Picking up where we left off with yesterday's post about small squads, I'm going to switch things up and give some coverage to the other side of the coin. But first, a little bit of context is necessary, as there is only really one game played in town that features and promotes the use of large groups. Large groups form up in Jericho, but since the game is based on stealth its not entirely encouraged. Tactical Ops is a squad based game, so by nature there are no big mobs. That game would be Humans vs. Zombies. In my HvZ games there's a bit of it (Its certainly a bit, as joyous chaos usually kicks in mid round), but the main backdrop for this post features the HvZ game at SFSU, ran by Nate Dizon and Adam Benigno.
As stated, I personally like to play with a small squad no matter the game type. But that's just me. Even when I'm not Nerfing I tend to stay away from big crowds. Regardless, countless players of all grades (Good, Bad and Ugly) have a ton of fun hooking onto a bigger group and dashing out on missions.
There are plenty of reasons to do so.
If you're a noob I down right recommend it. Having more experienced and/or well armed players around you isn't a bad idea if you don't really know what you're doing. They'll be there to recommend equipment ("dude, don't use a Hail Fire if you're only bringing six round magazines."), provide safety and show you all the blindspots that usually kill other noobs. If they're good players they provide a living, real time example of how the game can be played well. I haven't met such a player yet who didn't give good advice when asked.
The feeling you get from running with a big group is a reason in of itself. I remember my first game at SF State. It was back in February and was a week after I ran my first HvZ game out in Fort Mason. I had met Nate at my first game period, but he had come out to Fort Mason to play, bringing a nice group of players with him. It was a nice show of support for a noob like myself and I have appreciated it since. The players he brought out with him were awesome too: most prominent being Nate himself and Mitch, who I only know as Mitch (but who anybody who's ever played at SFSU would immediately recognize. He is a perennial Zombie. At the Fort Mason game, he dumped a bunch of fake blood on his face. He then proceeded to run right through the grassy area and its accompanying Bros, screaming his head off and running at top speed for no reason.). Seeing them in action, I was excited to come out and play a game there at night.
When I showed up Nate was real welcoming and took time out to say hello and talk for a while. When the game got going, there was a weapons restriction rule that limited players to either a melee weapon or pistol. I grabbed my axe and moved to the front of the group. I could feel the anxiousness as the players around me fidgeted in place, the nerd equivalent of Vikings biting the shields. After a pep talk by Skylar Woodies, who I talked about in my fourth Assassin story, the crowd got a little less nervous and a little more pumped up. The Zombies, Mitch included were harassing us just outside of the safe zone, getting similarly pumped up.
Then we were off. We stepped clear of the safe zone and the Zombies charged us. Somewhere in the mix, in the some secluded, pretty dark area, I chopped one in the chest with my axe. Towards the end of the same round, I got another one as a Zombie tried to lunge at our group from the ground. Even with out the axe chopping the atmosphere in that crowd as we moved through the horde of zombies, in dark, tight quarters was electric. I hadn't felt anything else like it in my life and though I have moved onto playing with smaller squads, being in the big group that first time at SF State contributed to my current Nerf mania greatly.
As an organizer, there's another reason to like large groups. Within a group of 20-30 people, naturally there are going to be a few amongst them who stand out. If such a group is to survive, in HvZ, business, politics or any other collection of more than one person, there have to be there to stick out and take the reigns in some fashion. These people, guys such as Skylar, or David Madison (a travelling blues dance instructor with a passion for sneakiness and creating mania on the game field) help get noobs more comfortable and the crowd in general hyped up. I love this as an organizer, because even the people who don't play in large groups feed off the energy that they produce. Needless to say, the overall game environment is that much better when everyone is comfortable, energetic and happy to be playing.
With all that said, I'm going to be going back to Small Squads tomorrow as I give a sneak preview of this Saturday's Tactical Ops: Leave No One Behind. I'll be posting a couple of maps from the game as well as some thoughts and info regarding the process of creating the game itself.
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