A unique art form has emerged from the dark underworld of gaming addicts, and it could transform the state of digital animation and film forever. You can get a look at it tonight on "Tech Live."

The gamers call it Machinima, and its devotees say "Machinimation" is going to revolutionize filmmaking. It could have emerged out of boredom, but likely has more to do with an insatiable appetite for more action and entertainment after a gamer has mastered a game such as Doom or Quake.

The gamers hack the software and turn the games into their own movie-inspired creations.

Since 1998 a handful of artistic gamers have been at it, helping to break Machinima out of its geek status and laying the foundation for this new art. Industry professionals in digital art and animation are paying attention, and film studios are also beginning to look into the possibilities of Machinima for large-scale productions. Attracted by the potential for freedom in their productions, filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, have turned to the craft. Spielberg used the game "Unreal Tournament" for inspiration when filming "Artificial Intelligence."

Changing gaming, film

One group that's been active in Machinima for years is the ILL CLAN collective, a group of friends in New York. Each member is a gaming fanatic and has an artistic background in digital animation, filmmaking, improvisational comedy, or dancing.

"Doing Machinima actually has been very exciting for us because it actually brings together a lot of our skills," ILL CLAN's Matt Dominiani explains. "It really all comes together and we get to play games in the middle of it."

The group created two new characters, Lenny and Larry Lumberjack, in "Quake." ILL CLAN gave Lenny and Larry greater firepower, extra lives, and greater speed and dexterity until the game's world was pushed into a space not intended by the manufacturers. Even the game's setting is different. It takes place in a truck stop diner.

ILL CLAN has transformed "Quake" from a game of killing and "capture the flag" to a freeform environment for the hilarious misadventures of Lenny and Larry. Since the group began tweaking "Quake" four years ago, the game has ceased to be a mindless diversion and instead has become a creative outlet and vehicle for their love of performance and film production.

Powerful engine

The art is based on keyframe digital animation and the traditional concept of multiple frames of movement, flipping rapidly to simulate motion. In these animated productions everything must follow a meticulous storyboard, because every movement of a character, every gesture, and every camera angle will have to be rendered for the final product. To change a scene means another day, or another week, of production work.

But the Machinimator's use of "Quake," and breaking into the game engine, can take care of all of this on the fly. The game engine is the logic that keeps one player from walking through another or walking through a wall. It characterizes their movements and gestures. The game engine automates the basic movements of the characters. So the movements are prerendered, in a sense. This lets the performers manipulate the characters using the mouse, keyboard, or joystick. They can try blocking a scene in different ways until they get it right, or they can speak the lines and move the characters simultaneously to try out movements and gestures with new lines. When they finally get the scene just as they want it, they play it out and record it.

The software creates a data file, which saves all the parameters of movement during the course of the scene. Afterward a performer or director can tweak some of the moves using a program for game developers called KeyGrip. The amount of control in post-production lets the director master the final cut.

New scenes can be created, scenes can be taken from new camera angles, new characters can be added, movements can be changed, and the director can change the entire scene without the use of the crew and without reshooting anything.

This is the attractive cost-cutting prospect that has Hollywood's attention. Besides "Artificial Intelligence," logical algorithms in digital animation are being used in the new "Star Wars" trilogy and for "Lord of the Rings." In these films, large battle scenes use intelligent, animated characters that move according to programmed parameters.

The alternative, for now

Machinima is still in its infancy and it might continue to be a low-budget alternative for small animation firms and improvisational performers looking for a new medium. "Quake" was never meant to be the foundation of a new digital animation movement, so the characters of Lenny and Larry Lumberjack may not come to life quite like the character of Shrek. But the prospects for Machinima are certainly exciting to more than a few people.

The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences (MAAS) was founded last March, and the first Machinima Film Festival took place in August. MAAS Director Paul Marino says, "By showing the traditional animation houses what can be done with game technology to create 'Shrek'-like movies, hopefully they will see the benefits of moving toward Machinimation."

Until then, pioneers such as ILL CLAN are searching out small-scale uses for their craft. As the new medium has begun to catch on, the group has been receiving calls to do commercial work. Promotional shorts seem to be a lucrative possibility, but there are also new applications on the horizon. ILL CLAN has fielded one request to develop a distance learning application featuring an animated instructor.