“ I intentionally chose teams that I knew could play great paintball , that knew the field , and could keep [ the other team ] pinned in specific spots for extended periods of time ,” Riley said .
Surprisingly , the teams were balanced extremely well . Not just in numbers , but also in skill levels . This made for a non-stop battle between both teams from start to finish .
One of the factors that makes this game exceptional is its appeal to varying styles of play - First Strike , round ball , NPCs , LARP , and battles for field control , and both teams had representation in each category .
“ It really was back-and-forth all day long ,” Russell said . “ Both teams had the other side pinned in their insertions at different points in the game , and then the tide would turn .”
But The Collapse is about much more than just shooty ball , and if they didn ’ t know it , it became clear from the jump . In true Collapse style , both generals and their subordinates would be greeted with discomfort and disorientation as they were black bagged and marched onto the field for game start .
“ I was scared shitless ,” Riley said . Referring back to the water-boarding incident from The Collapse 2 , he said , “ I just kept thinking ‘ Is this the part where I get tortured ?’”
The game offers a fully immersive and interactive player experience , incorporating elements like trading for goods with the legendary Daniel Alamo at Barney ’ s Bazaar , dedicated numbers channels broadcasting cycled codes and ciphers for players to tune in to at any time , Tyvek suits for players to wear in “ contamination zones ”, and progressive missions that force interaction with recurring characters brought back each year by role players .
“ I think the biggest challenge I faced was trying to teach a 14 year-old how to use a Polaroid camera ,” Russell said , referring to the photos that had to be taken with each of the role players to accomplish one mission . “ On the flip side , I relied on the Old Head wisdom to develop the pictures . It was so cold out that the film couldn ’ t process . So we used one of [ Thomas ] Braney ’ s Salonpas patches to heat it .”
Both teams completed all of their missions to near perfection , but not with ease .
“ This game packs two days ’ worth of missions into a five-hour event ,” Riley said . And he credited the support staff he had in helping him accomplish it .
“ My team actually made it surprisingly easy ,” he said . “ I had the experience of Tedd E . and ( Chris ) Abernathy , Chase ( Morris ) was on point and everywhere , and Tina ( Starr ) kept us organized in the CP for the whole game .”
0104 paintball . media magazine