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WoW Moviewatch: World War Animation
I'm not strictly sure what's actually going on in World War Animation, at least not in the specific language. But I think you can pick up the gist fairly easily from the adorable animation and extremely effective visual storytelling. Frankly, the entire video is worth it for the short time the orc is dancing. I mean, come on; that's so cute it hurts. But I think we've found out the real secret of Horde technology. I won't spoil, but let's say that I've always suspected that's exactly the tech we should expect out of Garrosh. Thanks to Aktanaly, the reader who sent it in! 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Attack on Titan
Arm of Hades is back with another outstanding WoW parody. I'm not sure parody is actually the right word; it's an homage to the original video. Created frame-by-fame against the original opening, Attack on Titan delivers every send a faithful homage to the original movie, just set in Azeroth. It's always amazing how much effort creators put into this kind of thing, and Arm of Hades succeeds in every aspect. As if that homage wasn't enough, Attack on Titan serves well as a trailer for WoW itself. And who doesn't love some fast paced guitar? 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Problem With Warriors
It's not their fault, but it can sometimes be hard to talk about The Problem With Warriors. Obviously, the game designs specific balance between classes, and the abilities each class possesses is how you get there. But if we were to somehow port the classes of WoW over to real life, do warriors really get a fair shake? Even Dungeons and Dragons has that problem. The permutations we go through to make Fighters awesome linger to this very day. But, keep in mind the flip side of all this picking on Warriors. I won't spoil the punchline, but the guy at the end reminds us all that they're not the only class in that untenable position. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Pirates vs. Sailors
You know what's a great way to prepare for the weekend? Kicking back with some rousing chanty songs to the narrative machinima delights of Pirates vs. Sailors. The story can be a little tough to follow, but Off the Air kept the concept pretty simple. A bunch of pirates and a bunch of sailors have a disagreement. But, really, this video is about enjoying the music with some awesome WoW costumes. After all, what do you do with a drunken Hordie? The answer seems pretty clear by the end. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Warlock -- Barrens Chat
There's no better way than to reminisce about the days of old than dragging The Warlock through very pit of despair known as Barrens Chat. Created by none other than Nixxiom, this episode has all the laughs, crass humor, and digs at our own gamer culture that you could ever hope to see. The video struck a nostalgic point for me. Remember the days of infinite Chuck Norris jokes? These days, trying to crack a line about the Bearded One is no more hip than strutting down the mall in your Jams. Though, I suppose both could be saved by a hefty dose of irony. But still, let's hear it for Barrens Chat. It's an age gone by that no amount of pandering or cataclysming will ever truly bring back. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Group
The Group is a relatively recent new machinima series, and it's somewhat a mixed bag. The plot seems to glide along pretty well, and the animation satisfies. Most of the action works convincingly against the backdrop of Azeroth, and the dialogue seems well written. The downside is the voice track. The first bit of the movie is nearly unintelligible. I'm not sure if it's voice actors who struggle with working the mic, if it's something with the compression, or what's happening. But the dialogue audio needs work badly. That distortion is a huge drag on what could otherwise be a truly excellent story-based machinima. Here's hoping the next episode shows big improvement. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: 7 More Steps to a Safer Azeroth
Nobody wants an unsafe Azeroth. The spokesperson for the Azeroth Health and Safety Commision has a handfull of regulations that will help protect your characters from undue death. World PvP has been outlawed, which will probably have a painful effect on some servers. And really, who doesn't celebrate this needed hunter nerf? Slightly Impressive's 7 More Steps to a Safe Azeroth is a fun little bite to help get you through your day. I'm not sure this series can go very much further, but it's been fun while it's lasted. My hat's off to the team at SI, as usual. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Gnometheus -- Fire Of The Gods
Okay, what we have here seems to be a gnome lore heavy machinima involving the curse of flesh, it's up to four episodes. I'm in love with this thing on a purely conceptual level. It's interesting in that it's not really a machinima at all, for the most part - it's told through narrative over still images from the game. It kind of ends up feeling strangely like a documentary as a result of this, some strange Ken Burns presents Gnomes feel that I'm not sure if I like or not. However, anything that encourages people to do things with gnomes is a-okay in my book, and the first episode also talks about tauren, so I'm pretty much forced to endorse it. Gnomes and tauren. Throw a draenei in there and I'm down for the whole series.
WoW Moviewatch: If Fans Created Filler Content
Honestly, this particular machinima (If Fans Create Filler Content by Wowcrendor)... honestly, some of the ideas don't sound that bad to me. I mean, random world cities with worldwide treasure hunts? How is that a bad idea? Tell me you wouldn't go on a worldwide treasure hunt. And while I don't think zombie dragons are particularly interesting, just imagine if they took that basic idea and broadened it out so that you could fight on any mount you have. That's right, I'm suggesting a PvP battle league where you fight on your mounts, collect more mounts to use in the league, and yes it's battle pets, but with mounts and with you on the mount. Seriously how is this a bad idea? Heck, the Farmer John's farm bit sounds good as long as you don't actually burn it down with a zombie dragon at the end. That dude needs help. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: 7 Steps to a Safer Azeroth
If you've ever fallen from the elevators in Shattrath, then you know how desperately important it is that we all follow Slightly Impressive's thoughtful 7 Steps to a Safer Azeroth. It can be a little tough sorting out what's true versus what's simply political rumor, but handrails in Thunder Bluff will probably save more lives this year than healers. This video represents some of the SI team's best ideas yet. It's hilarious and the animation perfectly suits the tongue-in-cheek subject matter. I love these guys. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: A Gnomish Winter Veil
I suppose I wasn't expecting a holiday video about Winter's Veil in the middle of spring, but who am I to turn down an original video? The dialogue in this video is exceedingly difficult to hear. Especially compared to all the other crisp, clear portions of soundtrack, making out what anyone is saying is extremely difficult. That's a shame, too, because the story is fairly obvious from video (a gnome is rebuked and chooses to save Christmas), and the animation promises some pretty good future work. The "suiting up" sequence is especially fun; you can't go wrong with Ozzy. So, while A Gnomish Winter Veil could have used a little extra vocal work, it's all in all a good piece. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Maureen
Maureen is clearly inspired by the song of same name, by Jim Newell. The video itself is about as straightforward as you can get. It's basically a human character riding around Azeroth while the song plays in the background. I nearly didn't feature this video at all, except I can see where the creator was coming from. He was aiming for a moody, introspective piece. Adding a second character and some sense of story would have greatly enhanced the video. This machinima, as is, feels empty. There's not much content here. The animation itself is fine, as it's all just in game footage, but there's simply nothing for a viewer to watch. That sense of story is critical; the video itself has to stand under its own weight. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Pointless Top 10: Lighthouses
Pointless Top 10: Lighthouses in World of Warcraft is the newest pointless list of things in WoW by Wowcrendor. Welcome to a silly list, where the points are made up and it doesn't matter anyway. Although, I suppose, if you're secretly a lighthouse-ophile, this might be a video custom-made for you. Can you guess which lighthouse is number one? There's something unique about it, and it involves laser beams. I think we can all agree that if it comes down to laser beams, then the tower with one deserves to win. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Waiting for Warlords
The Lazy Peon is back with one of the first new filk songs I've heard in a long time. (Not familiar with filk? It's folk music about fiction. I'd still be careful using the word on the streeth, though. Filk just sounds naughty.) Waiting for Warlords probably won't show up on any pop music lists, but it's a nice way to kill a few minutes during a load screen. And while I hope everyone is actually pretty patient while waiting for the expansion, maybe this song will help soothe those who are feeling anxious. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Noobish Death Knight
I nearly didn't run The Noobish Death Knight because it was created by a brand new machinimator. Unfortunately, the novice-ness shows in the video. The voice acting is kind of rough, the story drags on, and the animation is crude. That being said, The Noobish Death Knight is clearly a labor of love. Burkendah obviously worked to make the video as good as he could. It features jokes and an actual plot, which is a lot more than can be said for plenty of machinima. Frankly, I'm positive that if Burkendah keeps with it, we'll clearly see some outstanding videos from him. The potential shines clearly through the newb roughness, and I can't wait to see what comes. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Walking Dead Parody
Chris created this video as a parody of Walking Dead, sticking mostly to shots that resemble the style of the show. It's an interesting attempt at homage, and I applaud the effort. The animation and visuals work fairly well, but the video is over pretty quickly. It needed much more narrative meat to effective satirize or even translate Walking Dead into WoW. While it might have been short since it was a first effort, I think the technical skills put on display are capable of a larger story. Besides, who doesn't love the occasional zombie? 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Heroes of the Storm Developer Diary: Arthas
Creating a game presents no small task. Programming, design, dialogue, and game balance represent only small portions of the work. You also have to deal with licensing, actors, and egomaniacal undead rulers. That's probably why Ian Beckman released Heroes of the Storm Developer Diary: Arthas. With this video, we get an unedited look behind the curtain to see what it took to get Arthas into the arena. I think the revelation about his role in Frozen is the most important. After all, of all the WoW characters, I think Arthas could fit the Disney heroic arc the best. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Hearthstone: This Means War
That master of comedy, Ian Beckman, returns with a sarcastic take on everyone's favorite online card game. In Hearthstone: This Means War, we take a moment to contemplate exactly how fierce doing battle via collectible virtual cards really is. I mean, come on. It's just a card game, right? This is the kind of video Beckman excels at. A few moments of metaphorical introspective humor and then a quick jab to the gut of our collective zeitgeist. Also, funny voices. What's not to love? 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Types of WoW Player
Doing a video that talks about the different generalization of WoW players -- the noob, the aggravated raid leader, etc. -- is somewhat a right of passage for machinima creators. I'm pretty sure everyone has created one, at some point or another, and the equivalent of your first death by murloc. It's rarely pretty but the experience is universal. The Lazy Peon's version of this ephemeral video is actually pretty decent. And while it's no way the center of the video, I was especially impressed by the use of font in The Types of WoW Players. Font's important, and nary a comic cans could be found. Check out the video and share your comments below; I'm sure the Peon would like to know your thoughts! 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: 6 Ways to Make WoW More Realistic
Sometimes, folks like to say that WoW needs to be more realistic. To that end, Slightly Impressive opted to tackle what could happen if Blizzard went totally off the rails and made WoW even more true to life. Take the time to check out 6 Ways to Make WoW More Realistic and ask yourself: is this really what you want? I think I like the idea of characters effectively being newborns until they reach level 18. Unfortunately, that might mean they can't attend Brewfest until they've reached level 21. I mean, the ironic uses of this kind of system could go on forever. My own suggestion is that characters need more pouches. As I've learned from comic books, nothing screams realism like pouches. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
