My Favorite Machinima
by Lume ~ May 5th, 2008. Filed under: Misc.I’m honestly not a big fan of machinima. Most of it is dry and uninteresting. And for those that do stand out, it’s typically for the wrong reasons. For example, The Internet Is for Porn is considered one of the staples of WoW machinima by a lot of players. But the primary feature of the video, it’s song, was neither written nor performed by the people who made the video. And the video itself doesn’t have anything to add over the musical.
But there are diamonds in the rough. Unfortunately, however, they are few and far between. You’ll note that all of my top five are parodical or musical in nature. That’s because I dislike most of the fan-made dramatic machinima, or don’t like it enough to put in my top five. I really, really, liked the editing in Tales of the Past III. However, I disliked the story arc concerning Blazer. And while I like the Black Temple trailer, it’s not machinima, since it’s canon produced by Blizzard. Otherwise, it’d be in my top five.
Consider the time when this came out. Only the alliance had paladins, and only the Horde had shamans. And, yes, troll racials actually sucked. But if you’re wondering about the origin of “FROSTSHOOOOCK!” This is it.
4. Jimmy: The World of Warcraft Story
The moral of this story, kids, is you better damn well be careful about which faction you pick when you head up to Shattrath. Level 63… 62… it doesn’t matter. You better be careful! Because Everquest sucks!
I’m sure a lot of people find the veiled criticism of WoW offensive. But criticism is a necessary part of game commentary, especially in parody.
Most WoW music videos simply feature a bunch of characters singing the song. This one actually tells a story that fits the song well. The editing is also some of the best I’ve seen in any machinima.
The song is original. That’s all that really needs to be said. Cranius did some awesome work.
In order to fully realize what makes this parody so good, you have to watch the original: Michael Jackson’s Billy Jean. Obviously, I’m a sucker for parodies. I just personally find them more amusing and interesting than most of the serious dramatic machinima out there.
Special Mentions
May 7th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Oh my word! Are you kidding me? :(
I didn’t know Machinima meant song parody videos. Tales of the Past III friggin owns them all and you know it! You know it!
I don’t even like WoW and that crap makes me want to play it.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
I like the editing in TotP3, but I just didn’t find the story compelling. And, as far as visual drama goes, I am always loathe to feel emotionally attached to anti-heroes like Blazer. Movies, TV shows or machinima.
Also, speaking roles don’t translate in machinima unless they are done as voiceovers. They work in-game, typically, because you’re engrossed in the storyline because you are a part of it yourself. But, machinima-wise, I just have a hard time. And that’s why my list is mostly full of parodies and music videos.