Excessive Opinions

I’ve been watching this indie show Level 20-Something, it’s an animated web series on YouTube with a pretty big video game influence. The universe is set inside the video game world but not as you would think. In this reality the people pull the strings behind the video game itself; they act out cut-scenes, populate the levels as minions or stand around pointlessly as NPC’s. Populated with a lotta’ classic video game references, this show has a pixel art style and midi-sound effects that are real popular lately.

Very similar to the 2007 G4TV show Code Monkeys, the show revolves around two guys, just trying to survive the daily grind, one level at a time. Mike and Chris work as insignificant mobs during the day, these guys are still trying to figure out what they want out of their 8-bit life. They don’t always follow the rules but they mean well, usually. Keiko is a pretty interesting character, kinda the typical actress nay bartender but with an anger streak that could be the answer to the guys problems. I don’t want to get too much into the story but its fun. Clearly a comedy, this show doesn’t stick solely to video games with a lotta’ film and TV references sprinkled in there too. The Seinfeld reference in episode four really cracked me up. 

The animation is pretty smooth, but beyond that the way it’s directed is really great. The shots are obviously thought out well, there are only a couple single angle scenes, I haven’t noticed any animation loops and the backgrounds aren’t just static images. The voice acting itself is good, obviously the sound quality represents the production budget but it’s definitely above average for something recorded over Skype. I will say one thing though and that’s sometimes the conversations are little slow. If the editing was a little tighter it might seem more professional but often the gap between each character talking is just a second too long. This gets better further into the season but in the first episode it’s very noticeable and it, although not enjoyment-breaking, does take you out of the show. 

All in all, I’m looking forward to the next episode. The overarching storyline seems rather interesting and the characters are likeable. I do especially like the small after-credit scenes and the music is pretty fun. The show has a fairly small following but the creators have put a lot of effort into fan interaction so hopefully word will continue to spread. Having no corporate backing or budget, this show is just another example of the internet making it possible for creative people to produce something that they would want to watch and then putting it out there for free.

You can find the show on YouTube here or via their brand spanking new website. You can find the real life Mike and Keiko at Wondercon this year, 16th through 18th March (2012) in the artist alley. If anyone is going to be there, make sure to say hi as they’re both collecting images for viewer cameos and giving away free pins in return for trivia answers. (Make sure to say I sent you.)

And that link again: www.level20something.com