wow-movie-making
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Premiering tonight: AFK film offers laughs, epic gaming scenes
Tonight is the premiere of /afk, a short film that tells the story of a single WoW player with a dream to solo Onxyia before he quits the game for good. Earlier this week, WoW Insider spoke with Benjamin Dressler, the director of /afk, and got the scoop on some of the origins of the film. Today, I'll be following up that interview with a review of the film and a few more words from Dressler on the more detailed aspects of the production. /afk is a short comedy that combines live-action footage with in-game animation and machinima. The story follows Piet (Martin Schnuerch), a student whose parents want him to take control of his life and break his gaming habit. He is unwittingly submitted to counseling, where he meets with the brutally honest psychiatrist (Eva Spott.) Piet is cooperative to an extent, telling his in-game friend Nippi (Bill Dean) early on that he intends to quit the game, but as the story progresses, it's apparent that he's very torn on the matter. He questions whether he is addicted and what he wants to do with his life. To make the decision harder on him, Piet has always wanted to solo Onxyia in the game and liken himself to a mythical dragonslayer, like Beowulf or Siegfried, a task he has not yet fulfilled. The film takes place during Piet's final days in the game, when he spends his time with friends and preparing for his face-off with the dragon. Update: /afk is now available for viewing.
The Daily Quest: Dave Arneson rolls a 20
D&D co-creator Dave Arneson passed away earlier this week. While you might not have played D&D, know that he and the late Gary Gygax were the pioneers of this genre of games. I would not be surprised to hear from Blizzard on this in the upcoming days. On a personal note, I ran into him around the age of 10 while in a St. Paul, Minnesota comic book store (Schinders, for those of you wondering). I was looking at Magic cards mainly, but he was browsing around and came over and talked with me when he saw I had turned my attention to one of the D&D 2e books. The clerk later told me as I was checking out who he was. Mystic Chicanery gives a good step-by-step guide on how to make voice overs for WoW movies. Teeth And Claws has a nice discussion looking at a feral raiding spec for patch 3.1. Derevka of Tales of a Priest has a very good rundown of the Acutioneer add-on. We've covered it a few times as well. Our own Matticus has thoughts... about Val'Anyr and "stuff." Click here to submit a link to TDQ
