Nerd News for Your Inner Geek
I'm a big fan of Nerf, and have been ever since my brother and I began our foam-based sibling warfare as kids. My interest in Nerf has continued as I now use the guns for intense office combat. While I find the propulsion sufficient for battling coworkers, you should check out this article on someone who built a better blaster from the ground up. I've looked into modding mine, but this takes it to the next level. You can find info on the project here.
The game has continued to cause confusion on campuses, this time at Alfred University in western New York, where a student armed with a nerf gun sent the campus into a “lockdown”. The school and their police personnel found that the game was overly disruptive and were concerned about confusion that could arise over the toy guns. Administrators have decided to temporarily suspend the game while they explore ways to ensure that the game won’t pose a security risk or cause an unncessary amount of commotion. UMass Amerhest dealt with these problems by requiring players to register with the school and having them wear red armbands and headbands.
Apparently, the LARPers started causing a commotion and disrupting campus, and so the administration cracked down and forbade the player from using the great foam defense. They were allowed to fight of the zombies with socks and marshmallows, but this limitation still upset the participants. This has caused a bit of controversy on campus, and the LARPers are rallying to get their weapons back. The story continues with more interesting twists, including a relative who worked at Nerf coming to pay a visit to campus.
I am very interested in the phenomena of LARPing and Alternate Reality Gaming (ARG’s), and so, as these forms of entertainment become more pervasive, I am sure there will be more conflicts as we see play continue to spill over into the real world.
- click here to read the piece from the Bowling Green newspaper
Wow. I mean, wow. This is the union of two of the most important things in my life: Nerf Guns and video games. *Sniffle* (of joy). May heaven help those I work with...
