NOLA: Frightful Fun For All
Photo from NOLA III
No One Left Alive (NOLA) has become a staple event at Toccoa Falls College over the past four years. Created by Residence Director Michael Kowalski, the campus-wide event is filled with screams of terror, puzzling riddles, and bloodthirsty zombies.
NOLA is a game of strategy and adventure. It involves several challenges and objectives that participating teams must complete before successfully finishing the game. While completing their tasks, teams must be careful to avoid the zombies lurking around campus and specific objective areas.
According to Kowalski, this was not the original plan for NOLA. Kowalski’s first idea was a zombie run. The run would have consisted of individuals running from one location to another while avoiding zombies. However, it was not long before the idea of a team-oriented game replaced the original concept.
With most of the technicalities in place, NOLA needed a storyline. While each year of NOLA has had its own plot, there is an overarching and continuous plot is this: An infectious disease is spreading around the world turning everyone into zombies. It is up to the Watchmen to protect those who have not been infected and find a cure to save those who have.
When the game first began in Fall of 2019, NOLA took place in New Orleans. Unlike the rest of the country, New Orleans had not yet been overrun by zombies and the disease.
“The mayor tried to put on a good face and throw a party,” Kowalski says. “The Watchmen had the players gather resources to board a ship to leave the city before it was too late.”
Due to COVID-19, NOLA II had to be pushed to Spring of 2021. Having successfully escaped New Orleans, the participating teams found themselves in Blackpool, England. This time, their objective was to infiltrate the Tithonus Institute.
“Tithonus is said to be an immortal being. He was granted immortality, but not eternal youth, cursed to age and never die,” Kowalski says. “The Institute was designed to research the infected for a possible cure.”
In Fall of 2021, NOLA III served as a continuation of NOLA II. After finding a way to escape the Tithonus Institute, the teams found an item that would weaken Tithonus while searching for a Watchman working undercover in the Institute. Using this item, along with other weapons, the teams engaged in a final battle with Tithonus.
This fall, Kowalski decided to do something a little different. Unlike NOLA II and NOLA III, NOLA IV took place before the first NOLA event. It was set in a place called “Small Town U.S.A.,” which was overrun with zombies. The Watchmen used this location to train individuals in hopes of them becoming Watchmen. Kowalski also added specific types of zombies, a currency system, and eliminated specific roles for the players.
NOLA has been an interesting game for TFC students over the years, and we hope to see it continue to bring joy (and fear) to the campus. If you are thinking about participating in NOLA in the future, do not hesitate to sign up!
“Get a group of friends and do it!” Kowalski says. “Everyone should try it. We like to include puzzles, attack strategies, riddles, and extra ‘under the surface’ things for players to do and find.”