Have you checked out This Spartan Life? It's a talk show -- in Halo. It was started in 2005 and they basically do all the interviews while shooting at each other and launching rockets with massive explosions and the like. They've done some pretty funny and interesting interviews with the likes of Bungie lead composer Marty O’Donnell, Red Vs Blue creator Bernie Burns and former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. Plus, there is dance routines to chiptunes. It's pretty enjoyable on the whole, but the next season is in peril and they're hoping for some support.
They're holding a support thingy where those who donate can win some prizes and other fancy things. The biggest prize is a virtual date with Amber one of the Solid Gold Dancers from the show (or any other member of the show). Basically, you get to play some Halo with an internet famous person. Could be exciting. Still, the real reason to give is because it's a very solid show that needs some help. Check it out and if you want to donate please do.
Matthew Razak is Destructoid's Associate editor and co-founder of film site Flixist. He began as community member "cowzilla" and was since sequestered to write brainy features material. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife.
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So why exactly do they need money? Last time I checked it doesn't really cost anything to make machinima, and they really don't give a reason why they need the money, let alone 5,000$.
It's just like the public radio business model. They're trying to make money for the product they produce without filling it full of ads. Nothing wrong with that.
Hi all. I'm the director of This Spartan Life. Matt and Zen Albatross, thanks for posting this.
Just to address the question of why we are doing this...
We are all professionals who need to take time off to make This Spartan Life. Unlike Red Vs. Blue, our other favorite Halo machinima series, we do not have a license from Microsoft to sell DVDs of our show. We have never charged a cent for downloads of our episodes which cost us quite a bit of time to make. When we take time off from work, rent doesn't go away and food still costs the same. Additionally, Xboxes die, computer become obsolete and we need to replace them in order to keep making the show.
For our fans, the Kickstarter project is a way for them to help us keep the show going and ensure new, more interesting episodes. We are basically part of the revolution now underway in media, wherein big contracts have been replaced by viewer sponsorship and a more direct bond is formed between viewer and producer. Look around on the internet and you'll see lots of other small media companies moving to this model. It just makes more sense then doing a deal with some big distributor who takes most of the money.
Please hit the link and watch the video for a less dry explanation. :P
Thanks!
So many awesome projects have have succeeded, and there are so many more that are on the brink. Indie games, game documentaries, chiptune concerts, and a lot more have been made possible by tons of awesome project backers. Keep 'em coming!
This Spartan Life may have started in 2005, but for me, it started a year later. I came into the TSL story a bit late, April of that year, shortly after a segment known in the TSL community as “Meet T3h 1337” was filmed – one that focused on the members. I had been following the show for a while, but the idea of being part of a community like that – one that wasn’t just relying on the members for support or money, but cherishing them as part of the experience – appealed to me. And let me tell you – my time with This Spartan Life has been nothing short of life-changing. Since 2006, TSL has given me the best friends I’ve ever made, a girlfriend worthy of song and legend, endless hours of laughter and enjoyment, and quite a few stories that I’ll be dining out on for years. I’ve traveled with them to the depths of the scariest labyrinths, climbed on top of ancient monuments, slaughtered untold hordes of opponents. To my best estimation, about 3,000 hours of my life since that fateful April day have been spent in TSL-related activities – filming, forum moderating, playing with other members, recording the community podcast, and now writing to help them out.
None of this has been in the least bit usual. For one thing, I’ve hardly met any of the people I’ve come to know and love. I’ve seen some pictures, talked for hundreds of hours, gotten to know their lives and desires, I’ve sacrificed and been sacrificed for. These people are, by any conventional definition, strangers to me. I’ve never shaken Jigsaw’s hand, never sat around and yelled at movies with Quagga – and yes, I call them their gamertags. What else would I use? Their names? Hah. Yes, I’ve done nothing normal with these people – but I’ve shot them all plenty of times, and how can you say you know someone unless you’ve splattered their brains all across Construct?
Despite all of that, these friendships persist, and the underlying structure of it all is just one of the many things TSL has done. They aren’t so much just another machinima, putting videos on Youtube and cultivating a community that only serves the purpose of donating. TSL, since the beginning, has been about their community. TSL’s main message – that we can be brought together by this wonderful medium of the internet, socialize in a way no one had previously considered possible, and think of that as unexceptional – as, dare I say, normal – is lived out, every day, by hundreds of people. That’s something worthy of thought.
I’ve personally given $200 to this cause – all I can afford. I’m scraping together pennies to try to add to that, but what I ask is that everyone who wants to see something like this survive – a project dedicated to celebrating friendship and community in the digital age – give what you can. It doesn’t have to be much. Every dollar and dime pushes us closer to that goal.
So lend us a helping hand. Meanwhile, I’ll be trying to get on top of the ONI building in ODST. And hey – don’t be afraid to join in! Just visit the TSL forums, join up, and introduce yourself. Everyone’s welcome.
(Also, for those criticizing this: Chris has worked tirelessly and sacrificed quite a bit to put this out. Publicists, live events, shows, actors, equipment... all of that really adds up for a major, regularly-updating talk show. This isn't just a scripted short film, this requires a lot of real-world work behind it to get guests and make it more high-profile -- I make machinima myself, so I know how it usually goes, and TSL is staggeringly more difficult. I don't envy the amount of work Chris has to put in, that's for sure!)
i found TSL a long time ago maybe the beginning of 2006. i was a modder of halo CE and the site i got my mods and the like also had a movie section. so i went over there and didn't find anything i particular that i liked. then i stumbled across this spartan life. i thought "what the hell is this?" i had no idea but it was funny. it took me a while to watch it all but in the process i discovered the website. it is amazing.
i signed up and was welcomed. i have made some friends that i "hang out with" over xbox live (if u want to call it that). it is a great community. the show needs money so it can go on. it is a great show. anyone who gives money is a good pearson who believes that in the digital age this is something important.
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Contest:
8:00 AM on 11.01.2009
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Anyone who donates is a sucker. It's basically we need to upgrade our computers so why don't you pay for it. lol ok.
Just to address the question of why we are doing this...
We are all professionals who need to take time off to make This Spartan Life. Unlike Red Vs. Blue, our other favorite Halo machinima series, we do not have a license from Microsoft to sell DVDs of our show. We have never charged a cent for downloads of our episodes which cost us quite a bit of time to make. When we take time off from work, rent doesn't go away and food still costs the same. Additionally, Xboxes die, computer become obsolete and we need to replace them in order to keep making the show.
For our fans, the Kickstarter project is a way for them to help us keep the show going and ensure new, more interesting episodes. We are basically part of the revolution now underway in media, wherein big contracts have been replaced by viewer sponsorship and a more direct bond is formed between viewer and producer. Look around on the internet and you'll see lots of other small media companies moving to this model. It just makes more sense then doing a deal with some big distributor who takes most of the money.
Please hit the link and watch the video for a less dry explanation. :P
Thanks!
http://www.destructoid.com/rev-rant-donate-141041.phtml
Support your creative content producers, ladies and gentlemen.
One from IndieGames.com
[One from Destructoid
[One from Game Set Watch
And even one from NY Times!
So many awesome projects have have succeeded, and there are so many more that are on the brink. Indie games, game documentaries, chiptune concerts, and a lot more have been made possible by tons of awesome project backers. Keep 'em coming!
None of this has been in the least bit usual. For one thing, I’ve hardly met any of the people I’ve come to know and love. I’ve seen some pictures, talked for hundreds of hours, gotten to know their lives and desires, I’ve sacrificed and been sacrificed for. These people are, by any conventional definition, strangers to me. I’ve never shaken Jigsaw’s hand, never sat around and yelled at movies with Quagga – and yes, I call them their gamertags. What else would I use? Their names? Hah. Yes, I’ve done nothing normal with these people – but I’ve shot them all plenty of times, and how can you say you know someone unless you’ve splattered their brains all across Construct?
Despite all of that, these friendships persist, and the underlying structure of it all is just one of the many things TSL has done. They aren’t so much just another machinima, putting videos on Youtube and cultivating a community that only serves the purpose of donating. TSL, since the beginning, has been about their community. TSL’s main message – that we can be brought together by this wonderful medium of the internet, socialize in a way no one had previously considered possible, and think of that as unexceptional – as, dare I say, normal – is lived out, every day, by hundreds of people. That’s something worthy of thought.
I’ve personally given $200 to this cause – all I can afford. I’m scraping together pennies to try to add to that, but what I ask is that everyone who wants to see something like this survive – a project dedicated to celebrating friendship and community in the digital age – give what you can. It doesn’t have to be much. Every dollar and dime pushes us closer to that goal.
So lend us a helping hand. Meanwhile, I’ll be trying to get on top of the ONI building in ODST. And hey – don’t be afraid to join in! Just visit the TSL forums, join up, and introduce yourself. Everyone’s welcome.
(Also, for those criticizing this: Chris has worked tirelessly and sacrificed quite a bit to put this out. Publicists, live events, shows, actors, equipment... all of that really adds up for a major, regularly-updating talk show. This isn't just a scripted short film, this requires a lot of real-world work behind it to get guests and make it more high-profile -- I make machinima myself, so I know how it usually goes, and TSL is staggeringly more difficult. I don't envy the amount of work Chris has to put in, that's for sure!)
i signed up and was welcomed. i have made some friends that i "hang out with" over xbox live (if u want to call it that). it is a great community. the show needs money so it can go on. it is a great show. anyone who gives money is a good pearson who believes that in the digital age this is something important.