On Machinima

Another fascinating byproduct of games is the genre of machinima. While machinima can be created out of almost any game, WoW has drawn users in because of its wide variety of character models and expressions. Since characters are highly customizable in game, it is easy to create an entire cast of actors for a short.

I find machinima an interesting phenomenon because it is a user based artifact. The players themselves utilize the models and environments made by development teams to create their own narratives that don't necessarily remain within the boundaries of the games that they came from. The creators of these videos are not necessarily cinematographers or have any relationship to the film industry. Yet these games allow players a cost effective way to create their own miniature films and express their own ideas.

While many have a stereotypical notion of the MMO gamer looking somewhat like this, this stereotype is (thankfully) eroding. Games are becoming a large part of our society and only recently have they begun to be accepted. This problem of acceptance is also prevalent in other cultures, most notably Japan where the Otaku is still considered a social outcast. (we're really not that bad) The notion of the "geek" or "nerd" (There is a hierarchy, though I forget which is worse than the other) seems to creep into all cultures.

However, in October of 2006, Comedy Central's animated series South Park aired the episode titles Make Love, Not Warcraft. A parody of WoW players and the MMO genre in general. While the episode itself was poking fun at gamers, the episode brought MMOs into the mainstream media. It is difficult to find someone who hasn't at least heard of WoW or can't recognize a screenshot of it. A large portion of this episode was shot using WoW's character models in conjunction with the known style of South Park. This episode was of course shot with Blizzard's permission, unlike most machinima found on the interwebs.

Machinima has an interesting relationship with other forms of pop culture. A WoW version of I'm on a Boat, was recently posted to WoW Moviewatch. The machinima version is surprisingly faithful to the original, showing just how flexible the medium is.

If you have the time, I would recommend reading the wiki on Make Love, Not Warcraft. There is a certain symbiotic relationship between the episode and the game. Both make references to each other. As a player, I find it amusing to find these sorts of relationships between different pop culture trends.

Here are a few videos to watch if you have the time:

Not Just Another Love Story (semi-NSWF)

skullcrusher mountain

I'm on a mount