After an introductory talk by Jon, we were all introduced to a typical multiplayer game Unreal Tournament 2004, which raised adrenalin levels , but underlined the limited dramatology of such scenarios.
The workshop addressed a number of issues in relation to the springs of improvisation and narrative in this cross-over between game environments and live blue-screen mixing. The improvised scenarios we invented tended to reflect the tissue of the environment, from the objects in the background to the over-arching logic of the shoot-em up game.
The dialogue with the environment seemed most productive when all the characteristics of the video game were reversed- for example in a tableaux of a battle's aftermath, mixing virtual and "live" bodies in a contemplative and somewhat elegaeic manner. This related well to Jon Dovey's introduction, which pointed to a sense of loss and nostalgia present in many examples of Machinima.
The ideas session was very productive with several themes emerging relating to existential angst, the Sysiphian repetitiveness of games environments and the aesthetic limitations of most game designs-a kind of 'huis clos' or 'Ground Hog Day' hell... Surprisingly, the strongest theme was that of being lost or that of the 'lost boys' was not really reflected in the later improv sessions. The non-logic of the game, with no rationale for its violence and lack other modes of relating to character was seen as an existential limitation.
Experiments with blue screen set building verging on the surreal, melding physical movement and placement to the virtual scenography, and trying out various pieces of physical theatre. This Culminated in the participants limiting their actions to mimic the repetitiveness of a virtual avatar. The limits of feedback from monitors etc. made the choreography difficult, but even placing a blue box in the environment enabled the improvisation to impose a sense of physical relation to the virtual space. The operation of the games environment needed better co-ordination with the human action, which is where traditional roles such as a director would help. When a live game was mixed with the blue screen environment, the velocity of the games avatars rendered any meaningful interaction impossible.
Our conclusions seemed to be that careful scripting and planning were needed in such mixed environments and that improvisation quickly exhauasted its possibilities. More could be done with humour and playing to the discontinuities between the two worlds. The use of narration and sound will be more fully explored on day two.