The epic double length (17 minutes) conclusion of the Halo CE Chronicles story The Ring of Life is now available.  The Commander and Andrea come face to face with Gaia while the marines hold off the sentinels.  And one of them makes the ultimate sacrifice.

The video can be viewed or downloaded in Streaming or Windows Media format from the Halo CE Chronicles Website, downloaded in WMV format from the Halo CE Maps website or viewed at the Halo Movies Website in streaming format. 

After I wrote the script I knew that the two most important parts of the video would be part one and part six so when making the video I wanted to be sure that they were special.  In part one the opening sequence needed to tell the back-story of the Commander and introduce suspense and foreshadowing that would lead to the viewer to this final conclusion.  Part six being the climax of the story and I knew that for the story to work it had to be visually impressive for a machinima.  With a map made by Matt (Arteen) McGlone specifically for the video and a powerful emotion evoking score written by Harry Gregson-Williams for the Spy Game movie, I delved into the various existing animations present in the game and was able to isolate the ones that would better tell this part of the story.  In order for this sequence, and thereby the entire story, to work this part of it had to be special.  It took a while to accomplish and was the first part of the video that was filmed but I was finally able to unlock the necessary body language of the characters to convey the full emotional impact of the scene.

So here it is part six, the conclusion of the Ring of Life. Please watch it all the way through to the end of the video, the credits are short so you won’t have to wait for the real end of the story.

Since this is most likely the last in the Halo CE Chronicles saga I thought I would take a moment to talk about how we got here and maybe even why.

The Halo CE Chronicles was originally started as a way to promote the maps made for the Halo Custom Edition game, but somewhere along the way it became something more.  What developed was a pocket Halo universe inhabited by flawed individuals who are called upon to do extraordinary things under dangerous circumstances.  The characters in the HCEC stories are not the genetically bred, cybernetically enhanced super soldiers or fully formed and articulate Artificial Intelligences whose job it is to protect humanity.   The characters in the stories are just people beaten down by life and war. 

For a machinima artist I am old. I came of age in the 60’s. I grew up in a time when we had lost faith in our leaders, in our accepted way of life and even in our heroes.  It was the time of the post world war II slumber, the war in Vietnam and the civil rights movement.  It was a time when we started questioning everything, a time when the National Guard opened fire on protesters on the grounds of the Ohio State campus killing four students and wounding nine others and a time when we no longer expected our heroes to be bathed in white light riding a mighty steed and wearing polished armor.  No, it was a time when our heroes stepped off the pedestal, made mistakes, were not even particularly likeable but somehow managed to save the day not in spite of but many times due to their flaws.  It was a time when our heroes were as lost as the people they saved.

That then is the perspective of the stories in the Halo CE Chronicles.  The main characters, Commander Harrington and Andrea the AI, are flawed.  Having already suffered unimaginable loss, his world and loved ones destroyed and killed in the war, Commander Harrington’s injuries forced the UNSC to graft him to an early version of the Spartan cybernetic suit of armor, a suit he could only barely control.  Faced with his loss and the stigma of looking like but not being a Spartan he sought refuge in the deep space survey corps where he eventually ended up marooned on a Ring World with a quirky Station AI.  Station AI’s don’t normally talk, they just run the automation of the station, but this one learned how.  This nascent AI somehow went beyond her programming and started the climb to full sentience.  During their adventures Andrea the AI became bonded with the Commander’s cybernetics and the two of them, the damaged human and the nascent AI are now linked together each on their own journey of self.

When I sat down to write the Ring of Life I wanted to explore the character that in the Halo universe is taken for granted: The AI.  In Season two the story line was about the bonding of Commander Harrington and Andrea, in season three “The Valley of the Forerunners” it was about Commander Harrington coming to grips with his malaise and taking control of his life again.  In the Ring of life I wanted to explore Andrea and how she handles her emerging emotions.

It has been over a year since I first started this phase of the project.  The Ring of Life script went through a dozen re-writes and revisions.  It started out as a wordy epic with multiple characters and story lines for each. Every time I read it I slashed more and more to focus the story.  As a result I cut most of the story of the two supporting characters’, Taylor and Johnston.  That decision resulted in the creation of The Halo CE Chronicles Comic - Shipwrecked.  I just liked those guys, they reminded me of people I grew up with and I wanted to fully explore their adventure as well. The Shipwrecked comic is the back story to their relationship as you will see it in The Ring of Life.

Although I may be “long in the tooth” and have been “around the block” a few times, being a story teller is relatively new to me, oh I have an imagination, love sci-fi books, have read comics and enjoy movies but the real desire to craft my own is new.  When I started I was advised to write what I knew. I know Commander Harrington.  He is not me, I may give him voice, but we are different.  However there are aspects about him that I know intimately.    I know his loss, I have lost family members and friends before their time, and I understand the frustration with his physical ability or lack of to control the body and the armor he inhabits.   Several years ago I survived a stroke and had to learn again to control my body.  Unlike Commander Harrington I recovered, I have some deficits like a left hand that doesn’t always do what I want and constant vertigo suppressed by force of will alone, and like the commander I didn’t go through it alone.  No, I didn’t have an AI in my head helping me move or keeping me stable, what I did have was family and friends who took my hand and whispered encouragement in my ear to get me through the tough times.   I suppose one could draw parallels to mine and the commander’s story but really they are much different in scope and his… much more tragic.
 
Those of you that have watched all the HCEC videos will no doubt notice that each one starts with a quote from Kahlil Gibran, a poet, philosopher, artist, prophet and writer, born in Bsharri, Lebanon in 1883.  I normally chose an appropriate one for each episode to highlight that episodes meaning.  This season, The Ring of Life has only one quote, one message; “We are expression of earth, and of life not separate individuals only.”  This one quote is the summation of the story of Commander Harrington and Andrea and in truth the human race itself.  It is a shame that some of us learn it late in life and some… not at all.

The Ring of Life is not all philosophy and emotion; we blow a few things up crack wise and take on the fantastic and impossible.  There are marines and Hogs and explosions and battles, adventure and conflict and thanks to the custom made maps for Halo CE there are vistas and imagery not seen in any other Halo game or Halo machinima.  I can safely say that The Halo CE Chronicles is unlike any other Halo machinima produced today. I will let you decide if that is good or bad.

So sit back and start your downloads because starting today and over the next six weeks I will be releasing all six episodes of The Ring of Life.  I hope you enjoy the story.

Dennis

The Halo CE Chronicles comic Shipwrecked series episodes 22 through 37 are available for viewing in the comics section of the website; you can continue the adventure with Johnston and Taylor as they make their way across the wilds of the First Ring.  Production of their comic based story has slowed a bit, we will be releasing pages once a week instead of twice a week, now that we have resumed production on the Season 5 film story of the Halo CE Chronicles Tales of the First Ring.  Expect to see a return of Commander Harrington, Andrea and our two intrepid marines Johnston and Taylor in a six part adventure titled “The Ring of Life” sometime later this year.  Thank you for your continued support.

-Dennis

Episode 19 - Gaia Prime is now available for viewing. After weeks observing the various Human events on the Ring World the Ring's controlling intelligence finally makes a decision.

The Halo CE Chronicles Comic Shipwrecked comic episode 18 "Choices" is now available for viewing. Sometimes things get very simple.