I am not ashamed to say it: I like books based on video game universes. Reading Fall of Reach was integral to my enjoyment of the story told in the Halo trilogy. So too did having read Revelation bolster my appreciation for what occurred in Mass Effect. My want for Mass Effect 2 after reading the second book, Ascension, could not be greater. I don’t need to see trailers or hear about how the graphics engine and gameplay have been changed for the sequel; I’m invested in the fiction. That is all the hype that I need. I was an understandably easy sell, then, when I heard earlier this year that Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, a novel based on Dragon Age: Origins and written by the game’s lead writer David Gaider, would be released.
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This is anniversary month for us at DoSu. So, I thought I’d compile another episode of the award winning This Spartan Life, a series that first started my machinima posts with episode one on January 14th, 2008. Soon after my post, they stopped pushing out new parts, which is a shame. But who knows! Maybe they’ll launch a new episode featuring Halo 3! (edit: yep, episode six starts using Halo 3!)

So, for those new to the show, This Spartan Life is basically a talk show from within Halo 2. It features a show host, great 8-bit tunes, interesting guests, as well as things like players that uses game glitches and character movement to effect dancing. Typical topics range from virtual spaces to machinima to 8-bit music.

This third episode (34 min.) features guests Marty O’Donnell again (the first part of this interview can be seen on episode two), writer and producer of the musical scores for the Halo series; and Malcom McLaren, musician (currently playing with gameboy music), movie producer (Fast Food Nation), and founder of the punk rock band Sex Pistols.

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If you know anything about me, you know that gaming is my passion. I love this medium. I love this artform. I love this industry. I feel fortunate to be alive during a time of such innovation in the melding of visual and interactive entertainment. But for the last few weeks, ever since the beginning and ending of E3 and its aftermath, I’ve been worried about the state of certain facets of our industry — namely, our gaming press.

I have been wanting to write a post addressing certain issues for quite some time, but I could never collect my thoughts well enough to put together a case to present. So during this year’s E3 I made a point of listening to responses from both the gaming community and the gaming press via forums, comments, blogs, and podcasts.

It is apparent to me that the press is not happy about where E3 stands as an event. I haven’t been able to discern whether or not if, overall, they are dissatisfied as games journalists or simply as gamers, but I am not sure that it matters. I don’t know that they have much reason to be upset either way.
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This is the second episode of This Spartan Life, the machinima talk show within Halo that I talked about earlier. If you haven’t seen episode one yet, I suggest you head over and watch that first.

This second episode (31 min.) features guests Marty O’Donnell, writer and producer of the original scores for the Halo series, and The ILL Clan, pioneers in the art of prerendered and live machinima performances using Quake.

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This is a machinima talk show within Halo that I love. It features DJ Octobit ripping out some great 8-bit tunes, a host by the name of Damian Lacedaemion that interviews all their great guests, their own “Solid Gold Elite Dancers” that use choreography and game glitches to effect dancing, and even some bodyguards to keep the pubescent players at bay in the “unpredictable multiplayer universe”. They talk about things ranging from virtual spaces to machinima itself. Visit thisspartanlife.com for more episodes or wait for them to be syndicated here.

This first episode (28 min.) features guests Bob Stein, founder of the Voyager Company which was one of the first CD-ROM publishers in the coming digital era, and Peggy Ahwesh, creator of She Puppet (2001), a machinima film featuring Peggy playing Tomb Raider with various female voiceovers to create a narrative.

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