The creators of Side Quest wanted to tell stories about the reasons why we love games

In the middle of his first season, Apple Mythical quest Launched a wild curve with “A Dark Quiet Death” – an unexpected episode which has chroniced the rise and the fall of another video game development team. “”Dark silent death“Was the first case of Mythical quest Change your comic formula To tell a serious story about what makes people fall in love with games. And since then, every season of Mythical quest presented a background episode which seemed emblematic of the narrative forces of the series.

Secondary questApple TV Plus’ new Mythical quest The spin-off mini-series is very similar to a collection of style episodes “A Dark Quiet Death” because it introduces a multitude of new characters (and brings back some veterans) whose life has all been affected by one of the most popular games in the world. When I recently talked with Secondary questThe co-creators, Ashly Burch, John Howell Harris and Katie Mcelhenney, they told me that the stylistic similarities of the new show with Mythical questThe incursions in the past were entirely intentional. But after years to focus on characters who consider themselves larger than life gods, the Secondary quest The team was much more interested in telling stories about the players who did Mythical quest a blow.

“When we started writing Mythical questWe talked about how these characters are a bit like gods who create this virtual world, “said Burch.” So if people in the HQ of the mythical quest are the gods, then Secondary quest concerns the mortals which are affected by the choices of the gods. »»

Secondary quest Robs further and further from Ian Grimm (Rob Mcelhenney) and all the others working in mythical quest studios during his four episodes season. But the series actually starts with an episode revolving around the artistic director of the game, Phil Birch (Derek Waters), while he tries to take time for a vacation with his girlfriend Maude (Anna Konkle). Even if working directly on Mythical quest (The game) could show his fans Phil as one of the gods of the game, Burch said that his story of being exploited by his colleagues made him the perfect mortal to open the show.

“We wanted to direct with a transitional landing block between Mythical quest bonus and Secondary questAnd we thought that Phil, blessed, is a very good encapsulation of choices Mythical questThe main characters have done, “said Burch.” From the seasons 2 to 3, Phil has probably been treated like the office toilets more than any other character, and it is just for the whims of these disturbed creatives. “”

All Secondary questThe characters have a kind of relationship with Mythical questBut the co-creators saw the show as an opportunity to explore different types of audiences that can gravitate to popular IP parts as they develop in different supports. At this stage of the existence of the game, Mythical quest was adapted in a series of successful comics that stores like the one presented in “Pull List” can barely succeed in stock. And while Mythical quest Employees like Phil could desperately move away from the franchise, Harris noted that there are countless people who desperately need to be part of it, like professional musicians presented in Secondary quest‘s Storage-similar perception, “fugue”.

“At one point, it was news for me that game music like Zelda And Final Fantasy By the tour of the whole world to be played by complete orchestras in concert halls and theaters filled with people, “said Harris.” I was fascinated by the popularity of these concerts, but also the level of musicality required to play at this level in such a competitive environment. “”

The season is looped in “The Last Raid”, an episode adjust almost entirely inside Mythical quest (the game)As a group of teenagers who connect together in the hope of taking powerful bosses to realize that their real friendships are low on HP. Burch said that “The Last Raid” was born, in part, from the team’s love for classic machinima series as Red against blue. But the idea of ​​taking viewers inside Mythical quest Also struck them as the ideal way to illustrate how the game and the larger brand have transformed in response to what is happening behind the scenes.

“A part of what is interesting in the” last raid “is the way you see that Mythical questThe game, changes because the brand is also in full expansion, “said Mcelhenney.” He almost has the impression that this group of children plays a return version of Mythical quest. World of Warcraft is a good analog because it is a similar situation where you have a game that has a raised fans base of people who are loyal to it, even if it is not necessarily updated and maintained. “”

However Secondary quest drop some tips on how Mythical quest Could change after his final of season 4, the team’s largest goal with the spin-off was to let viewers guess what types of new perspectives they would see from this world from the next one. And that meant looking at the tonal flexibility for which the original series became known by turning the beaten track.

“I feel like it was like that Mythical questThe starting episodes – especially in season 1 when nobody expected them, “said Mcelhenney.” The programs do not do this kind of thing generally, but because because because Mythical quest Bonus was able to make this jump, we had more creative freedom with Secondary quest Kiss the anthology model and make each episode feel completely different. “”

The four episodes of Secondary quest are now in difficulty on Apple TV Plus.