Video Games That Don’t Exist

Video Games That Don’t Exist brings together a selection of Kieran Nolan’s AI machinima works with exclusive new material in a special festival edit. Machinima is a form of filmmaking that uses real-time computer graphics, typically from video games or virtual environments, to create animated films or videos.

The movie explores AI, authorship, and game aesthetics. Using clips generated by OpenAI’s Sora, the piece embraces AI’s unpredictability, turning glitches and deformities into creative elements. It reflects on the evolving relationship between human creativity and AI in digital art, blending elements of breakdancing, racing, and surreal YouTube culture.

Video Games That Don’t Exist was premiered at the 2025 Milan Machinima Festival in Los Angeles as part of the festival’s Game Engine Cinema programme at Microcinema MUBI @Vidiots.

Further reading:

Abstract for the inaugural DiGRA Ireland conference: Paratexts Without Texts: Experiments in AI Machinima
Interview for the 2025 Milan Machinima Festival
Article at VRAL: More and More People Are Watching Video Games That Don’t Exist