Side Quest’s creators wanted to tell stories about why people love games

Halfway done its first season, Apple’s Mythic Quest threw a chaotic curveball pinch “A Dark Quiet Death” — an unexpectedly melodramatic section that chronicled the emergence and autumn of different video crippled improvement team. “A Dark Quiet Death” was the first lawsuit of Mythic Quest switching up its comedic formula to show an earnest communicative astir what makes group autumn successful emotion pinch games. And since then, each play of Mythic Quest has featured a backstory section that felt emblematic of the series’ communicative strengths.

Side Quest, Apple TV Plus’ caller Mythic Quest spinoff miniseries, feels a batch for illustration a postulation of “A Dark Quiet Death”-style episodes arsenic it introduces a slew of caller characters (and brings backmost a mates of veterans) whose lives person each been touched by 1 of the world’s astir celebrated games. When I precocious said pinch Side Quest’s co-creators, Ashly Burch, John Howell Harris, and Katie McElhenney, they told maine that the caller show’s stylistic similarities to Mythic Quest’s forays into the past were wholly intentional. But aft years of focusing connected characters who spot themselves arsenic larger-than-life gods, the Side Quest team was overmuch much willing successful telling stories astir the players who made Mythic Quest a hit.

“When we first started penning Mythic Quest, we talked astir really these characters are benignant of for illustration gods who are creating this virtual world,” Burch said. “So if the group wrong Mythic Quest HQ are the gods, past Side Quest is astir the mortals that are being affected by the choices of the gods.”

Side Quest wanders further and further distant from Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney) and everyone other moving astatine Mythic Quest Studios complete the people of its four-episode-long season. But the bid really kicks disconnected pinch an section revolving astir the game’s creation director, Phil Birch (Derek Waters), arsenic he tries to make immoderate clip for a picnic pinch his woman Maude (Anna Konkle). Even though moving straight connected Mythic Quest (the game) mightiness make its fans spot Phil arsenic 1 of the game’s gods, Burch felt that his history of being exploited by his colleagues made him the cleanable mortal to unfastened the show.

“We wanted to lead pinch a transitional landing pad betwixt Mythic Quest premier and Side Quest, and we thought that Phil, bless him, is simply a very bully encapsulation of the choices Mythic Quest’s main characters person been making,” Burch explained. “From seasons 2–3, Phil is astir apt treated for illustration the agency toilet much than immoderate different character, and he’s conscionable astatine the whims of these deranged creatives.”

All of Side Quest’s characters person immoderate benignant of narration pinch Mythic Quest, but the co-creators saw the show arsenic an opportunity to research different kinds of audiences that tin gravitate toward celebrated pieces of IP arsenic they grow into different mediums. At this constituent successful the game’s existence, Mythic Quest has been adapted into a deed comic bid that stores for illustration the 1 featured successful “Pull List” tin hardly negociate to support successful stock. And while Mythic Quest employees for illustration Phil mightiness beryllium hopeless to get distant from the franchise, Harris noted that location are countless group who are hopeless to go portion of it, for illustration the master musicians featured successful Side Quest’s Tár-like episode, “Fugue.”

“At 1 point, it was news to maine that the euphony from games for illustration Zelda and Final Fantasy goes connected circuit each astir the world to beryllium played by afloat orchestras successful performance halls and theaters packed afloat of people,” Harris said. “I was fascinated by really celebrated these concerts are, but besides the level of musicianship required to play astatine that level successful specified a competitory environment.”

The play comes afloat circle successful “The Last Raid,” an section set almost wholly wrong Mythic Quest (the game), arsenic a group of teens log connected together hoping to return connected immoderate powerful bosses only to recognize that their real-world friendships are moving debased connected HP. Burch said “The Last Raid” was born, successful part, retired of the team’s emotion for classical machinima bid for illustration Red vs. Blue. But the thought of taking viewers wrong of Mythic Quest also struck them arsenic the cleanable measurement to exemplify really some the crippled and the larger marque person transformed successful consequence to what’s been going connected down the scenes.

“Part of what’s absorbing astir ‘The Last Raid’ is the measurement you benignant of spot that Mythic Quest, the game, is changing because the marque is besides expanding,” McElhenney said. “It almost feels for illustration this group of kids is playing a throwback type of Mythic Quest. World of Warcraft is simply a bully analogue because it’s a akin business wherever you person a crippled that has a rabid instrumentality guidelines of group who are loyal to it moreover though it’s not needfully being updated and maintained.”

Though Side Quest drops a mates of hints astir really Mythic Quest might alteration aft its play 4 finale, the team’s biggest extremity pinch the spinoff was to time off viewers guessing astir which kinds of caller perspectives they’d beryllium seeing this world from next. And that meant leaning into the tonal elasticity the original bid has go known for by veering disconnected the beaten path.

“I consciousness for illustration that’s really it was pinch Mythic Quest’s departure episodes — particularly successful play 1 erstwhile nary 1 was expecting them,” McElhenney said. “Shows conscionable don’t do that benignant of point usually, but because Mythic Quest premier was capable to return that leap, we had much imaginative state with Side Quest to clasp the anthology exemplary and make each section consciousness wholly different.”

All 4 episodes of Side Quest are now streaming connected Apple TV Plus.