On Machinima and Games as a Canvas

Exodite

This thread is about machinimas and their production.

Machinima is the medium of real-time filmmaking, or the use of real-time graphics engines to produce a cinematic work. Such works can put an entirely original spin on a game and can cover a variety of genres, from comedy to abstract surrealism. It can be a fairly low-budget method of creating something that would require far more freedom in live-action or animation. Famous examples of machinima include Red vs Blue, Freeman's Mind, This Spartan Life, and many others.

What I enjoy about machinima is the wealth of potential that is realized within the medium. The restrictions posed upon a director by the engine they decide to use will impact what they can do and forces creativity when approaching storytelling. Visuals also play a large role, incorporating and remixing in-game graphics to represent new things. The accessibility allows a lot of people in engage with it and output cinematics of a consistent quality. All of these factors make machinima a box of chocolates that can be exciting and entertaining.

I considered putting this in Games, but I think it makes much more sense in Film & TV

Reveriemoe

I've not personally seen it, but Grand Theft Hamlet, an attempt (I assume, a very disorderly one) to perform Hamlet within GTA Online, premiered at the British Film Festival this year. I suppose one interesting aspect that would separate this from most machinima is that it does not presuppose a sort of character to use as a basis, Freeman or the marines in Halo have a defined job and role within their game worlds, whereas in GTA Online, you are, as far as I can tell, just some guy.

Exodite

Reveriemoe I haven't heard of Grand Theft Hamlet before, but that's an amusing premise. It's actually similar to the Halo machinima This Spartan Life, which was a talkshow performed in Halo 2 and Halo 3 eventually. The idea for both seems to be hosting a production in a hostile multiplayer game; in This Spartan Life this involved hosting a talkshow and inviting on guests as well-known as Geoff Keighley and Marty O'Donnell.

Exodite

A notable machinima I saw recently was Fake Science, a surreal short that won Best Visual Design at the 2002 Machinima Film Festival. As mentioned there is an emphasis on surreality, using light and sound to illustrate its themes rather than storytelling. It uses Half-Life and pushes the game to its limits, especially with the flashing textures; this is also from the era where machinimas were released as game replays as well, so you could watch the machinima in Half-Life itself as a real-time production. The creators would both go on to help produce the cutscenes for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

I mentioned the Machinima Film Festival, and the winners and nominees make for great case studies on the subject. Wikipedia has the festivals from 2002-2008 listed and is how I have been finding older, relatively obscure machinima.

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