WoW Moviewatch: Scarlet Toy
by Michael Gray 
Mar 5th 2010 at 12:00PM
According to Greyfoo, the contest rules kept him from busting out many fancy machinima tricks. He picked Herod as the subject of his film because its someone his in-game character could actually impersonate. He created the entire video by using Fraps, which should appeal to the machinima purists out there. He used two accounts to create the film. One character (a rogue) was the "camera" for the film, while the other was the "actor."
Greyfoo does say he felt rushed when it came to songwriting and recording, which might be why some of the audio sounds little grainy to me. However, Greyfoo did a pretty good job with the music. If he gets the chance, I'll be interested to see if he does another recording to clean up whatever issues he had.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tori Mar 5th 2010 12:14PM
I had to watch this without audio as I'm at work, but from the video alone I have to say I'm very impressed that it was completely filmed in-game. The special effects, while minor, were perfect and just the right touch in my opinion.
I'll have to listen to the music when I get home, but the initial viewing was very good. :)
perderedeus Mar 5th 2010 12:22PM
I can't comment on the music (had to mute it here at work) but the camera work was pretty good. It's nice to see 'pure' machinima. I particularly enjoyed seeing the clever use of game mechanics... having a warrior (with Bladestorm) play Herod in some scenes, and a paladin (with Divine Storm) in others, plus the shot of him walking along with the Scarlet Courier... all very clever. It's easy to use Model Viewer and chromakeying to create anything you need, anywhere, but it takes extra effort to work within the confines of the 'live' game/engine.
Maldune Mar 5th 2010 12:44PM
As far as using a warrior, i noticed he did do that aswell as a paladin, but, because he was using the whole Herod getup the axe has a (chance to hit) proc of doing a move similar to bladestorm.
csarcops Mar 5th 2010 12:26PM
That was really awesome! Did he write that song and sing it himself?
jaybarti Mar 5th 2010 12:40PM
The answer to that question would be yes, I believe he did compose the music and lyrics as well.
He used to entertain us over vent in between pulls in Vanilla WoW (MC would have been a lot more boring without him around).
Tokkar Mar 5th 2010 2:21PM
The rules of the machinima contest stated that either you used music from in-game or you composed and performed the music yourself (no third-party music allowed), so that would have to be a most definite "yes" to your question. Pretty darn good, too!
nonentity Mar 5th 2010 12:39PM
Nice video, nice lyrics, liked it.
Made me think again how The Light actually sucks though.... yeah, the all powerful, all loving light.... huh...
It continued to serve the Scarlet Crusade in all the crap they did and continue to do yet it abandoned the Broken Draenei (if the Elements had not taken an interest in Nobundo the Broken might well be dead by now, all of them), it abandoned the Forsaken, even the ones who were formerly priests and paladins because they did .... what? Got poisoned (I actually hate this poison or radiation or whatever being the source of the Broken, but we'll run with it) and got slain, enslaved and managed to break free...?
Really, what the hell did the Forsaken and the Broken do to deserve such punishment, the Light utterly abandoning them? And why did it not do the same to the Scarlet Crusade, who has a demon leading them, something The All Knowing Light has to know...
If The Light had re-embraced its lost children, the Forsaken, their whole culture could have turned out very different.
Screw the Light.
Glaras Mar 5th 2010 12:53PM
I have to say that I have wondered about this as well, particularly as we tend to associate terms like "the Light" with "Good". Hardly seems "good" to drop your followers when they become inconvenient, eh?
But then, if we consider that the Light is simply one of the "powers that be", and place it on an equal footing with the Elements, then it becomes more understandable how limited the Light might be. After all, we do not ascribe omnipotence and omniscience to the Elements, or for that matter, to the dark powers behind the Burning Legion.
In fact, unless I'm mistaken, the only true "deity" mentioned in the game is Elune, and even She is apparently limited in her ability... or inclination... to intervene.
Myrdor Mar 5th 2010 1:52PM
You are assuming that "The Light" is a conscious entity. I don't think it really is, all evidence seems to point to it simply being a form of energy, which most living beings have the ability to manipulate through force of will. This fits with the loss of ability shown by the Forsaken and the Broken, as the former is animated by dark magic, while the latter has been corrupted by demonic influence. The Scarlet Crusaders, who would be considered either evil or insane by most rational beings, are not *physically* corrupted by shadow like the Forsaken and Broken, so they retain their ability to wield the light.
Fletcher Mar 5th 2010 6:34PM
What Myrdor said. I've always felt that characterizing the Light as a conscious entity is a mistake (although it's a mistake that a lot of WoW characters, including ones who should know better like Velen and A'dal, seem to make). The Light is a force with a moral component; it comes to those whose hearts are pure and whose cause is righteous ... or those who *believe* their cause is righteous (the Scarlet Crusade).
The Fel powers can cut people off from the Light (the Undead and the Broken here); and this is the real tragedy of the Broken, because the Draenei as a whole have spent thousands of years learning from the Naaru, the Light is an inherent part of who they are ... and here are these Draenei who *cannot access it*; are their hearts impure, their goals unrighteous? No wonder the Draenei are discomforted by the Broken!
The Undead, on the other hand, are a thing that *should not exist*; their existence is sustained through the Fel powers animating them. They cannot use the Light (IIRC in the RPG this is literally true; in the game Forsaken priests get to use the Light because of balance concerns). It doesn't help that the vast majority of the Forsaken have utterly abandoned morality, comfortable to commit atrocities and advance the cause of the Lich King ("Death to the Living!") despite having free will. The Light would not answer them even if they were alive.
The tragedy of the Forsaken is that, cut off from the Light, they have no incentive not to "Embrace the Shadow", as Forsaken salespeople keep telling me; good deeds will not be rewarded by the Light, so why do them? (of course, this misses the point that morality is an emergent phenomenon of human behaviour, and should ideally function independent of reward; but that's tangential philosophy).
This problem of the Light (coupled with the disasters which have befallen every race on Azeroth) explains why many NPCs are joining the Twilight's Hammer or the Cult of Forgotten Shadow or the Cult of the Damned or any other two-bit cult organization. The Light cannot help you when the crops fail, or your city is irradiated by a power-hungry madman. The lesson of the Light is "Help yourself, and help your neighbour; good thoughts, good words, good deeds will be rewarded in kind by other followers of the Light". The Light helps those who help themselves. In contrast, the Fel powers help those who subjugate themselves; all that's required to gain the aid of the Old Gods and their servants is to abase yourself.
Both the Twilight's Hammer and the Cult of the Damned hold out, not only the hope that one's personal problems will be solved by supernatural aid, but the hope that the problems of the world itself will be solved in an eschatological upheaval. Those loyal to the Old Gods or to the Lich King will be uplifted, come the remaking of the world, and will enjoy the perfect world to come.
The Light promises that your problems will be solved by *you* if only your cause is just, if only your heart is pure; and it does not, cannot, make allowances for human pettiness and failure of will. It does not work that way. And while the Naaru may prophesy an Army of the Light to drive back the Legion and remake the Universe, even they cannot promise a perfect world.
... a rather long post I guess, but this is something I've been thinking about for a while. I hope it helps.
thevitruvianman Mar 5th 2010 8:53PM
We know the ability to wield the light does to some extent depend on the virtuous actions of the individual, for example Arthas found it increasingly harder to call on the light after the culling of stratholme, whereas Tirion Fordring was still able to wield it despite having been 'stripped' of his powers by Uther.
However, there is a lot of evidence that shows it is actually a cosmic force rather than an entity. Remember that the blood elf blood knights were able to bend the light to their will by force, rather than earning the right to wield it as alliance priests and paladins do. Both the Broken and the Forsaken have been tainted by fel magic in one way or another, and as such are described as being 'cut off' from the light. It seems that the light simply cannot reach them because of their condition, not that it 'doesn't want to'.
Of course the proverbial spanner in the works is Sir Zeliek in Naxxramas, who apparently was 'so pious that the light still serves him even in undeath'. Although that can be explained away as a simple deviation from canon lore in the interests of making a fun raid encounter (similar to Onyxia being retuned to level 80).
Finally, if you actually read up on the lore behind the worship of the light, you will find that it is actually more of a philosophy than a religion. Followers of the light do not worship it as a god, rather they follow a set of ideals that they believe strengthen their relationship with the light. There is nothing anywhere in any Warcraft lore that states the light is in any way a conscious entity, capable of rewarding or punishing it's followers.
Matt Mar 5th 2010 12:40PM
Neat!
Good that you got Axel Rose to sing your lyrics.
jimbob Mar 5th 2010 12:48PM
Excellent stuff from Greyfoo again, he hasn't done a machinima yet that i didn't enjoy. 'Spacebar clown' always makes me smile :D
Oni Stardust Mar 5th 2010 1:01PM
Corny in all the right ways. I liked it.
nonentity Mar 5th 2010 1:07PM
Actually I do think the Elements are omnipotent and omniscient, to a degree... that sounds weird. ^^ If you see the Elements as the representation of the planet I guess you could say the know and can do anything. Piss them off enough and Fire will roll over the planet and destroy every living being. Water will drown them, Air will... not be there, they'll suffocate.
Whereever you are, one or more of the Elements is nearby, Earth, Water, Fire, Air, so in this respect they can 'know' everything imo.
Even if the Light is not all those things, ok, it could be, still.... represting the one force for Good (it or rather its representatives, the Naaru, want the Draenei to form The Great Army of the Light to oppose the Burning Legion...) it should not do something like just drop its followers when they need it the most.
Yeah, the Light may not want to 'say publicly' that it is in fact not all powerful and may not be able to reach the Broken or Forsaken anymore (although, why should it care? I just can't picture a force like The Light having the 'oh, they won't like me anymore if ...'-sies.) but it should have at least given them some consolation.
Inform Velen of their plight and tell him to tell them that the Light has in fact not willingly abandoned them, that they have done nothing wrong.
I guess realizing that The Light was not all powerful as they had always thought but had not intentionally abandoned them for no apparent reason would have been better, would have hurt less then just being abandoned for no good reason and without explanation.
Well, The Earthmother is also another deity, although Elune may the Earthmother's right or left eye, or whatever. Nothing really clear on this so far.
'Real' deities in Azeroth are kinda.... don't know, the concept of a 'real' deity doesn't fit with my vision of the Warcraft world. Even the Titans, who are probably the closest thing, don't strike me as GODS. The Old Gods .... nuh, just big, very powerful blobs.
nonentity Mar 5th 2010 1:08PM
Aw crap, damn reply thingy... I want a delete, edit button, preview, whatever.... please wow.com, change your comment system if possible.... -.-
thevitruvianman Mar 5th 2010 9:14PM
I think you're still kind of missing the point that the Light isn't a conscious entity. It is more of a cosmic force that the Broken and Forsaken have been cut off from as a result of their exposure to fel magic.
The light hasn't "abandoned them for no good reason and without explanation", it simply can't reach them in their current situation. If I jump into water and drown, I don't try to argue that oxygen has abandoned me for no good reason!
The light isn't something that helps you out because you are a nice person. It is a force that has to be called forth by someone with a strong and righteous heart. I guess if you're Broken or Undead then the fel magics you are infused with somehow interfere with that process and make it almost impossible to call on the light.
However, maybe those such as Sir Zeliek, who are still able to use the light even in undeath, simply have a sheer force of will and purity of spirit that the average undead or broken cannot match. Thus, maybe it isn't impossible to use the light as an undead, just much, much harder. Again this supports the theory of the light as a force rather than an entity.
hyasenwow Mar 5th 2010 1:08PM
Another great one, Grey! Doomhammer
hyasenwow Mar 5th 2010 1:09PM
That was interesting, half a comment for a win. Doomhammer loves you :)
Stephanie Mar 5th 2010 1:23PM
Fantastic! Absolutely fantastc.
The story is well told, the video is edited together neatly, the music is sad and adorable.
This is why I keep going back to machinima to find gems like these.
Actually, I can't think of a bad Rise to Power entry. I love that contest.