Current:Home > My'Secret Level' creators talk new video game Amazon series, that Pac -InvestPioneer
'Secret Level' creators talk new video game Amazon series, that Pac
View
Date:2025-04-13 17:31:20
Spoiler alert! This story contains major details from the "Pac-Man" episode of Amazon Prime Video's "Secret Level."
For this team, adapting a TV series from video games just made sense.
"Secret Level," streaming now on Amazon Prime Video, is an animated anthology series that takes inspiration from a handful of video games, including Mega Man, Pac-Man and Unreal Tournament. The series was created by Tim Miller (Netflix's "Love, Death & Robots" and 2016's "Deadpool") with executive producer Dave Wilson ("Love, Death & Robots" and "Bloodshot"), and features a star-studded cast, including Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emily Swallow and Kevin Hart.
"Blur, our studio, has been around almost 30 years now, and we've been involved with the games industry for almost all of those years, creating cinematics and trailers. So, it was an almost obvious pairing," Wilson told USA TODAY.
How the video games were adapted for 'Secret Level'
The team enjoyed exploring different options for how to tell stories based on the different video games.
Need a break?Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"I love the fact that we get to dabble in all these different types of storytelling from the art to the tone," Miller said. "We try and have a little something for everybody."
The episodes are adapted from newer titles and classic series, and they cover different game genres, such as sci-fi, fantasy and horror. The duo also looked to include different types of games, Miller said, such as adventure games, first-person shooters and 8-bit games.
'Secret Level':Video games featured, what to know about Prime Video anthology
The process behind developing each short episode from entire gaming worlds was complicated but concise, Wilson said.
"First, we sit with the developers, and we distill their 40-year or new franchise down into what we call a creative guide," Wilson said. "Which characters should we use? Where are the no-fly zones of the franchise that you don't want to adapt or you no longer consider part of your moving forward? Those creative guides are shared with the authors. They pitch us ideas from those ideas. We pick a winning pitch, it gets turned into a short story. That short story gets adapted into a screenplay."
The game companies they worked with are great resources because "they know their games in and out," Miller said.
Many of the companies have a person on staff called a Lore Master, which is "a great title of a great job just to know everything about the game," Miller said. "They give us some very clear ideas on what characters might be interesting to explore, what roads might be interesting to drive down. And that's where we start."
A different sort of Pac-Man — and a new game
The visual style, tone and themes for "Secret Level" episodes are varied like the games they're based on, but most hit familiar beats.
Then there's episode 6, "Pac-Man: Circle," a horror-tinged take on the colorful classic character. This terrifying and occasionally gory tale follows a warrior in an unfamiliar environment forced by a floating gold orb, Puck, to eat many enemies, thus becoming stronger.
Having such a different version of Pac-Man was "a simple mandate," from entertainment company and video game developer Bandai Namco, Wilson said. Bandai Namco develops, owns and publishes the Pac-Man franchise.
"I don't know if folks will watch that and think we went off the reservation, but their mandate was 'We would like people to wonder: what did they do to Pac-Man?'" Wilson said. "We tried multiple times to find a story that would embody that sentiment, and we failed until J.T. Petty, our head writer, went home one weekend and came back with the episode."
On Thursday, Bandai Namco announced "Shadow Labyrinth," a 2D action platformer that is also a darker take on Pac-Man.
Why 'Secret Level' creators didn't consider removing the Concord episode
One of the episodes of "Secret Level" is adapted from the video game Concord, a highly anticipated title that faced issues upon its release.
PlayStation shut down the online first-person shooter game in September, shortly after its debut on Aug. 23,with Sony offering full refunds to anyone who purchased the video game. The developer behind Concord, Firewalk Studios, was also closed down after the game was taken offline.
But the team behind "Secret Level" never considered removing or reworking the Concord episode. It was completed before the game's troubled launch.
"The worst thing we could do would be to remove the episode," Wilson said. "It would just be a hole in a series instead of a celebration of something thousands of people came together to make."
More:Why the new Lego Horizon Adventures game is perfect for the young (and old)
"You've got to show some respect for people that put themselves out there," Miller said. "The (Concord) episode is really fun, and the characters are cool and it's really beautiful. It would be a real shame or insult to injury to not show the work of all the artists and animators that made that episode. They put a lot of hard work into it."
The Concord-based episode of "Secret Level" will be released Dec. 17 on Prime Video.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
veryGood! (174)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- General Hospital Actor Johnny Wactor's Death: Authorities Arrest 4 People in Connection to Fatal Shooting
- Cardinals superfan known as Rally Runner gets 10 months in prison for joining Jan. 6 Capitol riot
- Love Island U.K. Tommy Fury Slams “False” Allegations He Cheated on Ex-Fiancée Molly-Mae Hague
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Watch mom freeze in shock when airman son surprises her after two years apart
- TikTok is obsessed with cucumbers. It's because of the viral 'cucumber boy.'
- Silk non-dairy milk recalled in Canada amid listeria outbreak: Deaths increased to three
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Katy Perry to receive Video Vanguard Award and perform live at 2024 MTV VMAs
Ranking
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- When is the 'Love Island USA' Season 6 reunion? Date, time, cast, how to watch
- Virginia attorney general denounces ESG investments in state retirement fund
- US consumer sentiment rises slightly on Democratic optimism over Harris’ presidential prospects
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Could Alex Murdaugh get new trial for South Carolina murders of wife and son?
- Falcons sign Justin Simmons in latest big-name addition
- Federal subpoenas issued in probe of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign
Recommendation
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
Luke Goodwin, YouTuber Who Battled Rare Cancer, Dead at 35
US arrests reputed Peruvian gang leader wanted for 23 killings in his home country
Sofia Richie Shares Special Way She’s Cherishing Mom Life With Baby Eloise
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
College Football Playoff ranking release schedule: Dates, times for 2024 season
How Rumer Willis Is Doing Motherhood Her Way
ROKOS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD (RCM) Introduction