The Life of Logan (machinima series)

*Also see the articles on the Halo Machinima Wiki (1)* *(2)*

*"**The Life of Logan**"* was a multi-part machinima series created by C³ SABERTOOTH and uploaded between 2009 to 2013. The series revolved around a young boy named Logan and his friends Hudson, James, and Dwayne as they attempted to escalate the *Halo 3* leaderboards, to no avail.

The series gained a fanbase of only a couple thousand individuals during its initial run (but still amassed over two million views), but ultimately accumulated more views in its off-YouTube run after Stephens admitted that he was the creator of the massively popular screenshot series, *THE DIP SAGA*.

The series used to have a sizable fanbase on *prettyswirlyclan.webs.com*, but the site has been frozen by the host since late 2014.

## **PREMISE**

The series followed a young boy (of approx. 12-13 years of age) named Logan as he attempted to gain traction in the *Halo 3* community by scaling the leaderboards. Over the course of the series, Logan meets Hudson, James, and Dwayne, and the four create a *Halo 3* clan simply titled the "Pretty Swirly Clan."

Although episodic in format, the series did contain one major story arc: in the pilot episode, Logan unwittingly causes the best Halo player, "Fluffball Gato," to drop in the leaderboards. Throughout the series, Gato hires a number of *Halo* "noobs" (from "The Brotherhood of the Noobs") to spy on the four protagonists. The series ends with Gato attempting to get the entire "Pretty Swirly Clan" banned from Xbox LIVE.

## **CHARACTERS**

The series followed the "Pretty Swirly Clan" through a variety of exploits, but also contained a number of reoccurring adversaries to the central four.

### **PROTAGONISTS**

The main four protagonists were banded together in what they titled the "Pretty Swirly Clan," based on their emblem (which was a "pretty swirly" shape).

#### **LOGAN**

Description lifted from this page of the *Halo Machinima Wiki*:

> *'Logan is, in Halo 3, a pink Elite with a combat-harness helmet but assault shoulder-armor and chest piece. In Halo: Reach, this armor is replaced with the default "Minor" armor set. Logan's signature weapon is the plasma pistol, which may be the foremost cause of his countless deaths. It is Logan's dream to someday be the best Halo player in history, but his chances are bleak, as he has yet to win a single match. Yet, with the help of his friends, he may stand a chance. He has revealed, to his closest friends, that his greatest fear is Cruella DeVil, as he is afraid she will turn him into a "puppy skin coat." Logan discovers, in episode #9, that he has a hidden skill of driving Halo races, primarily with the ghost but also with the mongoose. Logan is the co-founder and leader of the newly-created "Pretty Swirly Clan."'*
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Logan is the main character of "***The Life of Logan***" and the unofficial leader of the "Pretty Swirly Clan." He has a high-pitched voice and often brags about his nonexistent Halo abilities. Sometimes, he serves as a narrator for the series, with his voice explaining the events at hand.

#### **HUDSON**

Description lifted from this page of the *Halo Machinima Wiki*:

> *"Hudson is the youngest member of the clan, as he is only 8 years of age. He was once fighting for first place on the leaderboard, but lost to Fluffball Gato. He is good at fighting but during clan battles he betrays his teammates several times. Hudson's main fear is Tinkie Winkie (the purple teletubbie) coming to 'tinkie his winkie.'"*
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Hudson is the most erratic member of the "Pretty Swirly Clan," and is the most popular character of the series. He speaks with a strange inflection that incorporates an overextension of various vowels, and has an incredibly high-pitched voice. It is revealed, when he mentions the number of "birthdays" he's celebrated, that he is only eight years old. However, he is the most skilled member of the clan- but he rarely displays these abilities, instead choosing to betray his teammates often.

#### **JAMES**

Description lifted from this page of the *Halo Machinima Wiki*:

> *"The normal and smart one of the clan. He is viewed as the voice of reason and normal character as he doesn't agree with Logan or Hudson's ideas. Before he joined the clan, he trained with another clan, but left because the leader thought he was a homosexual. his worst fear is losing his family and friends."*
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James serves as the "straight man" of the "Pretty Swirly Clan," as he is not bad at Halo, he is just very unlucky (as proved in *Life of Logan: Episode #2: The Worst of the Worst*). He often becomes the voice of reason in any of the clan's endeavors, and is very kind and compassionate when dealing with his friends.

#### **DWAYNE**

Description lifted from this page of the *Halo Machinima Wiki*:

> "*Dwayne* *is the shy one of the clan, as he always stutters a lot and is scared to reveal his name. He is also a hacker and was once sent to ban prison but escaped by joining a clan of hackers. Dwayne's worst fears are Captain Kirk's roar and mathematics."*
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Dwayne joined the clan later than the other three, and has more dubious morals. He is a video game hacker and often turns himself into "monitor form" during online matches in order to gain the advantage. However, given that he saved Logan from a band of even worse hackers in his introduction, it is safe to assume that Dwayne is, overall, a good person.

At the end of the series, Dwayne sacrifices his Xbox LIVE membership (becoming banned for life) in order to defeat Fluffball Gato, the main antagonist and his own cousin.

### **ANTAGONISTS**

There were many antagonists in the "***Life of Logan***" series, but only two were reoccurring.

#### **FLUFFBALL GATO**

Description lifted from this page of the *Halo Machinima Wiki*:

> *"Fluffball Gato is the main antagonist of the series. He was once 1st place on the Halo 3 leaderboard, but thanks to Logan he lost his place and was sent to the bottom. He then swore to kill Logan and his clan's members. He is also revealed to be Dwayne's cousin and head of a clan of noobs."*
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Fluffball Gato (no relation to Stephens' previous character Fluffball T. Gato, the name was only the same as a reference to his previous work) was at the top of the Halo 3 leaderboards prior to Logan's interference, which caused him to drop over 5,000 spots. As a result, he wants to take his revenge against Logan and the rest of the "Pretty Swirly Clan."

At the end of the series, he is banned from Xbox LIVE, after his cousin, Dwayne, sacrifices himself by posing as his right-hand man, Super Debus.

#### **SUPER DEBUS**

Description lifted from this page of the *Halo Machinima Wiki*:

> *"Super Debus is the secondary antagonist and right hand man of Fluffball Gato. He also uses a sort of voice changer when talking to anyone. He also helped Fluffball Gato rise up about 2000 places on the leaderboard. He is very loyal to Fluffball Gato and has huge respect for him."*
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Super Debus was a professional *Halo* player that assisted Fluffball Gato in regaining some of his lost leaderboard spots after Logan caused his decline. However, after he is betrayed by Fluffball Gato, he appears to have regrets about his decisions.

## **TRIVIA**

* Stephens has admitted that Logan was heavily based on his previous character, Fluffball T. Gato.
* All four main characters are representatives of the four major classes of "newbs." Dwayne is a hacker, Hudson is a young child, James is unlucky, and Logan is just a bad player.

## **REFERENCES**

1. ↑ "Logan (The Life of Logan)." *Halo Machinima*. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <http://halomachinima.wikia.com/wiki/Logan\_(The\_Life\_of\_Logan)>.
2. ↑ "The Life of Logan." *Halo Machinima*. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <http://halomachinima.wikia.com/wiki/Life\_of\_Logan>.
3. ↑ "Halo 3- The Life of Logan- Promotional Video." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sOq9UnlwCw&index=1&list=PLE882D00AD6A31B5D>.
4. ↑ "Halo: Reach- The Life of Logan- Episode #12: "Clan's End" Part 2 of 2." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5phmZXGBLw>.
5. ↑ Broken Link -- *http://prettyswirlyclan.webs.com/*
6. ↑ "Logan (The Life of Logan)." *Halo Machinima*. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <http://halomachinima.wikia.com/wiki/Logan\_(The\_Life\_of\_Logan)>.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "The Life of Logan." *Halo Machinima*. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <http://halomachinima.wikia.com/wiki/Life\_of\_Logan>.