Dan: Well, that was unfortunate. (pause) Last time, I defined machinima and discussed its origins. Today, we will talk about machinima production techniques.
Dan: The two major machinima production techniques are puppeteering and scripting. Puppeteering most resembles traditional film production and is the easier and more widely used of the two techniques.
Dan: In most of todays popular video games, the human player controls a 3D virtual character in a 3D game environment. Many of these games have an online mode where, multiple virtual characters, each controlled by a human player, can battle one another over the internet. But what if these players decided to put aside their violent tendencies? What if these players decided that instead of fighting they would act as virtual actors, following the commands of a director to create a film? This is the essence of puppeteering.
Dan: For example, a human player who is running this game, Counter-Strike Source, on his home computer is controlling Joey as one might control a puppet.
Joey: What!? A puppet!? Who is controlling me?
We see the ALIEN GUY waving.
Joey: Oh my god!! Im being controlled by a man in a cheap plastic alien mask!! The horror!! The horror!
Dan: Joey....Joey calm down.
Joey: My fate is out of my hands! No...no well see about that!
Joey jumps off a bridge and splats on the ground. He respawns.
Joey: No! Cruel, cruel game designers!!
He puts a grenade on the ground and explodes. He respawns.
Joey: Noo!!! Damnit!! I am immortal.
Joey continues to try to kill himself in the background of the next scene.
Dan: The director controls the virtual camera in the game, chooses angles and issues orders through voice communication software to the human players. These players puppeteer their characters in the game to act out a sequence of the film. When filming is complete, the footage is edited in editing software just like a traditional film, and voices, music, and effects are added.
Dan: The beauty of the puppeteering technique lies in its simplicity and similarities to conventional film. The 3D game environment serves as the set, game characters puppeteered by players serve as actors, and a virtual camera captures the footage. Most importantly, the director is able to interact with human players rather than artificial intelligence.