The Future of RCT3 Machinima

I hope that you have all enjoyed March Madness! Sorry if it didn't seem "Mad" enough, but at least I have set a record for the most posts in one month on my blog! I haven't gotten to work any more on The Battle for Axis Mundi since my last post, so no new info on that, but I think I will take some time and talk about the future of RCT3 Machinima, as aptly requested by CZsWorld.

Currently, what I am striving to achieve is what I believe the future of RCT3 Machinima to be. Namely, I want to utilize custom scenery, custom fireworks, and green screening, to the point where RCT3 is mostly just a rendering engine for various particle simulations and 3D animations. Once we get to this point, the only thing separating RCT3 Machinima from true Hollywood films will be rendering capabilities, quality music, quality actors, etc. But basically, it might be possible to get any shot you could possibly dream of-rendered in RCT3.

That's a pretty good summary of what I believe might be possible. Now let me break it down into why I think these things.

1) The only limitations to RCT3's FCR Editor is that it cannot tilt or zoom. Shaky-cam shots are possible through manipulation of the coaster-cam, so that almost covers every camera move imaginable. A lot of the time, I'll be watching a Pixar film, and the camera movement feels jut like it would if the shot had been produced with the FCR Editor.

2) Since RCT3 is designed to let you do most kinds of terra-forming, you can create whatever landscape you need. Granted, there might not be as much detail as might be desirable, (pebbles, grass, and other small objects come to mind) but it basically gets the job done.

3) Particle effects can be used to create many special effects, and can also be used to add atmosphere to sets. Fog, smoke, waterfalls, starscapes, even (theoretically) snow can be created with the Advanced Fireworks Editor.

4) Green screening can be very effective and useful in RCT3, and is yet another tool that can help to create spectacular sets and effects. However, the usefulness of green screen for special effects and moving otherwise static objects may be made obsolete if you consider the possibilities of the next section. For this reason, I think it is more appropriate to use green screens for set backdrops.

5) Since it is possible to import custom made 3D models into RCT3 (custom scenery), you can create whatever set pieces you need for your film. There is also animated custom scenery, which has the most potential, and is also what I am most speculative about. In theory, animated custom scenery would enable you to bring any character that you can create in a 3D program into RCT3, and have it do whatever actions you wanted. This would open up a whole slew of possibilities. The problem is that I have yet to import my first animated CSO into RCT3, and I also have no idea if RCT3 would be able to handle complex animations, which would be necessary in order to make really good films.

Those are the techniques that I feel compose the core foundation for the "future" of RCT3 Machinima. I'll list them again, just to be painfully clear:

Camera movement

Terraforming

Particle effects

Green screen

Custom Scenery & Animation

I underlined animation because it has the most potential. To help you understand what I hope to achieve with animated CSOs, take a look at this film made with World of Warcraft. The film is composed of custom animations by the filmmaker, and it really speaks to the power of importing animations instead of relying on what the game provides. I am not sure if this level of animation can be imported into RCT3, but it would be a shame not try.

Now to tie in all of this speculation with the reality of today. I consider The Battle for Axis Mundi to be the cutting edge in terms of green screening and particle effects. Technically I used a green screen in Mechanics Vs. Aliens episode 5, but the level at which I did so is far less impressive than what is in Axis Mundi. Same thing goes for custom particle effects. I used them briefly in MVA ep. 5, but they are basically the backbone of the action in The Battle for Axis Mundi.

There you have it. That's how I see the future of RCT3 Machinima.

Another stagnant day

Today was a really bad again. No progress at all. I feel like crap. Bye.

The Plot Thickens

Yesterday I showed some of the early scenes of Axis Mundi to my Mom, and she said that the plot was difficult to understand. I really want this film to be one that everyone-not just RCT3 fans-will enjoy. So, right now I am trying to come up with a way to make the plot easier to understand. We'll see what happens. Usually, whenever I go back and rework something, it turns out a lot better than before (this has happened before with Mechanics Vs. Aliens). Hopefully this will be one of those times, and it will turn out really well. Cross your fingers.

Why I didn't work today

As I mentioned in my previous post, I didn't work on my film today. However, I had plenty of free time today. "Why didn't you work on your film then?" you might ask. Well, I just installed "Trackmania Nations Forever," today because I found out that it was free (I had previously seen it on YouTube and thought that you had to pay for it). It is pretty awesome. It reminds me A LOT of the recent "Speed Racer" movie, which I really liked. So yeah. I'm going to play it some more now.

Working Titles

Well, I didn't work on my film today even though I should have, so to make up for the lack of news, I guess I will announce a few working titles that I have been thinking about. I am thinking maybe "The Battle for Axis Mundi" or just "Axis Mundi." I know that it is pretty hard for you guys to comment on whether or not you think those titles are appropriate, since you know next to nothing about the plot, but if you have any thoughts on the general vibe that the title gives you, it would be great to hear what you think.

Not so great of a day

Well, I spent way too much time doing way to little for my film today. I "worked" on the opening credits the whole day, yet I still can't decide exactly how they are going to work out. So, yeah. Really cruddy day as far as progress is concerned.

All the same stuff

Today I got to work on my RCT3 Film some more. I recorded a couple shots and worked them into the edit. Still not totally finished editing what I have so far. I haven't finished all the music for all of the video so far, and I also still need to add sound effects. Besides all of that, I am also working on the opening titles.

Very hard shot

Yesterday I filmed a very hard shot for my RCT3 film. I have decided to show some screen shots of the process, because I used very strange techniques to get the shot, and they don't give any of the plot away.In case you were wondering, the dune buggy is not part of the film. I just had to use it to get the shot.

This terrain formation was also used to get the shot. Don't ask me why I had to do it. It is way to hard to explain, and even if I did explain it, by the end you would probably be bored and not care anymore.

So, yeah. That's what I did yesterday. I can't work on it today, though.

What I did today

I got to work on the RCT3 Film more today. I added in some of the special effects, and I tried to work on the music. Unfortunately, today I completely whiffed in the music department. It is really annoying that I can't do things as easily as I was just the other day.

An interesting observation

For some reason, I have started to see more FCR Editor tutorials than I saw before I had made my Machinima tutorial. Some of these "new" tutorials actually did come before my machinima tutorial, and I didn't see them because they weren't popular enough. But one of them caught my attention today, since it is almost a carbon copy of the first part of my FCR tutorial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaWFr_zl6T4

I think it is neat to see that you have had an influence on people like this. When you see something that was directly inspired by something that you did, it gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

Made some music today

I made some music for my RCT3 film today. I usually don't get as much of a song done as I did today in the same amount of time, so I guess that it was time pretty well spent. That's about it.

Mainly Editing

I have been making progress on my RCT3 film. However, I have mainly been editing the footage that I filmed last August. So far the video is 3min 13sec. I am still not totally finished editing what I have so far. Once the 3:13 is truly edited (right now it doesn't have music, I still need to apply some effects, etc.) I will start filming again.

A History of RCT3 Machinima

OK, so I feel like I am off to a bad start with my March Madness postings, seeing as how it has been 2 days since I announced it, but hopefully I can make up for the lost time, eh?

So, this post is titled "A History of RCT3 Machinima," because I wanted to talk about the early days of RCT3 Machinima: how (and where) it all started, what it was like back then, and what it has become today. Here we go!

The earliest true RCT3 Machinimas were before everyone posted their videos on YouTube. The Atari forums were at that time the main venue for RCT3 Films. Video authors would share their creations via download links! Yeah, I know, it sounds like a hassle, right? Well, it apparently was not too much of a hassle for all of the people who left positive feedback! Some of the RCT3 Machinimas posted in the Atari forums around 2005-2006 have the most insanely positive reviews that I have ever seen. The Atari community really had a passion for these RCT3 productions.

A separate outgrowth of RCT3 Machinima has occurred in the past few years with the popularity of YouTube. YouTube superseded places like the Atari RCT3 Forums, because it provided the all-in-one ability to distribute and discuss videos. Here Death Parks and Peep Bowling videos found huge audiences. Millions of people watch, rate, and comment on these popular videos. However, the same passion abundant found on dedicated message boards like the Atari forums is missing, due to the somewhat shallow nature of these videos, and more importantly, YouTube its self. I am NOT bashing coaster crash videos (heck, I have made them myself). But the fact is that mowing over people with derailed Roller Coasters does not stimulate the kind of intense discussion and careful critique that would be more suited for, say.... short films.

Now introduce RCT3 Machinima to YouTube. RCT3 Productions published on YouTube tend to get much more exposure than if they were only posted for download, like in the olden days. On the other hand, they also tend to get less detailed reviews, because of the aforementioned "shallow" nature of Youtube. Youtube comments are also limited to 500 characters or less. That's not very encouraging to those wanting to deeply critique a film, is it?

The natural solution to this problem is to post your videos on YouTube AND share them on forums. Unfortunately, for the past few years this revelation has evaded me, and I have used YouTube as the only place in which I post my videos. Fortunately, a very small band of YouTube RCT3 Machinimators have taken residence at LordG1gabyt3's RCT3 Machinima community, which has started to provide the kind of deeper discussion that filmmakers long for. Of course, the Atari forums are still a great place to post Machinima creations as well.

Now let us consider how RCT3 Machinima has progressed technically since it's conception at the Atari RCT3 Forums. The best works of those days came from BitterJeweler, Klinn, Vodhin, and DarkSim, among others. For the most part, these tended to be lacking in detailed stories; they were definitely Machinima, and were definitely very creative and technically amazing (for their time). However, many only had general themes. One exception to this was the nearly 30 minute Machinima "A Midsummer Nightmare," which I believe was a collaboration between Vodhin and DarkSim. This had a plot and voice acting, but was only semi-entertaining, in my opinion. Some modern RCT3 Machinimas, such as "King Kong" by Birou006, blow the classics away in technical terms. The modern trend is also to include more complex story lines. I have always wondered what creators like BitterJeweler would do if they used the kind of techniques found in these more modern Machinimas, but I suppose that this scenario is a pipe dream, since most of the classical creators have been dormant for some time.

This may seem like a fairly fruitless rant to some, but I personally love the way in which RCT3 Machinima has matured, and I just wanted to share my thoughts on the classic RCT3 Machinimas of yesterday, and my hopes for the exciting advances of the RCT3 Machinimas of tomorrow.

If you have anything to contribute to this "History of RCT3 Machinima," as it were, or if you feel I have made any inaccurate statements, or left out some important point, please feel free to leave your comments. I believe that the encouragement of the community is the greatest tool we have in our quest for creative awesomeness!

Progress

I've made some progress on the RCT3 film that I am working on. It has mostly been editing and composing, but I have done some filming as well (only about 3 shots, though). This is probably the best RCT3 film that I have ever made. Which means that it is probably the best film that I have ever made, considering that most of my non-RCT3 films aren't that great.

So yeah, there's your update. I'm thinking that I might go mad with posts in March, to make up for the lack of posts in December, January, and February. It's.... MARCH MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to normal work

I am now back to working on my RCT3 Film projects. If everything goes perfectly, then I'll be able to release at least one of the 2 projects that I am working on sometime in the summer. Of course, the number of times that things go perfectly for me seems to be decreasing exponentially.

So far I've worked about one hour (that was yesterday). As always, you can see the number of hours that I spend in RCT3 weekly, as well as total, at the bottom of the main page of my blog.