next couple days.