This Spartan Life
Encyclopedia
This Spartan Life is an award-winning talk show
created by Bong + Dern Productions and produced and directed by Chris Burke, who hosts the show under the pseudonym
Damian Lacedaemion (icon). Premiering in 2005
and distributed over the Internet
, the show is created using the machinima
technique of recording the video and audio from a multiplayer
Xbox Live
session of Bungie Studios' first-person shooter
video game Halo 2
. The half-hour episodes are released in six smaller parts, called modules. Guests, such as Bungie Studios' audio director Martin O'Donnell
are interviewed via Xbox Live
within the online multiplayer worlds of Halo 2, and most recently Halo 3.
In addition to regular shows, special content has been created for Spiketv.com and the 2006 Machinima Festival. A premium edition of Halo 3
includes exclusive This Spartan Life content.
Most recently, you can find new episodes of This Spartan Life on Xbox Live's central hub for Halo, Halo Waypoint. The new episodes on Halo Waypoint include interviews with members of the band OK Go
and an interview with Ultima Online
creator Richard Garriott
.
. The rest of the segment are usually the interviews, with the guest of the show.
This Spartan Life has a full cast of characters, each with their own unique qualities, which serve to move the show along. As is typical in machinima, the characters have very strong personalities and are heavily characterized in order to make up for the weakness of machinima: the inability to act. The host, Damian Lacedaemion, is a personable soldier in grey with a smiley face emblem adorning his armor. He leads the show with his carefree manner, and when his guests come under fire, he often has to fall back on his soldiering skills to save them. He tries to rise to a "higher level of discourse" and is the center of the civil nature of the show. Damian has a shotgun, named Phil, which can talk, and prefers to be used exclusively by Damian and will fight anyone attempting to use him without authorization. The show's DJ, DJ Octobit, is named in a reference to the 8-bit music he plays in the show. He creates the music for the show on his DJ console, which looks like a strange round pedestal. He never speaks, yet he has defended Damian on several occasions. In the first episode he is referred to as Doctor Octobit, but later his name was changed to DJ Octobit. The show also features the Solid Gold Elite Dancers (a reference to the 1980s television series Solid Gold
). They usually dance to music by Glomag, the alias of Chris Burke, and a segment in the show is reserved for them.
The show also has a number of less frequently appearing characters. Damian's bodyguard, Fyb3roptik, had an interesting habit of shooting at Damian every time he appeared. This running gag
is a fan favorite, hence its continued appearances, but has not happened recently as of Episode 5. Also included is Gunnery Sergeant Spillane, voiced by John Keith, who also writes the show. He has only appeared once, to run the bodyguard competition. Peaches and Sherry, the camera operators, occasionally comment on what is going on, but otherwise have a small role in the show. Clarence, Damian's Guardian Arbiter, appeared in Episode 4, but it was later seen that he was killed by a plasma grenade.
players, Chris Burke and John Dylan Keith began to develop the idea of a Halo-based machinima
series. The creator, Chris Burke, wanted to create a sort of social environment for nonviolent interaction, but he had little success, mainly because "very few people were willing to stop shooting". After discovering the true potential to hold an intelligent conversation in the game, he was inspired to create a talk show, originally to be called The Spartan 117 Dialogs, the name of which would have come from the official code for the Master Chief
, protagonist of the Halo video game series
. However, before episode one was released the name was changed to This Spartan Life, and all releases have been under that name. The show, while fairly popular, saw a spike in popularity with the release of its fifth blog, which centered on network neutrality
. That episode became widespread and was shown to the United States Congress. This Spartan Life experienced a surge in media attention, as shown by This Spartan Lifes press page. In October 2009, episode 6 was released after a long hiatus. this was explained in-show that they were 'working out kinks'.
and Windows Media Video
formats. As is common in Halo machinima, the show is made on Xbox Live
or using interconnected Xboxes, and the final footage is edited in Final Cut Pro
. The guests are either interviewed on Xbox Live
, or in Bong + Dern's sound booth. Most shows are made, at least in part, on Xbox Live; however, not all of the show segments can be filmed exclusively on Xbox Live, due to issues of in-game latency ("lag"), which would otherwise prevent the coordination seen in the Solid Gold Elite Dancers. The cameras are created using the "gun-drop glitch", which causes them to lose their weapons, thus providing a less obstructed screen. The guests for the show are usually interviewed in Bong + Dern's sound booth. As of the most recent release of media (Episode 5, Module 4) the cast has moved to Halo 3, utilizing the Saved Film feature for capturing.
This Spartan Life straddles the real and virtual world. It is filmed in and intentionally incorporates the unpredictability of the open environment of Xbox Live. During a filming session, others engage earnestly in a multiplayer game in the same area, and may sometimes attack the host or his interviewee. Occasionally, Burke and his guest devolve into firing at each other's avatars.
, Electronic Gaming Monthly
, Wired Magazine, and Google Current
. The show won an award for Best Machinima Series at the 2005 Machinima Film Festival. and was nominated for the same award in 2006, but did not win. The show was featured at Festival Nemo in France. Special videos have been created for Spiketv.com and the 2006 Machinima Festival, The show has gathered a large online community of both new media advocates and gamers.
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
created by Bong + Dern Productions and produced and directed by Chris Burke, who hosts the show under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Damian Lacedaemion (icon). Premiering in 2005
2005 in machinima
The following is a list of notable machinima-related events in the year 2005. These include several new machinima productions, season finales, and the 2005 Machinima Film Festival.-Events:...
and distributed over the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, the show is created using the machinima
Machinima
Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
technique of recording the video and audio from a multiplayer
Multiplayer game
A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Unlike most other games, computer and video games are often single-player activities that put the player against preprogrammed challenges and/or AI-controlled opponents, which often...
Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
session of Bungie Studios' first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game Halo 2
Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
. The half-hour episodes are released in six smaller parts, called modules. Guests, such as Bungie Studios' audio director Martin O'Donnell
Martin O'Donnell
Martin "Marty" O'Donnell is an American composer known for his work on video game developer Bungie's series, such as Myth, Oni, and Halo...
are interviewed via Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
within the online multiplayer worlds of Halo 2, and most recently Halo 3.
In addition to regular shows, special content has been created for Spiketv.com and the 2006 Machinima Festival. A premium edition of Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
includes exclusive This Spartan Life content.
Most recently, you can find new episodes of This Spartan Life on Xbox Live's central hub for Halo, Halo Waypoint. The new episodes on Halo Waypoint include interviews with members of the band OK Go
OK Go
OK Go is a rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, USA, now residing in Los Angeles, California, USA. The band is composed of Damian Kulash , Tim Nordwind , Dan Konopka and Andy Ross , who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan...
and an interview with Ultima Online
Ultima Online
Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
creator Richard Garriott
Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
.
Episode format
This Spartan Life consists of episodes separated into five or six modules of varying lengths. These modules are the core of the show; they vary from episode to episode. However, there are some common threads. Every show starts with a talk-show standard, the monologue, during which Damian lays out the show ahead, as well as a small comedy bit. This is the only "stable" segment of the show, besides the Solid Gold Elite Dancers, as it has appeared in every episode. The Solid Gold Elite Dancers segment is a dance segment (usually), set to music by Glomag, the pseudonym of the creator Chris Burke, and in Episode Three was a full-fledged music video. The segment "Body Count", which appeared in the first two episodes, is a debate between two contestants who make their points while fighting each other. The Travelogue segment is a glitch montage, which is set to music, and is one of the most popular segments, as the show's original fans were glitchersGlitching
Glitching is an activity in which a person finds and exploits flaws or glitches in video games to achieve something that was not intended by the game designers. Gamers who engage in this practice are known as glitchers. Glitches can help or disable the player....
. The rest of the segment are usually the interviews, with the guest of the show.
Characters
Solid Gold (TV series)
Solid Gold is an American syndicated music television series that debuted on September 13, 1980. Like many other shows of its genre, such as American Bandstand, Solid Gold featured musical performances and various other elements such as music videos...
). They usually dance to music by Glomag, the alias of Chris Burke, and a segment in the show is reserved for them.
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
is a fan favorite, hence its continued appearances, but has not happened recently as of Episode 5. Also included is Gunnery Sergeant Spillane, voiced by John Keith, who also writes the show. He has only appeared once, to run the bodyguard competition. Peaches and Sherry, the camera operators, occasionally comment on what is going on, but otherwise have a small role in the show. Clarence, Damian's Guardian Arbiter, appeared in Episode 4, but it was later seen that he was killed by a plasma grenade.
History
The idea of This Spartan Life was first conceived in late 2004, at Bong + Dern Productions when there was a drop in the amount of audio work for the company. Both HaloHalo (video game series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
players, Chris Burke and John Dylan Keith began to develop the idea of a Halo-based machinima
Machinima
Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
series. The creator, Chris Burke, wanted to create a sort of social environment for nonviolent interaction, but he had little success, mainly because "very few people were willing to stop shooting". After discovering the true potential to hold an intelligent conversation in the game, he was inspired to create a talk show, originally to be called The Spartan 117 Dialogs, the name of which would have come from the official code for the Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
, protagonist of the Halo video game series
Halo (video game series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
. However, before episode one was released the name was changed to This Spartan Life, and all releases have been under that name. The show, while fairly popular, saw a spike in popularity with the release of its fifth blog, which centered on network neutrality
Network neutrality
Network neutrality is a principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers or governments on consumers' access to networks that participate in the Internet...
. That episode became widespread and was shown to the United States Congress. This Spartan Life experienced a surge in media attention, as shown by This Spartan Lifes press page. In October 2009, episode 6 was released after a long hiatus. this was explained in-show that they were 'working out kinks'.
Production
This Spartan Life videos are released on the site, in both QuickTimeQuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
and Windows Media Video
Windows Media Video
'Windows Media Video is a video compression format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was originally designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater...
formats. As is common in Halo machinima, the show is made on Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
or using interconnected Xboxes, and the final footage is edited in Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X, runs on Mac personal computers powered by Mac OS X version 10.6.7 or later and using Intel processors...
. The guests are either interviewed on Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
, or in Bong + Dern's sound booth. Most shows are made, at least in part, on Xbox Live; however, not all of the show segments can be filmed exclusively on Xbox Live, due to issues of in-game latency ("lag"), which would otherwise prevent the coordination seen in the Solid Gold Elite Dancers. The cameras are created using the "gun-drop glitch", which causes them to lose their weapons, thus providing a less obstructed screen. The guests for the show are usually interviewed in Bong + Dern's sound booth. As of the most recent release of media (Episode 5, Module 4) the cast has moved to Halo 3, utilizing the Saved Film feature for capturing.
This Spartan Life straddles the real and virtual world. It is filmed in and intentionally incorporates the unpredictability of the open environment of Xbox Live. During a filming session, others engage earnestly in a multiplayer game in the same area, and may sometimes attack the host or his interviewee. Occasionally, Burke and his guest devolve into firing at each other's avatars.
Reception
This Spartan Life has been mentioned by Attack of the Show!Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show! is an American live television program shown weeknights on G4, G4 Canada and Fuel TV in Australia. The program is hosted by Kevin Pereira and Candace Bailey...
, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
, Wired Magazine, and Google Current
Google Current
Google Current is a brief, once every half hour, television program on the channel Current TV . Selected episodes are also available on the Internet. The series tracks not necessarily what the news is, but what people are searching for on Google....
. The show won an award for Best Machinima Series at the 2005 Machinima Film Festival. and was nominated for the same award in 2006, but did not win. The show was featured at Festival Nemo in France. Special videos have been created for Spiketv.com and the 2006 Machinima Festival, The show has gathered a large online community of both new media advocates and gamers.