Produced last year before the WindLight-era, the mysterious "Sick" machinima series revolves around a sim of the same name, and the elite redhead commando protecting it from mutating tentacle monsters and affiliated villains. Originally released with a Japanese-only soundtrack, I recently noticed Part 1 and Part 2 have been subtitled in English, and you don't want to miss them. (Part 3, alas, remains un-subtitled.) The muddy quality of the photography is more than compensated by the foley effects, voice acting, and bravura editing, which keeps the narrative focused and the two-fisted action appropriately kickass. (I also like the filtering overlays which convert the visuals to look like video footage and data feeds, a great way of adding realism to the virtual.) Cap that off with a rocking Japan-o-metal theme song, and you're watching one of the best Second Life machinima made so far. (Expanded archive here.)
As for Sick itself, you can visit the site's website here, and teleport to the city (just as impressive as the machimina) by clicking this SLURL teleport link, or the screenshot to the right. None of which answers my main question: what the hell is Sick, who created it, and what will it become? I attempted to contact the owners when it launched, but as I recall, the language barrier was too high for clarity. Japanese-fluent readers, if you can help me, I'd be grateful!
Update, 7:30pm: Just chatted with Sick's owner, mk Curtiz, who helped with some details, though they somehow perplex me even more. Read after the break.
If I understand him right, mk Curtiz (pictured left) tells me that Chapter 3 of his series will be ready this July. (The link above is just a preview.) The Tokyo-based creator of the movie as well as the site and the city of Sick itself, Curtiz insists he's not part of a development company. He doesn't even have an in-world revenue stream, far as weapon sales, group fees, and so on.
"It is a hobby," he simply says.
FYI - There are camp pads scattered throughout sick filled with cool freebies. Just look for discs that have a circling beam of red light inside.
Posted by: Reimu Yoshikawa | Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 02:48 PM