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About Machinima

Machinima is the art of making films using video games, and are a great example of "emergent gameplay", or, using a game in such a way as the designers had not intended.

By using various game hacks and modifications made by the director or others in the machinima community, as well as in-game video recorders or "external" recorders such as FRAPS, anyone with the time, patience, and know-how can make their own movies.

The wonderful thing about machinima is that aspiring directors and storytellers can create their own computer animated movies without having a multi-million dollar budget. Generally, all it costs is the price of the game you use!

What sets machinima apart from major studio CGI movies, aside from the money involved, is the fact that you, as a machinima director, have to animate nothing! Everything happens and is rendered in real time, freeing you up to focus on setting your shots and directing the action!

One of the most popular games used in machinima, and also the most readily suited to making machinima, is The Sims 2. This is the game that is used in making some of the machinima showcased here.

There are companies out there that are trying to make programs specifically for the purpose of creating machinima. These programs are not games, but rather dedicated applications soley for moviemaking. The most notable of them, and the one I use to make some of the machinima showcased here, is Moviestorm, an incredibly ingenious and innovative program created by Short Fuze Ltd., a company founded by machinimators.

Although a fringe art form, machinima is slowly gaining public notice, and commercial interests are starting to notice, and use, machinima as well. EA Games has made it a habit to freelance select machinima directors to help them create commercials for advertising their products, MTV has aired machinima shorts on their network, and there has been talk of using machinima for major films.

The future looks to be getting brighter for machinima, and I for one can not wait to see what happens next!

Learn More about Machinima Learn How To Make Sims2Machinima Learn How I Do It Join the Sims2Machinima Community Try Moviestorm...It's Free!

Welcome to Dark Lord Theater!

Welcome! Here at Dark Lord Theater we have many a treat for you! Are you in the mood for a movie? Why, you have come to the right place!

We have several movies to choose from of many delights: comedy, romance, a bit of the scary stuff...there may even be some of other genres lurking about waiting to show their faces if you sit around long enough!

So then, are you ready? Good! Grab some popcorn or other snack, something to drink perhaps, and choose one of the treats below!

Oh! And as always, enjoy the show!

Attack of the Sims!

The first movie ever released by Dark Lord Productions. This movie was made for Sims99's First Anniversary Contest. It is the most appreciated of my films by sims2machinima directors, mainly because it speaks, in a humorous way, of the difficulties and frustrations with making your first Sims 2 movie.

The movie ended up placing 3rd in the contest, but it's appeal, then and now, is still quite strong! I hope you enjoy watching it, and if you're a sims2machinima director, I'm sure you'll see a bit of yourself in poor Bob.

Story In Brief: Bob is just a simple man who loves playing The Sims 2. When Bob learns he can make movies with his favorite game, he gets a lot more then he bargains for!

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The Game of Life

Dark Lord Productions' second release. Part voice-over, part music video with subtitles, "The Game of Life" is a humorous morality tale about choice and consequence. I hope you take something from watching it, but most of all I hope you enjoy it!

Story In Brief: Norman Goodlife has it all; a beautiful family, a nice house, a steady job....but he wants more.

When Norman discovers a way to get more out of life, he finds that sometimes what you want the most is what you need the least.

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Director's Insights

Love You To Death

This movie was a purely artistic endeavor, and the one I was most proud of at the time I had made it. It is a definite departure from my previous work, as I tried to express myself more through imagery then with dialogue...in fact, there is no dialogue.

Before you watch, be warned: Unlike my last movies, this is not a comedy! There is humor, of course, but I wanted to try and do something a bit more serious.

Story In Brief: In the kingdom of Narnil, the 179th King's Tournament has just been won by the less-then-honorable Sir Darrin of Evinshire. The prize: the hand of the King's daughter, Princess Ariana, in marriage.

However, when Princess Ariana learns of her destiny, she flees to the solitude of her chamber to lament....and fate intervenes.

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Sanguine - Prologue

This is what I feel to be my best movie to date, both in technique and in storytelling.

This is also the first movie in a series that is planned to go on indefinitely. There are many things in this movie that I focus on, the meanings of which may not become clear until later in the series, so if there are any unanswered questions you have after the movie, all I have to say is 'good!'

Story in Brief: This is the story of Dalia, and how drastically her life changes when she becomes the obsession of a man named Lucian.

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Christmas?

The first movie ever released by Dark Lord Productions that was made with Moviestorm. This movie was made for Moviestorm's Holiday Greeting Contest that accompanied the release of their holiday pack.

This movie was a rather quick one to make, and it was alot of fun to do, and a great learning experience for using the program. I hope you enjoy!

Story In Brief: A young alien named Gronk, whose favorite hobby is intercepting and viewing transmissions from Earth, sees transmissions of Christmas movies and decides he wants to get into the holiday spirit.

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Director's Insights

'Tis Better To Give

This movie was created for Moviestorm's 2009 Holiday Movie Contest. Although it lost by a few votes (close but no cigar!) I feel I've managed to really show the power of Moviestorm's geture and mood controls, and in the process made a movie with great emotional impact.

This movie contains no dialogue. I've attempted to tell the story through gestures, music, and the expressions of the characters. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it!

Story In Brief: Michelle is very naughty. After a big snow storm, she finds a snowman has mysteriously appeared in her yard, and before the holiday is done she learns a very important lesson.

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Director's Insights

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