This week we take a look at another stunning Team Fortress 2 short called Assault on 2Fort by JP Stevens aka Lolripk, a recommendation made to us by Dominzki (whose own TF2 short we reviewed in E135). What a great choice this is: we loved this film, a classic RED vs BLU tale but with a layer of emotion that is as beautifully portrayed as it is unexpected in SFM. These characters have real depth to them and we note how that's been achieved, even though the focal character doesn't even speak. Did we mention the fight choreography too? We reflect on the game lore, the significance of the community in the creative process, and how this story is told from an unusal perspective. We also reflect on why machinima series almost never complete... but we certainly hope Lolripk doesn't follow the pattern!

1:44 Introduction to film, its qualities: great choreography and emotional depth to characters
11:26 Why this is an unusual red vs blue story
15:27 What is the lore in TF2?
19:00 Violence portrayed: why it bothered some of us more in this than in E140, and vice versa
24:28 Little details, and why they mattered in this
35:45 The Source creator community rocks

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

A Star Citizen extravaganza: this week, we discuss a brilliant re-creation of Erik Wernquist's epic short, Wanderers, released by one of its creators Mr Hasgaha. Whilst this is a faithful scene-by-scene depiction of the original, its actually so much more than that too. We comment once again on the incredible qualities of the game, and how the fact it is an open world reflects the original inspiration for Wernquist's film: the artwork of Chesley Bonestell, whose paintings were partly the reason that NASA exists today. The machinima also pays homage to Carl Sagan in the only way it can, to his words in the iconic book Pale Blue Dot. If you have only particles of space nerd in you, we think you'll absolutely love this week's film, certainly we all do.

2:21 Based on Eric Wernquist's original, We Were Wanderers - film vs game and why cinematic machinimas like this matter for conveying director intent
4:45 How to pay homage to Carl Sagan without actually using his voice? Check this film out!
15:55 Making machinima in Star Citizen, what are the challenges?

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

This week's selection is a stunning cinematic imaginary by Unknown Dino, focussing on the next version of Half Life (soon to be released... er, well, possibly in the next 10 years or so?). There is a lot of craft in this film, called HL: Overworld and made in Blender, which has taken its inspiration both from the HL Reddit community and the HL2 Artbook 'Raising The Bar'. We also talk about the positioning of the new world portrayed as being the next obvious logical step in the story arc for Half Life - HL1 being a portal through which aliens jump to Earth, HL2 being a kind of survival against the odds, Alyx being the prequel, and HL3 being the fight back taken to those hateful Combine... yeah, we wish!

1:19 Phil introduces the film and describes his impression of the vision of the HL3 world being articulated
9:40 Tracy talks about the inspiration for the film and the role of community but why even bother mentioning generative AI here?
17:55 Damien reflects on why there will never be HL3, which leads us into all sorts of speculative nonsense!

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