The Many Faces of Machinima

Gamers, guns and gags prevail at the next-generation entertainment network.

The word “machinima” used to refer strictly to movies made from tweaking existing videogame environments to create a whole new story, but Machinima has taken that world and blown it wide open, with original content (animated and live-action) inspired by games and things that gamers love, powered up to a whole new level. With their mass of multimedia, Machinima is a portal to a whole new world in which to lose yourself – but to get on the right track, we’ve compiled a few starting points to get your button-mashers twitching.

To All A Good Bite – The Lionsgate co-produced and Capcom co-promoted zombie comedy Bite Me just wrapped up season 2 with – what else? – its own version of a live-action boss battle, as the show’s trio of gamers took on a Tyrant-type mutant. With more than a few winks and nods to the zombie classics, this is a show that demonstrates how one (or three) of us might actually deal with a zombie apocalypse, knowing what we know and if we were awesome. We can at least look awesome by wearing the new official T-shirt.

C’mon, Get Happy – Machinima’s Happy Hour will get you animated, because much of it already is (but don’t neglect the live-action shorts too!). Yes, you’ll find actual pure machinima here with a comedic twist like Gamer Poop, relive cartridges and CDs of yore while a half-man half-taco talks over them, or just enjoy cartoons that spoof popular tropes. Have as many laughs as at your local tavern’s happy hour; come away richer and hangover-free.

Defense of the Realm – First looks at new games, video walkthroughs and original live-action shows dominate Machinima Realm, which centers on gaming worlds from MMOs to RPGs and more. Whether you’re a casual user or game for anything, this area of their YouTube channel awaits your next play. And if you want to show off your skills, head to Machinima Respawn – the #1 Online destination for the world’s most impressive gameplay – to show off your best play videos.

Anon Plussed – Entertainment. Technology. Culture. Three things you care about, yes, but also three words easily abbreviated to ETC. “Et cetera” is a category that wholly applies to Machinima’s entertainment show host Khail Anonymous, who delivers and riffs on the week’s entertainment news in irreverent and often unorthodox fashion. He won’t give you seizures like Mary Hart’s voice used to do, but it’s not for lack of trying. Khail also makes appearances on Wrecknology, a Bruce Greene hosted show in which technology is reviewed…and destroyed!

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