Netflix’s ‘Arcane’ Creators Alex Yee and Christian Linke To Discuss Their Video Game TV Series
The creators Alex Yee and Christian Linke of the Netflix TV show Arcane: League of Legends sit down with BAFTA interviewer Siddh Bhatnagar for a Q&A session. In the discussion, Alex and Christian chat about the making of the series, the obstacles they had to overcome, how they wanted to stay true to fans and gamers, and the reception of season 1.
“I think it was a huge milestone, you know. Obviously, I think we all hope, on our team, that this can be much more, like ‘Arcane’ in the future, and more opportunities for video game franchises and IPs to just go deeper on their own stories.”
Siddh starts the interview by asking Alex and Christian about their reflections on the positive reception to Arcane. Christian stated that the story went through numerous tests to get to the final product. He references the infamous “video game curse” in which almost all attempts at screen adaptions to video games have been conducted poorly. However, the positive reception was affirming and served as relief for the work put into creating Arcane. Christian feels like the show passed a milestone in overcoming the “video game curse” and that its success will allow other gaming franchises to try to make a similar attempt to Arcane. For Alex, he felt fulfilled at people being able to recognize the work put into the show.
“I think that was really the goal. To find an expression of the IP that really feels like it’s also made for ourselves, if you will.”
Siddh moves to ask that as gamers of League of Legends themselves, did they desire to emphasize and aid the frequency of creating more game-to-screen adaptations. Christian feels that Arcane has allowed fans the chance to describe the story of their favorite game. One question that frequently came to mind was deciding on how much to lean on between the original content and the “Hollywood textbook.” Nonetheless, the show served as a commitment towards the creators following what they want to exist within Arcane.
Alex believes fans are coming to a point where they can make shows and movies based on the video games they grew up playing. As childhood gamers, he and Christian wanted to be a part of that movement. Alex felt that good game content would be made soon due to fans wishing for a proper screen adaptation after experiencing past failed attempts. He also feels that good game content is inevitable because gaming has become embedded into mainstream culture.
“Working at Riot, you know, definitely helped us. Because Riot, as a company…challenged a lot of conventions. Like, free-to-play wasn’t really a big thing, and esports wasn’t big in the West. At so many different points, the leaders at Riot faced kind of the similar criticism from the popular industry.”
When asked about how Alex and Christian experimented on the show, Christian revealed that almost every film and tv professional they approached was shocked by their processes. Often criticized for their animation, one critique Alex and Christian frequently received was that instead of their animation being drawn out, it needed to be a short series of “quick action” scenes. Thankfully, some professionals understood the team’s efforts.
Alex referenced criticisms that the video game company Riot faced. He explained that Riot’s ability to overcome those criticisms and norms placed upon them allowed the company to become what it is today. Alex feels that it is due to Riot’s notion of challenging norms that resulted in the company being very receptive while working with the team for Arcane. When it came to experimenting with characters, Alex believed that animation was the best approach for the show. For Alex, when a game character translates to a live-action actor, the actor absorbs the character. Alex desired actor portrayals to add to the character while retaining the character’s unique identity. Animation provided that desire. The animation was also better, in his opinion, due to not being limited to the restraints of reality.
“I think we actually trusted ourselves for a lot of the big things. It’s just when you get into the…where the champions do things other than—I guess the kind of things that feel obvious, or when you’re adding dimension to a character or trying out some different quirk. Those are the things where you really check yourself and think, ‘I think it’ll work; I hope it’ll work.’”
Siddh then asks if Alex and Christian being fans of League of Legends added more pressure to them while creating Arcane. For Christian, there was a sense of meeting expectations. Two tasks he struggled with were trying to bring in every gameplay meta and being able to portray character reactions based on released content. However, Alex believed that, in retrospect, the little details became less of a big deal mentally when going through the experience of watching the completed product. Alex stated that most of the exploration for the different characters was finding the good in bad and the bad in good. This meant searching for questions each character would have to ask themselves. These questions prioritized testing the characters’ core values and beliefs within the show.
“To me, it was kind of an informal rule of thumb that anything that felt like an Easter Egg from the game needed to not come at the expense of the viewing experience for someone who knows nothing.”
The last questions Siddh asks are inquiring about the lack of in-game actions within Arcane and whether fan interpretations influenced the show. Alex answered the first question, reasoning that the lack of in-game actions within the show was for the viewing experience of people new to League of Legends. He claimed that the team followed an informal rule to not edit in Easter Eggs from the game at the expense of the viewers who know nothing about said inclusion. Not including it doesn’t take away anything from the story and new viewers have fewer visuals to keep track of.
Regarding fan interpretations influencing the creation of Arcane, Christian believes there is good content to be found, but they did not affect the story. However, the large number of interpretations validated the work Christian and the team put into shaping dynamic characters. Instead of directly affecting the show, fans serve, in Christian’s opinion, as inspiration for Arcane. For Alex, the passionate interests of the fans fuel him. Despite this, Alex believes that calling out any fan for their interpretation is doing a disservice to the other fans. The interview closes with Alex and Christian promoting the future release of season 2 of Arcane without giving out any hints of what to expect.