My Machinima

Click here to see the movie.

Today, I created my first machinima movie using The Sims 2. The game is fully 3D and I was able to create a virtual Nettrice along with my sisters. I could create my own family and put them in a simple story. It only took a couple of hours to do the whole thing and now I am ready to create a project that's a bit more practical/useful. This first movie was just fun to make.

In the clip, "All Work and No Play..." I am supposed to be working on a presentation but me and my sisters have a house party instead. It gets out of hand...I have a little time to work before I get tired and have to go to bed. It was a simple first project that emerged from the game play.

Machinima is a term that combines machine cinema and/or "machine" and "animation". It is both a "collection of associated production techniques and a film genre (film created by such production techniques)."

"...the term concerns the rendering of computer-generated imagery (CGI) using low-end 3D engines (as opposed to high-end and complex 3D engines used by professionals) in video games (typically, engines in first person shooters games have been used).

...

As a film genre, the term refers to movies created by the techniques described above. Usually, machinimas are produced using tools (demo recording, camera angle, level editor, script editor, etc.) and resources (backgrounds, levels, characters, skins, etc.) available in a game.

Machinima is an example of emergent gameplay, a process of putting game tools to unexpected ends, and of artistic computer game modification." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinima

I am sure some folks have heard about the 18 year old from Texas who did R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet music video/soap opera using The Sims 2. As an educator who is into digital media making, machinima is another way to explore digital storytelling, while teaching others about virtual reality and simulation. It's not just the tool or method that's cool, it's the ability to tell an interesting story or make practical, effective uses of the tools.

My next project will be a bit more serious. Machinima has become a new genre for film and media makers...and maybe educators/practitioners who want to capture newer generations.

Stay tuned...