Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Combination Machinima and My Script Idea


            After looking through several videos on machinima.com and finding nothing that interested me, I searched through the “most viewed” and saw a few that were very intriguing.  I watched “Counter-Strike for Kids” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB6fq9Aadwk&feature=channel_video_title which took an incredibly popular violent computer game and remixed it into a game appropriate for children.  The originality was brilliant, substituting gun wars for pillow fights and grenades for puppies.  Taking something so familiar like Counter-Strike and twisting it into a completely different concept really caught my attention.  I like how a distinct critique on an issue can be shown when you take something institutionalized and introduce your own spin on it.  Whether people agree with your perspective or completely oppose your viewpoint, audiences will form and attention will be gathered.  In terms of “Counter-Strike for Kids”, the creator is commenting on how absurd it is for young children to be participating in such violent video games.  While some people may counter that argument by pointing out child violence has decreased in the last ten years, others completely agree that such violent behavior is not conducive to society.  The amount of views the video has gathered (over 15 million) goes to show how prevalent the issue is in today’s world.

            Another extremely popular video that caught my attention was “Grand Theft Mario” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MWXLlHGK14.  While not particularly well done, the video combines two very prominent video games, Grand Theft Auto and Super Mario Bros.  The fact that these two distinct games come from completely different eras in terms of gaming history is to me what makes it so compelling.  With creativity, any combination of sorts could make for an entertaining plot.  Thinking about it now, combining elements could take place in settings other than just gaming, television or movie genres.  For example, think of the game of football played on ice, incorporating hockey to the most popular game in America.  Such possibilities are limitless.  It is no wonder machinima is increasingly growing in popularity.

            As for my screenplay, the last thing I want to do is follow the plot of Little Brother.  I feel that this assignment warrants more creativity in terms of creating a new story.  I feel that Darryl could be a worthy main character for a screenplay, seeing how his experiences were unknown the entire time Marcus plotted against the DHS.  A remix of Darryl’s confinement in the form of an escape would be an exciting action plot.  Incorporating the idea of combination that interested me in “Grand Theft Mario”, I want to involve Jack Bauer from the fiction television show, 24 as his partner in escape.  Such a mixing of institutions gives me many creative possibilities in terms of how to carry out the script.  While I have been less than dedicated so far this quarter, I feel this script could be a way for me to fully apply myself.

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