Secret Level: Executive Producers Tim Miller and Dave Wilson Talk “Pac-Man the Idea” and Platforming Creatives [Interview]

Prime Video’s Secret Level is looking to be a very intriguing anthology series as new previews of each episode have been revealed. From Sifu‘s spiritual sonnet of martial arts to the ragged wasteland of Armored Core, every episode in Season 1 has its own specialty.

This charm in Season 1 was forged by Love, Death & Robots creator Tim Miller, who worked hand-in-hand with supervising director Dave Wilson. Though the collection of publishers that developed their episodes worked separately, Miller and Wilson came together to give fans riveting looks into these worlds.

I recently spoke with Miller and Wilson about using Secret Level as a platform for publishers to make their own adaptations, the fan reaction around the peculiar Pac-Man episode, and who they’d like to see appear for Season 2.

When the trailer for the Pac-Man episode was released, many fans online were left confused as to the bombastic changes made. While it was recently revealed that Bandai Namco, the company behind the game, told the team to make something new, the process was much more intricate.

“We go through this process of developing the stories and trying to come up with an idea,” Wilson explained. “And we had a bunch of ideas that were exactly what you would expect a Pac-Man adaptation to be. There are so few opportunities that you get where everyone takes all the shackles off and says, just go for it.”

“Usually, that results in some polarizing experience,” Wilson continued. “Eventually, J.T. Petty, our head writer, came back with a script that is essentially what you’re seeing on screen. So, if there is one sick individual that dreamed up what that Pac-Man episode is, it belongs to J.T. Petty.”

Furthermore, Wilson went in-depth into the collaboration between the episode’s directors and designers. While the story came from Petty, the cell-shaded visual design idea came from Victor Maldonado and Alfredo Torres, better known as Headless.

“The actual episode itself, the story, what you’re seeing, what it looks like, sounds like, feels like, that’s all the directors,” Wilson said. “I think there’s no ambiguity but the tone of Pac-Man. It’s very firmly stating what it is.”

Outside of the Pac-Man episode, there are some episodes in Secret Level that pop out thematically. While their stories are disconnected, episodes like the Mega Man and Spelunky might feel like they share similar elements. However, Miller and Wilson remain firm in letting each episode stand on its own.

“Obviously, there are similarities in that we didn’t want to abandon what makes the game the game,” Wilson said. “Sifu has this wonderful concept of repetition and rebirth and the cost of that repetition.”

“We didn’t want to get rid of the things that make it special, especially because you’ll get fans who’ll be like, but that’s a part of the game,” Wilson continued. “I’m like, ‘Well, our series isn’t just for the fans. It’s for everyone.'”

Miller also stated that this shared element in Secret Level wasn’t foreseen. “Family is a staple of storytelling,” Miller added. “Invariably, if you’re doing 15 [episodes], you’re going to get a few that explore similar themes, even though we didn’t plan for it.”

Wilson also connected to the idea of family in the Warhammer episode, which he directed. “To me, if you dig deep enough, because I directed it, I know it’s there because I put it there,” Wilson said. “That one is a story about, can we control what our children become?”

“That’s why I feel like Spielberg’s movies are so great, because family is the inescapable reality that we all came from somewhere,” Wilson continued.

Moreover, to some, Secret Level may feel like a continuation of the video game adaptation renaissance this decade has seen. Shows like Arcane and Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and movies like Sonic the Hedgehog have proven that interest for adaptations.

As such, Miller and Wilson believe the show serves as a great pitching platform for publishers to launch their own adaptations in the future.

“I think that it’s much easier to sell something if you can show people an example of what it could be,” Miller explained. “The idea that people can use these as proof of concepts for movies or television series or further animated series is not lost on us.”

“I think that’s one of the things that interests the publishers and game developers that want to be part of the show,” Miller said.

“Sonic is actually [directed by] a [Blur Studio] alumni, Jeff Fowler, who we’ve worked alongside for 20 years,” Wilson recalled. “I love the animation studio that makes Arcane. I think it’s beautiful and some of the best animation work out there.”

“Anytime someone can open the door a bit wider or make people more comfortable with adult animation or animation in general and more sophisticated stories, it makes it a little easier for all of us to get it done,” Wilson added.

Furthermore, Miller reflected on his time on Love, Death & Robots and how Secret Level changed his perspective on producing from a creative standpoint.

“It’s certainly a lesson in IP that is known is an easier thing to market and sell,” Miller said. “I love [Love, Death & Robots] because it’s obscure stories that I find that I think would be cool and then you bring them to life.”

“This is a bigger responsibility, but also easier to say, ‘Hey, this thing that millions of people love, let’s do something for them, and you know you have a built-in market for it,'” Miller mentioned.

However, Miller also stated that there were many upsides and downsides in forming a new stories based on these franchises. “It’s both heartening and disheartening that it’s an easier thing to do when you have established IP that people already love because there’s a lot of interesting stories that are out there in the wild that I would like to tell too,” Miller said.

Secret Level already contains so many established franchises, from Armored Core to Dungeons and Dragons. However, Miller and Wilson had kept a long list of publishers they wanted to include, but limited it in the end. Surprisingly, one critically acclaimed publisher was on that list: Valve Software.

“There’s Team Fortress 2, Half-Life, there’s a vault of awesomeness in Valve,” Wilson mentioned. “Every time [the cinematics] came out, they would go through the studio.”

“They’re some of my favorite cinematics anybody ever did,” Miller noted. “And we tried, we really did! Maybe if there’s a fan outcry. If we get to do another season, we’ll keep asking.”

Though Secret Level focuses on video games, the duo also said they’d love to see the games from Disney, Marvel, and DC Comics included. “It’s hard because it’s Amazon,” Miller began.

“It’s a little tricky from a silo standpoint, and Marvel has [stuff] with Disney and everything,” Miller said. “But that’s a big part of the gaming market and a big part of the world that I love, so I’d love to do that.”

“Mine would be a lot of the Star Wars work at [Blur Studios] over the years,” Wilson said. “[Star Wars: The Force Unleashed] and [Star Wars: The Old Republic] and everything like that. That would be the wall I would love to break down.”

While some anthology shows have each episode focused on their own stories, there are some that continue a specific narrative. For example, one of Black Mirror Season 7’s episodes will pick up the story from Season 4 Episode 1 “USS Callister.”

Miller and Wilson both said that if there were any episodes that could see a continuation episode, it would be Mega Man. 

“Mega Man seems like an obvious one, doesn’t it? Because it’s right when [trouble’s] going to start,” Miller mentioned.

“Yes, [Dungeons and Dragons too],” Wilson added. “Titus runs off into the unknown at the end of Warhammer.”

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Secret Level releases on Prime Video on Tuesday, December 10. Two new episodes release weekly.

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