the-future-soon
Latest
PAX 2009: JoCo adapts 'The Future Soon' at Rock Band Network panel
We've heard about the Rock Band Network's near-boundless technical capabilities. We've seen the technology in action at Harmonix HQ. What we haven't seen is a popular musical artist adapting one of his songs through Reaper, Ember and the Rock Band Network peer-review process for our enjoyment. We got one such opportunity at the PAX Rock Band Network panel, when nerdfolk songsmith Jonathan Coulton (with the help of a few Harmonix devs) converted "The Future Soon" from mere song to Rock Band DLC.The steps looked reminiscent of previous previews we've seen of the RBN technology. The track was broken up into its core parts (drums, bass, vocals, etc.) in Reaper -- a process that took Harmonix two days, due to Coulton's implementation of 19 freaking chords in a single song. After that, they imported it to Magma, where Coulton's album art was added, the track's genre and pricing information was chosen ("The Future Soon" was set to sell for 240), a 30-second preview window was designated, and the song's difficulty levels were added.The song was transferred to Rock Band 2's Audition Mode (which will be tucked away in the Extras menu with the game's next patch for Xbox 360), then played by adoring JoCo fans. We've got a shakycam video of this playthrough -- as well as the original version of the song, which was played by Coulton during the panel -- after the jump.
WoW Moviewatch: Cruel, Cruel Moon
You may have missed it, but there's been some talk lately about whether or not Worgen could be a playable race in the next expansion. In light of that discussion and the overwhelming amount of love shown yesterday for Spiff's The Future Soon, today's featured movie is Cruel, Cruel Moon. The recommendation was made via our own Elizabeth Harper, who apparently has a friend who's quite the fan of Spiff.The song Cruel, Cruel Moon was written by Paul & Storm, who spend a lot of their touring time with Jonathan Coulton. The song is about a man who's begging the moon not to rise, because his beloved partner is likely to turn into a werewolf. Spiff's video captures the lighthearted feel of the song excellently, and the whole thing moves at a wonderful pace. I have a lot of appreciation for this kind of music, since it tends to last long enough to enjoy the joke, without overstaying its welcome and dragging on too long.During the credits, there's a bonus feature song. Frogger! The Frogger Musical endcaps the whole video perfectly. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Future Soon
As you probably have heard, BlizzCon is only a month or so away. With the machinima contest becoming a bigger and bigger event at the Anaheim gathering every year, WoW Moviewatch is going to periodically feature the victors of BlizzCons-past. We want everyone ready to be the very best peanut gallery we can possibly be. One of the best ways to do this prep-work, of course, it to take a look at some of the videos that have impressed BlizzCon judges already.The Future Soon by Spiffworld was first posted on WoW.com in August 2007. It's one of the (many) Jonathan Coulton videos we've seen over the years. Spiffworld definitely does a great job of bringing the music to "life." That's a skill he's continued to display as recently as a few months ago, with the Coulton song Shop Vac. The Future Soon picked up a runner-up award in the Action/Adventure Category in 2008. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
