In this episode, we discuss an account of an historic battle, which is commemorated annually on the 17th of Ramadan across all Muslim countries: the Battle of Badr 624AD. The film has been created by the Bellum et Historia channel, released on 16 November 2024, and made in Total War Atilla and other games, using various mods. These are, however, a little hazy because the creator has chosen not to reveal the creative process, making full attribution of assets used quite a challenge to fully appreciate, not least how the game technology was used in the creative process. Nonetheless, we talk about the film's methods of creative expression, the role of the tools and the ways in which these game environments can be especially useful for this kind of storytelling.

0:40 Introduction by Phil
8:22 Damien's evaluation of the tools
16:33 Tracy's observations on the tools used and creative processes, the role of games in understanding historic events

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

Our monthly roundup of all things we enjoy about this crazy world of machinima.

Key discussion items -
Machinima and virtual production updates
AI-generated content and tools
Video game trailers and announcements
Character creation software developments
AI music generation and legal considerations
Creative video game content creation techniques

0:01:21 - AFK Season Three Star Wars parody discussion ⁨@EpicallyCasual⁩
0:04:36 - GTA VI trailer speculation ⁨@RockstarGames⁩ ⁨@RickyGrove⁩
0:11:33 - Character Creator 5 announcement ⁨@reallusion⁩
0:22:10 - Star Wars video game with machinima potential ⁨@EAStarWars⁩
0:34:24 - Phil's AI music generation experiment with Suno ⁨@SunoAi7⁩
0:43:56 - Minecraft speedrunner Dream's April Fool's joke ⁨@dreamxd7779⁩
0:47:05 - Closing remarks

Show notes & links: https://completelymachinima.com/s5-e182-machinima-news-omnibus-may-2025/

Credits - Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine ⁨@DarthAngelus⁩
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice ⁨@zsOverman⁩
Music: Animo Domini Beats/Suno/Phil Rice

This week's machinima is made in Skyrim, and whilst its a little older, it shows off beautifully the quality of the game, characters and lip sync capability. The film, by Wanderersofthedas was released in 2015, and was made using lines drawn only from the game's NPCs. It makes for an oddly familial campfire conversation, notwithstanding the numerous references to in game lore. Do you and add your comments on our channels, as usual.

0:31 Introduction by Damien, using NPCs in a single player game

4:12 Schizophrenia!

6:37 The role of the campfire, and familial dysfunctional conversations

8:05 Attention to detail, nah. Do you need acting to convey a story??? In the days of ElevenLabs, would this kind of thing ever be acceptable. Would following a main character have enabled a story to be told?

11:09 The narrative arc is missing, but its dysfunctionality is its central charm

14:09 Discussing a creative strategy: choosing the lines for NPCs and the lip sync, identifying the modding tools

Credits -
Speakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats