Completely Machinima

S4 E106 The Sims 4: I Abducted My Entire Neighborhood (Dec 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes December 7, 2023 Leave a reply

We start this week’s episode with a discussion about Reallusion’s new facial mocap system, Accuface (which Phil and Damien have already invested in), move on to a brief contest update (being run by Pink Floyd no less), and then follow this up with our film review. If you liked the Saw series of films, then this is for you – its a particularly sadistic let’s play style machinima made in The Sims 4, called I Abducted My Entire Neighborhood in The Sims 4, by Lets Game It Out… and its also just Phil’s sense of humor too! We contrast our discussion with some older references to classic machinimas, which help us to make our point about just how talented this creator is.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Reallusion’s Accuface release here.

Film, by Lets Game It Out, released 18 January 2020

Comparison films discussed –

OBIT (by Phil Rice / zsOverman, released 2022, RDR2) –

The Snow Witch (by Britannica Dreams, released 2006, Sims 2) –

RVB (Rooster Teeth, episode 1 originally released in 2003) –

Phil’s out takes video from Male Restroom Etiquette (released 2006) –

S4 E105 Star Citizen: Life of a SC Stuntman – Machinima (Nov 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes November 30, 2023 Leave a reply

What’s it like to be an in-game stuntman? This week’s review is of a fun take, with a more serious undertone, on the NPC’s perspective of life in the background of a game for a very average player. The concept is hilarious, the execution needs a little work, but overall we loved this one by For Science and filmed in Star Citizen.



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes & Links

Film, released 27 September 2023 –

S4 E104 Starfield: Let’s Talk Machinima & The Mantis Teaser (Nov 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes November 22, 2023 Leave a reply

Damien’s picks this week take a look at two of the first Stafield machinimas by @TheKShow and @Mod81Gameworld respectively. The first is a ‘tell and show’ with a neat cinematic demo invoking Starship Troopers, and the second is a slightly more original lore-based teaser for an upcoming series called The Mantis. We begin this episode with an update on Star Citizen’s new spin off game, Squadron 42, which is now ‘feature complete’ and their launch of a new contest which can be entered on TikTok, leading Tracy to speculate on their strategic response to the release of Starfield! Ricky highlight’s a recent important update to Second Life’s render system which has important implications for machinima creators.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Our film picks this week –

Starfield: The feature nobody talks about, by The K Show, released 15 Sept 2023

and the second film,

The Mantis Teaser, by Mod81 Gameworld, released 25 Sept 2023

Inside Star Citizen: Inside CitizenCon, overview released 9 Nov 2023 –

and Squadron 42 now ‘feature complete’, with a video update here –

and here’s a link to the machinima contest for TikTok entrants

Examples of Second Life’s PBR (physical based render) system –

S4 E103 Longest Walkable Distances (in a game) | UE: The Alchemist’s Confession (Nov 2023

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes November 16, 2023 Leave a reply

This week we present a critique of two very contrasting machinima productions – one took literally months to make and the other just a few days. In our first pick, the creator has asked: just how big are the maps in games these days? Well, vast actually – and quite frankly it blows our minds to think that so much effort has gone into answering the question. The film is called Longest Walkable Distances in a Video Game, by How Big is the Map. Our second film is a review of a creative experiment in Unreal Engine, called The Alchemist’s Confession by Cory Williams – it was inspired by a found marketplace asset and is experimental in a number of ways, not least in the five days it took to make it. Ricky highlights the weakness in the writing albeit the film is technically masterfully produced and acted, using mocap and LinkedIn (yep, you heard that correctly!). We also start this episode with some links we hope you enjoy and a discussion about the voice characterisation of G Man in the Half Life series.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Longest Walkable Distances in a Video Game / Maps Size Comparison by How Big is the Map, released 2 Sept 2023

An Alchemist’s Confession by Cory Williams, released 27 September

and he’s also created a how to, Behind the Scenes

Fractal Pi video mentioned by Tracy, by Chirag Dudat –

All G Man’s speeches, by No Click –

S4 E102 mAIchinima: Nina & Prelude to Dust (Nov 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes November 9, 2023 Leave a reply

Not strictly machinima, but something we’ve named mAIchinima! This week, we discuss two films using generative AI to create narrative works. In both cases, the techniques employed emphasize the sound – music or voice acting – but whilst one is intentional, the other is not. We share our thoughts on these works and discuss some of the current limitations and benefits observed, which leads us into a timely discussion about style in filmmaking. We also discuss some recent developments in AI for creatives, such as the role of Glaze masking and Nightshade corrupting tools.



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes & Links

Our films this week –

Nina | Denvery Pluto | Episode 2 by Dean Corrigan, released 13 Sept 2023

Prelude to Dust by Dark Machine Audio, released 5 Sept 2023

The generative AI tools we mention in our preliminary discussion are Glaze and Nightshade, information about both can be found here. You can also find out more about Glaze and how it works here –

Ricky’s games mentioned: The Lies of P by From Software and Lords of the Fallen, available on Steam.

Recommended USB microphone reviewed by Ricky is by J Lab, called Talk, link here.

Artist mentioned is Lynd Ward and film style we discuss is Waltz With Bashir, trailer here –

and another artist is H R Giger, whose work on Alien encompasses a distinct style.

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