I’m not too big on machinema. Â It is usually rather goofy, and the repetitiveness of the animations, since makers are limited to what is available in the game, drive me insane. Â Which is why I actually enjoyed ‘The Craft of War: Blind’ by Percula. Â Rather than just live inside the game, which -don’t get me wrong- takes talent to craft stories out of, he took all the graphics from the game and then used professional animation software to choreograph and render his work. Â So clearly, from the start, this isn’t truly machinema.
A number of people on the various places this video has shown up have complained about the music choice, using words like “utter shit” to describe it. Â But I think most of that comes from a disdain for the artist or the song without any consideration to how the music complements the piece. Â Given that machinema has used all sorts of music, from classic fantasy style music through to Linkin Park, I don’t think any music choice is really out of place, and in this case it fits perfectly with the style, pacing and attitude of the video.
Percula is, reportedly, out of work, having been laid off. Â However, if this is a sample of the usual quality of his work, then I don’t suspect he’ll have any trouble finding another gig. Â Although, I might suggest he expand his search to fields outside of gaming. Â With his sense of pacing and story, he might find work in Hollywood.
Without further ado… the video:
[vimeo width=”500″ height=”300″]http://vimeo.com/2625538[/vimeo]