So I’ve gotten into my college’s game of Humans vs. Zombies. In short, there are two teams: Humans and Zombies. The Zombies win by turning all the Human players into Zombies. The Humans win by starving the Zombies out or succeeding at the final mission. The players who are really into playing as humans are really into playing as humans. Some of us just heavily modify our “weapons” (plastic guns that shoot foam darts) to shoot farther and more accurately than they would just off the shelf. Other get more creative, buying gadgetry such as grappling hooks (which are pretty much never used), mobile motion sensor alarms, and of course, thermal night vision goggles.

See, a lot of the “missions” in the game are played at night (protect this part of campus from zombies for fifteen minutes in order to win, etc.) so being able to see the zombie players is a useful thing. That’s where the thermal night vision goggles come in–I’ve seen Steven, my old roommate, make it until the last day by using those night vision goggles of his. He happens to be the guy who also carries a grappling hook (which he has never used) on missions. So maybe the goggles, they do nothing to help him do well at the game. But it isn’t about that. It’s about immersion, about really feeling like you’re fighting for your life against a zombie horde, and most importantly of all, it’s simply about having fun with your friends.