Juan Oleas, a 24-year-old UF astronomy graduate, ran across campus as fast as he could, lungs burning and legs cramping.
At 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Gators Humans vs. Zombies, the game in which students experience a simulated on-campus zombie apocalypse, began.
The 24-hour, four-day game started with a midnight mission in which all players started as humans, except for the original zombie. Humans defend themselves by “stunning” zombies with Nerf guns and balled-up socks, and zombies “infect” humans by tagging them.
The organization gives each player a bandana, a Nerf gun, socks and a kill ID, which is used to register deaths on the GHvZ website. The supplies are funded by Student Government, said Maddox Corcoran, the 20-year-old economics junior and treasurer of GHvZ.
According to the group’s website, Brad Sappington and Chris Weed created the game in 2005 at Goucher College in Baltimore. In 2010, UF political science major Jesse Schmitt brought it to UF, Corcoran said.
He said attendance has decreased over the years, but more than 100 players are expected for this week’s game.
Jennifer “Ferby” Cremer, a 20-year-old digital arts and sciences engineering junior and the group’s president, said camaraderie keeps the organization running.
“The reason you come is because you like Nerf guns,” Cremer said. “The reason you stay is because of friends.”
Corcoran expressed a similar sentiment.
“The only way you can lose is to not play,” he said. “At the end, it’s about all the stuff you went through. The friends you’ve lost. The friends you’ve fought with. That’s what keeps you coming back.”
David Ayers chases Maddox Corcoran, a 20-year-old UF economics junior, on Turlington Plaza on Oct. 12, 2015. Gators Humans vs. Zombies began its four-day Summer game on Wednesday.
