Machinima
As an on/off player of video games, machinima is a new media concept that has gauged minor interest in the past although I had not considered the potential of this style of remediation beyond minor amusement, with Machinima works such as Red Vs Blue and this Nintendo clip by Lonely Island being the extent of my interest in the form. It seems that something i previously only looked over has since gained a huge following in not only gaming circles but new media theorists, with Machinima having come up a number of times in our lectures etc throughout the degree.
The concept of using game graphics toward building a cohesive narrative has a range of possibilities for creators, especially with the leaps in video game technology and the control the player now has over the environment and characters within the game. Effectively feature length stories could be created using parts of games, changing the original meaning and intent toward anything the remediator wishes. The South Park episode using World of Warcraft (Season 10 Episode 08) is probably my favourite and one of the most creative uses of machinima yet, with the mix between the regular parts of the cartoon and the Warcraft game showing the potential beyond just game clips.
As a writer machinima is not a medium i would personally want to work in with the constraints involved and the need for a deep knowledge of gaming, a medium i used to play often but have found less and less time for just as the games are becoming deeper, more complicated and more time consuming. I'm still not convinced of the mainstream appeal of the form and the ability to take it beyond a niche remediation culture, although as the machinima form develops further with new game graphics and even more creative uses i'm sure i will be hearing from it again.
Posted by Nicko Sun, 11 May 2008 19:12:00 GMT