LOS ANGELES - Director Dave Wilson feared there would be hesitation from Hollywood surrounding the idea for the video game anthology TV series "Secret Level."
"It's difficult to convince people in this town to do something new and different that hasn't been done before," he said.
"Secret Level," created by Tim Miller, who also created the three-time Emmy-winning animated anthology series "Love, Death & Robots," includes fifteen animated standalone short episodes based on various video games and brands.
The video game anthology series premiered on Dec. 10 and was renewed for a second season by Amazon Prime Video.
The series was produced by Miller’s Blur Studio, which specializes in computer generated imagery animation, along with Amazon MGM Studios and arrived on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday.
Some of the popular games explored in the series include Dungeons and Dragons, Pac-Man, Armored Core and Mega Man.
For both Wilson and Miller, it wasn’t always easy to decide which games would be included in the series.
“We tried to find something for everyone whether that’s indie (independent) and nostalgia titles or AAA games (games produced or distributed by major publishers) that haven’t even come out yet,” Wilson said.
Miller added that it was key to include numerous genres to ensure the series is accessible to a multitude of audiences.
“I didn’t want it to just be like ‘Dave’s list of favorite games,’” Wilson said.
The duo hopes that watching “Secret Level” entices viewers to play the games if they haven't already.
“We're not just making it for the fans of the game, although the fans of the game have to love it,” Miller said.
He wants non-gamers to find a connection to the series and even recognize some of the titles from popular culture.
“Everything has to be accessible to everybody,” the “Deadpool” director added.
The key to making this series possible was the longstanding trust between Miller’s Blur Studio and the video game companies with intellectual property (IP) used in the show, Miller noted.
“They know that we’re not just gonna take their IP and run off into a dark corner and mess it up,” he said.
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