Narrative Construction in Machinima

Last week, I attended Ghosts in the Machine: Experimental Variations on Play. As a Cinema and Media Studies major, I have been exposed to these sorts of “experimental” filmmaking techniques, but I had yet to be convinced of their potential for creating a coherent narrative and effective film, because so often with machinima films, you are seeing some (not so different) variation of what happens in the game. The core element of Machinima films is using the digital world created by video game designers and adapting it to fit a narrative or non-narrative structure. Because of this, whenever I would be exposed to Machinima films, I would find myself questioning why I was watching something that, in another setting, I could have complete control over. In other words, the overall sentiment that I always felt was that I would rather be playing the game myself, experiencing the same graphics and digital world, but with complete control over how I interact with the environment. However, after attending this event, I can see the value of this sub-genre, not so much in how compelling the narrative construction is or how fantastic the graphics are, but rather in seeing this genre as something completely different from film and its traditional methods. 

I have always been interested in filmmaking. One of the reasons I chose to attend this school was for its offerings to students interested in the film production route. That being said, filmmaking is one of, if not the most difficult, industries to break into. The filmmaking process is long, excruciating, and comes with little reward or incentive to continue working if you are not a part of a major studio producing blockbuster films that make millions of dollars at the box office. But what is common for every filmmaker is the passion for using their artistic and technical knowledge to produce something that, at the end of the day, they can be proud of. It’s an industry where, above all, passion matters the most. 

So, after hearing the wonderful introduction to the Machinima genre given at this event, it’s clearer to see the benefits of the genre in a different light. What I took away from this event was not that these films are meant to be terribly interesting or engaging for the audience (even though they may be for some). Where Machinima succeeds, in my opinion, is in its subversion of the typical barriers of entry to the film industry. Machinima essentially engages in a democratization of the film industry. It leverages tools that many people already have access to, and drastically lowers the cost and effort of shooting or animating a film from scratch. You don’t need a massive studio or an expensive team of cinematographers or animators; all you need is creativity and a message. The accessibility of Machinima is evident in how the gaming and film industries are continuing to merge as time goes on. More and more often, games are being used in cinematic forms. whether you’re watching a streamer on Twitch, or YouTubers creating videos about their favorite video games. While these cases are not entirely the same as machinima, they are undoubtedly comparable in their efforts to use the game platform as a jumping point to creating other forms of media. These techniques are widely successful as well, especially in our society’s shift towards prioritizing short-form content. 

Another facet of this story-telling technique is leveraging what has already been created to explore deeper themes than you may be able to just playing the game. I will use the example of Cory Arcangel’s Super Mario Movie (2005). When I think about all of the Super Mario games, I am not envisioning a particularly effective or meaningful narrative. It’s a simple game with simple mechanics, simple music, and a simple narrative. However, when it interacts with creative storytelling and a complete overhaul of the aesthetics and feeling of the game in machinima form, it took on a completely different meaning for me. In the film, the aesthetics, sounds, and movements of the game are completely altered:

The altering of the physical space that we associate with Super Mario is completely changed. What this does is allow us to achieve a different meaning than we typically get from the game. With this film specifically, the light-hearted and simplistic nature of the game is transformed into one where we experience the chaos and insanity of the world. The film allows its viewers to experience other emotions like dread, uncertainty, and panic. This is something that I think the rest of Machinima effectively does as well. I can appreciate the messages of the films more by thinking of them outside of the traditional methods of analyzing films, and understanding Machinima as this creative fusion between two otherwise impenetrable mediums.