In the world of zombie lore, it doesn't take much to become one of the wandering undead. One bite from one of the stiff, flesh-seeking creatures, and you'll undoubtedly join the ranks of zombies terrorizing the human race.
Thursday, zombies will infest the Ball State University campus as part of the mega-game Humans vs. Zombies. The differences between the live action role-playing game and the horrific movies? The zombies won't be dead; they'll be wearing headbands. And instead of biting their victims, they'll tag them.
Registration for Humans vs. Zombies ended Tuesday.
Information about the game and its history and rules can be viewed at ajketrow.iweb.bsu.edu/hvz.
Senior Andrew Ketrow got the idea to organize Humans vs. Zombies on the Ball State campus after reading about it on a message board, he said. The game, which was conceived and first played at Goucher College in Maryland, has been played at colleges across the country, including Butler University.
While watching a video documenting Humans vs. Zombies games, Ketrow realized that game did more than provide an outlet for nerds to live out their heroic fantasies; it brought people of different social groups and cliques together through discussions, competition and humor.
That goal has been the driving force behind the hours of work in which Ketrow has organized a game. He estimates more than 200 Ball State students will participate. The game's Facebook group, which was created in July, has more than 500 members.
Near the close of registration, more than 300 people had committed to playing.
"We had about 150 people [at the first meeting] standing around and talking to each other," Ketrow said. "So many people were just hanging out and meeting new people. It was very exciting."
Despite the gory overtones its title suggests, Humans vs. Zombies is, according to Ketrow, "a glorified game of tag."
In the game, zombies, who are identified as wearing green headbands, try to tag humans, who are identified as wearing green bandanas on their upper arm, in order to turn them into zombies.
After a human is "killed" by a zombie, they must give the zombie who killed them their ID cards, which serve as food for the zombies, and then they become a zombie. Humans can fend off zombie attacks by shooting them with a Nerf gun or hitting them with a pair of balled-up socks.
This renders the zombie unable to kill for 15 minutes. If a zombie does not make a kill for two days, he dies. The game lasts until everyone becomes a zombie, or all the zombies have died.
Another reason for Ketrow's decision to stage the game himself is his desire to see the game done properly and with good taste, he said.
"Part of why I'm doing this," he said, "is that I have a kind of sense that someone's going to at some point, and I tend to be cautious about making sure things are safe. If someone's going to [organize the game], it might as well be someone who's terrified that something will go wrong."
Because of his self-described fear of something going wrong, Ketrow e-mailed President Jo Ann Gora in order to make sure she supported the game and discussed the game with Housing and Residence Life officials to make sure no RHA rules would be violated by the staging of Humans vs. Zombies.
Ro-Anne Royer, assistant director of Housing and Residence Life, said a few concerns did arise regarding the game, but she was able to compromise with Ketrow.
"We're not endorsing or not endorsing the game," Royer said. "[Ketrow] came up with the game, and we just want to make sure residence hall policies are enforced."
Originally, residence halls were to be part of the playing field, but Ketrow changed that rule because of concerns students would hide out in their rooms and not socialize. Additionally, Royer allowed Nerf guns to be carried in the buildings, which is usually a violation of hall policy, as long as they were not being used.
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