Harrison Bergeron Machinima

Conceptualization

"The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal." So begins Harrison Bergeron, a short story by Kurt Vonnegut. The story explores a world in which every citizen has been made equal, not by raising the status quo but by lowering everyone to the lowest common denominator. The strong are burdened with weights, the intelligent have their thoughts disrupted with a random blast of sound in their ear, the beautiful masked, the talented handicapped. Harrison Bergeron, the titular character, is a young man of extraordinary talent, taken from his family at an early age. The story follows his escape, the full realization of his power, and eventual death, as seen through the eyes of his parents.

The story lends itself to a Half Life machinima quite well, as a dystopian future and police state. In this case, the police are agents of the Handicapper General, the governmental agency devoted to enforcing equality. Thus, the film will exist more in the "Half Life" style than a project such as The Passion of the McCain, and will take advantage of the npc characters, textures, and props as necessary.

Script

The script is a loose adaptation of the original short story. Some key elements are dropped, to fit better with the available Half Life animations. One conversation between Hazel and George (Harrison Bergeron's parents) that is important but not included covers the weights that George (and Harrison) are burdened with. This conversation may be added at a later date.

The script is linked below.