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by Ben Paynter
PFiSTS6RAPFIS BY SK*ATSFIFIHE
SquadleaderMichaelMarks
knleels,hidden by trees, surveyinq
his tarlef lhroulh the niqht-vis_ioTr
scope6n his weapon,apaintball
qud moddedto look nke an M4
iifle, He'swatchinq a cluster of
concretebuildinss-about5Oyards
away.SiqnalflarEssoutter in the
stre6ts. Armed men dart between
shadows.Marks toucheshis neck
to activate his throat mic.'A
straiqht depooulation,'he radios
to hi5men.LSbekand destroy.'
With that, the squad creepsout ofthe forest, three men decked
in combat fatigues, riot-gear helmets, and flakjackets emblazoned
withtheir unit name,Deadby Dawn.It's a referenceto the 1987cult
horror flickEyiI Deadll.Yes,theyknowthis datesthem.
Each soldier also carries a thin layer ofnatural padding, the kind
that comeswith middle ageand a daily commute from suburbia to
a deskjob. They all have macho caII signs they probably don't use
around the office, though. Marks, a counterterrorism expert who
writes training programs for the Department of Homeland Security, goesby Marksman. Ted Deeds,the COOofthe nonprofit Law
Enforcement Alliance of America, is Gunslinger.Mike Harris, a
computer systems engineer wearing thick glassesand a breathe-
per second,half as fast as a bullet from a .38 special.And players
aren-tjust running aroundundevelopedland in the exurbsan1rmore:
easynosestrip, is Dr. Doom.
Staccatogunfireripsthe air; DeadbyDamrchargesinto one ofthe
buildings for cover.The guysflattenthemselves againstthe interior
wall as paintballs rain through a window, exploding in wet pops
behind them. Deedsdrops to the ground, rolls to the opening, and
rises to flash short pulses from a retina-burning white-LED tacti-
Cruisepast ESPN2at the right time-wee hours are good-and you
might seethe National ProfessionalPaintballLeagueplayits version
ofthe sport, a sort ofspecialops adaptationofsoccerthat confines
the play to sevenminutes and an arenajust 180 by 100 feet.
Deadby Dawn is playing something called scenario paintball ln
this latest splatter-sport spinoff,players go on 24-hour missions
cal flashlight. Marks and Harris unleashtheir ovrnbarrage ofsemiautomatic flre on the biinded hostiles, but they are outgunned.
Thwap! Harris' world goes gray as a lead-colored paintball
explodesacrosshis face mask. Then Deedsgets shot in the hand.
acrossbattlefi eldsdrarnrnfrom Vietnam,Iraq, or11a1o.
A behind-thescenes"producer" scripts all the action, assigningranks and duties
Marks raises his arms in surrender.
You already know about paintball, a sort oftactical game oftag
playedwith nonlethal-but really quite painful-ammo. In the early
1980s,men stalked eachother through the New Hampshire woods
with single-shot,pump-action paint gunsusedbyforesters to mark
terrain. Now the game has gone professional.Modern guns have
piezoelectrictriggers and pneumaticmuzzlevelocitiesof 280 feet
J U N E2 0 0 7
with the verisimilitude of a Civil War reenactment.The result is
RambomeetsBobaFett: Grenadesspraypaint 15feet in every direction, paintballguns getmoddedinto M16s,andhomemadePVC-pipe
bazookaslaunch Nerfrockets the length a football field.
Thesevicariouswarfare experiencesnowattract hugenumbers of
fighters-I"20O of them cameto the National Guard'sJoint Training
Centerfor Military Operationson Urban Terrain at Camp Blanding, Florida, on this cold Saturday night in mid-February. Scenario
gameshavegotten so popular, in fact, that the samebig companies
Diane Howe and Patrick McKinnon (above) use walkie-talkies to control the battlefield action from a trailer east of
town. They give each team specific missions to accomplish,from gathering intelligence to launching assaults,
t '
tournamentpaintball havea compellingnarrative-the stakesof the gamedi&r-t match
andsmartengineerswho professionalized
arestartingto payattentiontoscenarioplayers,too,Sportsequip- t}televelof ultraviolencemostplayersseemedtobringto thefield.
mentmanufacturers,p,rivateentrepreneurs,andtownamenttypes FromhisranchoutsideHouston,McKinnonposteda 24-pagesce\ areall vying to build weaponsandtechfor the most activemem- nariorulebookonthe Web.In1999,heandHowelaunchedMackz
XtremeSportzto producegiant, scriptedbattles;they saidthey
crowa.
u',bqrspr.t4l6te$lay
wantedto make"blockbusters."
Hqfe sitsinthe country-themedkitchenof Thisweekendthe scenariois TheBattleoflron Forge,loosely
gamefrom basedon the onlinerole-playinguniverseof Worldof Warcraft.
this weekend's
, overseeing
areato the eastof town,Iike a minor Howehasdividedthe field into two factions:the Horde,amalicious
jumpsuit,she's mobofgoblinsandorcq andtheAlliance,abenevolentbandofelves
of war. Cladin a camouflage
-smokingBenson& Hedgesmenthollights andhumans.Players.geta charactercardwith their name,role,and
t\napofiireUattlegroundandradioingcodeddeploy- motivation.DeadByDarmis assignedto tJteHorde.Accordingto
'Mike, Juliet-Nine,Paul,
thefirearm-friendlyCO0
is nowBloodPoint,ar orc
Quebec,"she hiscard,Deeds,
on the field,that meanssomething.Speciflcally,shehas who has"swornto do anythingrequiredto protectthe CIanfrom
Warrior,whosehideis
Alliancesquadtotakeandholdthedilapidatedrow enemies."'You area huge,green-skinned
prowling.
resistanttojust aboutanyattack" the cardreads.'Yot;jrered-eyed
where,it turnedout,Deadby Davunwas
hasbeena paintballerfor 20 years;shemet herhusband, with fury andcan'twait for thebattleto begin."Deedsis coolwith
whileplayingagainsthim in 1996.Theyeventu- beingan orc aslong ashe still getshis assaultrifle. But he won't
ally decidedthe biggestproblemwith paintballwasthat it didn't dressup.Thefewguyswhogoall comic-conanddonghoulishcos-
tumesjustturn themselvesinto easytargets,he says.
HoweandMcKinnonset up their gameslike a moviecrew on
Iocation.Theychoosebig,emptylocationsandtruckinprops,sets,
andpyro-lots ofpyro. A typicalMXSproductionfeaturesflares,
smokebombs,andnoise-making
bird bangers,all detonatingin a
kindoforchestralcacophony.
Howelooselyscriptsaplot,thenstays
up all night directingit overwalkie-talkie,callingout missionsto
opposingfieldcommanders
every20minutes.Fieldrefereesreport
in regularly,andHoweaddsplot twists per their intel. McKinnon
claims,perhapshyperbolically,
that hisproductionshaveactually
inducedflashbacks
in Vietnamvets.
Towin,ateam-Allianceor Horde-hasto scorethemostpoints,
whichaccruewiththe completionofspecificmissionslikeassaults,
patrols,or photo reconswith digital cameras.Or playerscango
questing,trying to retrieveobjectswith meaninginthe game(like
the WarAxeof the Tiger,hiddenin a buildingcalledMaeva,sMystic Apparel).Thougheverygamehasahigh-scoringMVP,individualscan'twin on their ovrn.As in realwar,they arejust cogsin the
machine.Somebecome
demolitionexperts,
empoweredtofireNerf
rocketsthat "destroy"buildingsand"kill" everyoneinside.Others
-designatedengineers-repairNerfedbuildings
by touchingthem;
playerscalledgriffnsgivecharacters
safetransitacrossthebattlefield (because,
Vgrknow,griffinscanfly).
Oryoucanjq/gopenfire.Gethit with a paintballandyou,reout;
youcanreinsdrt20 minuteslater.
I{4ll runspretty muchaccordingto Howe'swhims.Backin the
furfs herhands overher maps and codebooksandlights
& Hedges.'You tell me where you want it to hap"and I can make a fight."
Sundf
mdiningr lg hoursinto thegame,the
of DeadbyDawnraly. Having "died" and
s_qrte_tl
sqveraltimes (andtakena four-hour
they roll out the Necronomicar, a tank
;.hriilt from an ll-horsepower Jacobsontwf hauler
I
andparts fromHome Depot.Ithas aweldedsteelframewithwindows
screenedinnetting to provide 360-degreevisibility andto sloughoff
incoming paintballs. It's festoonedwithnovelty maces,swords,and
zombieheadsattachedlike macabrehood ornaments.Atop thegunner's hatchis aturret boasting two clip-fed, electro-pneumaticpVC
barrels capableoffiring 30 Nerfrockets per minute. The guys onthe
team pooled their money,about $200O to build the car.
Sensibletransportation was worth the money, especially given
their middle-aged aches and pains. There are 22 men on Dead by
Daram,and few of them are as spry on the battlefleld as they used
to be. "Listen, we know our age. We're not the fastest. We,re not
the best shooters. We're not a lot of things," Marks says. ..Soyou
sit there and you say,'Let's play smart."'
When the tank sputters into the city, the sun has barely risen
and the temperature is just above freezing. There,sa Diet Cokein
the cup holder. The men have traded flakjackets for sweatshirts.
Someonecuesup an MP3 player hooked into the 1,000-watt waterproof boat stereo and cranks their war anthem: Rob Zombie,s
Dragula. The enemy Alliance troopers open window shutters
like saloon doors and rain fire on them, steam rising from their
muzzles in the cold morning air. Most of their shots bounce right
off the Necronomicar's hull.
Marks graspsthe wide motorcycle grips onthe turret cannonand
Iines up his sight-avertical tab notchedwith marks for 5O 75,and
150yards-with a screw set farther doramthebarrel. Then he starts
blasting launching Nerfs into eachhideout to disqualifytheplayers
inside.Mike "EmeriP Cawthon,an industrial-printer salesmanwhq
at age 35, is one ofthe youngest guys on the Dead by Dawn team,
pokes his gun through the netting and casually picks off soldiers like
he'sin a shooting gallery. Marks fires another 10rounds to take out
two other tanks swiveling toward them 100 yards uprange.
ThenMarks gets overeager.Ratherthanalternating flre from each
barrel to allowthe cannonto recharge,he double-pressesone trigger. The air tank is nearly empty. The shot poofs lamely and drops
to the ground. Premature evacuation.
a=-..
All'fationaiGuardtrainingcenter (beiow left) providE$the setting for the Battte of lron Forge*mask required,orc getup optianal
Originallya turf hauler,the Necronomicar(right) was tricked out by Mike Harris(fffcingpaEe)and thd other teem members"
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-/:enough.I
limpedit," Marksshouts fewpaintballstheyhaveleft. It slowlyfllls with pearl-grayammunition.Afewfriends carryit to the fleld.
,,Donot beaggresIg4t tirglbia*lrrin is still a little conflicted.
of beaggressive,"
he repeatsto himself.,.Itold my wife I
wo_yldcome
homein onepiece.',
FromCawthon's
vantagepoint in thefores! thetovmlooksriotroyalewith
ous.Fighterscrisscross
themainroad.Snipersrain coverfire from
ball field own-ers
the rooftops.TheAllianceis chargingthecenteroftown,butthey've
their moneyon admissionfees;they alsomanagedto'Ffu otraflankingmovg sendingahugeforcemarchaicessories.At CampBlanding,com- ing dovrna sidestreetandacrossa smallfieldlinedby squatbuildboothsnearthe stagingareaare ings.A fewHordestragglersgivechasgbut they,requicklyforced
i BeqTippmann,scionof the domi- backagainsta bunkerundera showerofpaint.
you.{0 kit to modyourguninto
Cawthondashes
acrossthemaindragtowardthepirmedsoldiers,
anAK-4
outrunninga few shotsat his heels.Strippedofhis usualtoys,he
I
LEDsandasiren clutches-onlya basicAKAExcalibur.Somehow,he makesit to the
that it
grant.AndDuaneBell, Hordehideoutunscathed.Thestragglersturn out to be a bunch
of teenagers.Thenhe takesa peekarounda cornerandseesthe
beer),is letting Marksfield-te$tlri\w ttS
Rifle.
realproblem:a line ofabouta hundredAlliancetroopsadvancing
But asany arms dealerwill tell you,
lsm
doumthe fairway. Like real war, paintball gamesare alwayspopCasesof p4intballscontaining2,000'r
$75at the
with plenty of cannonfodder;this is the kind of situation
door($60in advance),andlloive wordtrevealher
Cawthonusuallywould
pull rankanddirectoneofthe spry
themwholesale,andthis weekendshesoldabout
16-year-olds
to go get 'em.But Cawthonlooksat the kids around
him andseesfearin their eyes.They'regreen.Theyneeda leader,
a veterar!someonebraveenoughto rally a charge.
money.At anMXSevent the last manstandi4gwill probablybethe
Cawthonbreatlesheavily.Beneathhisfatigueshewearsabrace
t
guywho shelledout the mostfor paint.
to protq: his left knee,whichhe sprainedplayingpaintballa few
Thenthere'sthe overhead.Forlron Forge,Ho,iecuta dealwith the yearsagd.Herotateshis left shoulder,grimacing-it gets
stiffin
NationalGuardto useits base-shewon,tsayhoilrmuchit cost,or the coldeversincehedislocatedit in a gamelastyear
whenhefell
howmuchshespentto rent theportapotties,aiqfilling stations,and andplantedhis elbowin the dirt.
dumpster.Eachplayerpaidat'least$45for anahvanceticket,with
A sort of clarity comesinto his eyes..1 drove800 milestg play
'1f
thepricegoingup asgamedaycirewcloser.It was
Q75at the gate. paintball,"he says. nobodyshootsme,I,ll bepretty upset.,,
'Is this a lucrativebusiness?
Absolutelynot,,,How\says.Thelast
Cawth0nbreakscoverandrunspastthekidsaroundhim,slantthing shewantsis to soundlike a profiteei.Butshehasnoproblem ing acrossopenturftoward a far-offtreeline.Hewaves
anarmfor
rampingup the carnageto boostthebottomline..,Itry to getplay- the boysto follow.Buttheydon,t.Theygawk,rootedin place.
ersin asmanyflrefightsaspossible,,,
shesays."Theywanttargets
Thehostilesseehim; his chestglows with pinpoints of light
to shoot.If there'sawayto getthemto a placewherethey,reshoot- from lasersights.Thevolleysoundslike popcorncrescendoing
in
ing morepaint,I'll doit."
a microwave.Paintballszippastjust aheadof him,perhapswhere
Toensweagrandfinalgshedispatches
asetofidenticalcommands someonefaster might alreadybe. Cawthonducks,swivels,and
tomultipleteamleaderqorderingsoldiersto convergeatthreepoints returnsfire.It'spointless.Theairis swarmingwithammq
coming
aroundthebattlefleldandholdtheir positionsat all costs.
sothick andfrom so manyanglesthat roundsareactuallyslamThat'swhenDeadby Dawngetsword that for the final battle. mingtogetherin midair andexploding.
tanksmustbe pulledfrom the fleld.Losingthe Necronomicar
will
Hefeelsa stingin his gut andreachesto coverit. Anothershot
put themat a seriousdisadvantage.
plus,Howehaseliminatedthe peltshim squareinthe chest.
A fewmorepingagainsthislegsand
20-minuteinsertiondelay.Playerswhoarekilledcansimplycheck mask,rockinghim backon hisheels.
in at a launchpointandthenresumefightingimmediately.Lotsof
Cawthonstopsrunning.Heslumpsandraiseshis hand.He,sout.
Marks'teammemberssimplyopt out.Theguysareexhausted.
Dejected,Cawthondragshimselfbackto the launchpoint,wipAt their basecampon the sidelines,most ofthe teamhascol- ingpaht offhis clothesandtrying to avoidcollateralhits.
Thesun
lapsedinto foldingchairsbeneatha canopytent filledwith picnic risesin the sky.Hiskneehurts. But he catcheshis
breatlr,checks
goodies.But Cawthonwantsto makea stand.Hewatchesexhaus- ig andis suddenlyreborn.
Herubspaint off hisgogglesandheads
tion creasehis teammates,sweatyfacesanddecidesnot to offer backtowardthe Allianceline.That,swherethe
fun is. EI
a rousingspeech.Hejust standsup, sayshet goingbackout, and /////r'//////////////////////////
asksfor ammodonations.
BENpAyNTER(paynter.ben@gmail.com)
wrote aboutmeteA few peopletradethis-guy-is-nuts
glances.But teamtradition oites in issue15.01.
For additionalimagesfrom theBattleof Iron
kicksin andtheypassarounda big cardboardbox,dumpingin the Forge,vi sit vnred.com,/extras.
E tr tr JUNE2OoT