Gotcha Finale: The End Game
By Brock Nye
“My only advice is that allies are traitors. Parker saved my life, but neither of us truly trusted the other until the final three.” -Jenasie Winterton
In most games, you are able to walk away without much of a worry. Even if you lose, you are able to move on normally and continue with life. Gotcha, however, is not normal.
There are many students who are suffering from PTGS- Post Traumatic Gotcha Syndrome. The symptoms of this syndrome include; distrust, extreme paranoia, checking several times for other students before leaving door ways, and skipping class. If you see students suffering with PTGS, please be patient and understand that hopefully this will pass by before next year’s Gotcha game.
On a happier note, we have our three victors. Before we talk about our victors, we need to show respect, honor, and remember all those brave and enduring souls who were in this watery battle that fought valiantly and were eliminated in action.The epitome of this bravery was Hunter Merrill, who was killed within a few short days of this terrifying game starting. May we all show him our love and support!
The Victors
Now it is time, however, to get back to those elite three that understood the phrase “kill or be killed” and were able to eliminate others before they themselves were eliminated. It is no small feat to be the remaining three people out of around 185 murders, but Parker Arnold, Jenasie Winterton, and Christian Shaeffer were those three. They each were able to take home one of the prizes that they worked extremely hard for.
“It was crazy. I loved getting the videos,” said Emmaline, a director of this game, “My favorite part was sitting back and watching the show.”
Emmaline was glad that we did the Gotcha game this year and said that it moved especially fast. 100 people were taken out of this Gotcha world within the first week. She also commented on a kink that happened with students making spreadsheets about the participants in the game and even bribing other students- causing the integrity of the game to decrease. Speaking of spreadsheets, Emmaline gave this advice to future directors:
“To those running it, spreadsheets are your friend.”
She also wanted to emphasize for future warriors the importance of getting more people to join, as it makes it more of a riot.
The Experience
Parker Arnold, who tied for first with Jenasie, commented on this year’s gameplay:
“Gotcha was crazy, but also extremely fun! It was highly stressful having to run around avoiding everyone you see (and checking around your house before you leave in the morning), but that’s just part of the thrill of the game! It was super fun trying to find out who had me. You make a lot of temporary friends and enemies!”
Jenasie stated:
“I have never been more anxious for an extended length of time like that. I was always watching my back, I didn’t go anywhere without someone scouting out first. I avoided every single human, not just those I knew were playing. Everyone is an enemy and no one can be trusted. During the first two weeks, no one but my sister, dad, and roommate knew who I had. Wintertons are taught from a young age how to be assassins.”
When it came down to it, Parker and Jenasie decided to make a deal so they could end the game and get what they both wanted.
Christian Shaeffer, who placed third in the contest, had a similar response.
“My experience with playing Gotcha was actually very stressful, but super fun. For about 3 weeks, I was skeptical of everyone and I always found myself looking behind me to see if anyone was coming up from behind. To this day, I’m still looking around at my surroundings just keeping an eye on everyone, which I need to stop. But my favorite part about this game was how everyone was so involved in it. No one wanted to get out, so they would do anything to not make that happen. Like I said before, it was a very stressful time, and I would say that’s the one thing I didn’t like about it.”
Rest In Peace
Like a lion stalking and killing Gazelle, these three killing machines had no mercy when it came to eliminating opponents. Parker had 9 kills and both Jenasie and Christian had 5, which is a big part of why they won this game. I asked both, Parker and Christian, what their favorite kill was to which they responded with these gruesome stories.
“My favorite kill was Hunter Merrill, my second victim. We had an institute class together and he had just recovered from a leg injury, so there was no escaping. In the end, fate was accepted and we performed a very humane and PETA approved execution.” -Parker Arnold
You can watch this gruesome kill on instagram by clicking here!
“My favorite kill had to be when I got Makinna Winterton out. She was chasing her target out of the gym while I was walking in. I waited until she started walking back towards the door, and that’s when I got her. She wasn’t too happy about that.” -Christian Shaeffer
Jenasie had to chase down one of her victims, making for a intense showdown.
“I think my favorite kill was Kyle Hedden because I got to chase him down halfway across campus, while he was on the phone with someone warning him that I was coming.” -Jenasie Winterton
Prepare Yourselves
This year’s Gotcha game of death has come to an end. For all those who wish to redeem themselves or who were too afraid to join this initially, prepare yourselves and test your talent next year. Use this advice from our victors, “My advice to future players would be to basically go off the grid. Make sure people have a hard time finding you on social media and things like that,” commented Christian Shaeffer. Parker Arnold said, “Some advice I’d give for the players next year is to be extremely unpredictable. Never leave from the same door.”
Stay tuned for more fun events like this planned by Student Life and SVSA!
