The latest craze on college campuses across the nation is to confront the zombie apocalypse head on.  Valparaiso University is no different.  “Humans vs. Zombies” (or HvZ) is a game, developed by Gnarwal Studios, that students at VU have played many times in the last few years.  HvZ is a modern version of tag where one student starts out as a zombie who then tags other students playing humans, turning them into zombies.  The goal of the humans is to survive while the zombies attempt to convert (colorfully described as “feasting on the brains of”) the humans.

Last year, I led three undergraduate students (Teryn Gehred, Justin Nettrouer and Patrick Slattery) in a research project to study the dynamics of the game.  The students developed a mathematical model of the game using differential equations, based on a variation of a traditional epidemic model.  They validated their model using data taken from games played at VU.

Throughout an HvZ game, special missions are employed to increase competitiveness.  For example, all remaining humans could be placed within one building and the zombies would assault the building trying to get at the humans.  If a large number of humans survive the assault, they could receive a survival bonus like being immune to zombie attacks for the next few hours.  The research students devised and modeled new theoretical missions that grant either the human or zombie population an advantage. Using insights from these models, the students developed a new form of gameplay that could potentially be implemented and become a part of Humans vs. Zombies at Valparaiso University.