‘Secret Level’ seizes opportunity to get people into video games

Director Dave Wilson feared Hollywood would hesitate to consider 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 produced 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 December 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. It arrived on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday.

Some popular games explored in the series include Dungeons and Dragons, Pac-Man, Armored Core, and Mega Man.

Wilson and Miller had to work hard to decide which games to include 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 many audiences.

“I didn’t want it to 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 connect with the series and recognize some of its titles from popular culture.

“Everything has to be accessible to everybody,” the “Deadpool” director added.

Miller noted that the key to making this series possible was the longstanding trust between Miller’s Blur Studio and the video game companies whose intellectual property (IP) was used in the show.

“They know that we’re not just gonna take their IP and run off into a dark corner and mess it up,” he said.