I make no secret about it: I love working for Privateer Press. Not only do I get to work with great and talented people and an amazing community of players around the world, I get to do so while making games and helping craft immersive and fantastic worlds to lose yourself in.

And yet, as amazing as all that is, there are still days where I’m completely blown away by the opportunities.

Last week we unveiled the complete tutorial for our newest Bodgers Game, Zombies Keep Out.

Like all of our tutorial videos created by our master Video Producer Tony Konichek, the Zombies Keep Out tutorial teaches you everything you need to know about how to play this zany, fully co-op board game of zombie defense without ever having to pick up the rulebook.

While the goal of all the videos we make is to be informative, Tony also takes great pains to make them entertaining and engaging. From the epic opening of the Colossals video (the first project Tony ever worked on) to the high-octane energy of the Heap tutorial to the special effects which pervade the [LEVEL 7] Invasion trailer, Tony always finds a way to give each its own special hook.

If you’ve watched the video Zombies Keep Out tutorial, you probably picked up on one of the things we did to add a bit of fun and a lot of flavor to it. If you haven’t watched it yet…what are you waiting for? Check it out now, and see if you can spot what I’m about to talk about in this blog!

Okay, so now that you’ve watched the video I don’t have to worry about providing a [SPOILER ALERT] here. Which is good. I always hate having to worry if I’m breaking the all-important [SPOILER ALERT] etiquette.

When Tony and I were brainstorming how to approach the Zombies Keep Out tutorial, we hit upon the idea that it would be not only entertaining but fitting of the theme of the game to have me slowly turn into a zombie over the course of the video— the zombies with whom I share the screen being rather bitey and all.

Taking our cue once again from the actual gameplay of Zombies Keep Out, we decided there would be five stages of zombie infection for me to go through: normal, one bite, two bites, three bites, and the fully zombified four bites.

With this concept in hand, all we needed to do was to find someone who had the skills to slowly transform me into a zombie. Remember when I said I’m lucky to work with super-talented people? Oftentimes their talents extend well beyond their regular job duties at Privateer. In this case, I knew from previous conversations that we had a monster makeup specialist already within our hallowed halls. Before joining the crew at Privateer, our Convention Coordinator Michael Plummer worked in Orlando at a rather popular monster movie makeup show as an assistant artist. If anyone could transform me into a mindless undead, Plummer was the man to do it.

Over the course of the shoot, Plummer took me from healthy human to gross zombie.

And Tony, not wanting to miss out on his chance to contribute, took great pleasure in savaging my shirt into the barely connected pile of rags you see at the end of the video.

Though I had a blast shooting with Tony and Plummer, the highlight of the day had to be the reaction of our fellow staff members as they discovered what was happening on our little soundstage. I knew Plummer was making magic happen when a veritable horde of PPS crew snuck in while I was in the makeup chair to snap pictures of me on their phones.

Of course once the shoot was wrapped, it was time to get back to work.

In post, Plummer’s awesome makeup was taken to the next level by Tony’s special-effects wizardry, giving the perfect Bodgers’ spin to Plummer’s zombie artistry, a behind-the-scenes look at how it was achieved that I’m sure Tony will be expanding on in his own Insider.

Hopefully the tutorial has made you just as excited as I am that Zombies Keep Outhits shelves—and gaming tables—this month. Make sure you’re prepared to fight off the undead horde by preordering with your LGS. And while you’re there, don’t forget to ask about the special launch day promo card.

And remember: Don’t Get Bit!