'The Twilight Zone' is up next for the creator of 'BioShock'
BioShock creator Ken Levine is going to create something in the Twilight Zone universe.
It's not exactly a game, but it won't be a TV series either. Levine is working on the project -- a side gig that he'll develop concurrently with his top secret game for 2K -- with Interlude, a company that specializes in interactive video.
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Speaking to Wired, Levine explained a little bit of his background with the classic science fiction TV series, which he grew up with.
"They speak to a larger truth," he said of The Twilight Zone's plot-twisting episodes. "They’re morality plays, fables, and often they’re about a character who is going through an experience that’s central to their life but also speaks to a larger part of the human condition. I don’t think [series creator Rod] Serling, at the beginning, set out to be a science fiction writer. But he found that this is a great medium to do metaphor."
Levine and Interlude are early in the planning process. There's an outline written out, but none of the serious writing has started yet, and questions linger about how choice will be used to let each viewer tailor his or her own experience with the story. How to make it "feel more personal for the viewer, and make them more engaged."
That's where Interlude comes in. Founded by Israeli musician Yoni Bloch, the media company specializes in interactive video content. They're not video games as most would typically think of them, but they offer something more than just a passive viewing experience.
"It started when Yoni and his band wanted to create a unique music video that his audience would want to play over and over again," the company's "About Us" page reads.
"Inspired by video games and non-linear stories like Dungeons & Dragons that they had loved as kids, the band filmed the video with a similar structure in mind. When they discovered that no technology existed that would support their vision of online seamless interactive play, the co-founders set out to develop such technology themselves."
You can see an example of Interlude's work in this impressive music video for Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone." The song plays on a fake TV while users flip between different channels at their leisure. Each channel syncs up the music with whatever's happening on the screen.
Exactly how Levine and Interlude rope that level of interactivity into a Twilight Zone treatment remains to be seen. But this sounds like a killer marriage of creative talents, and a project that's worth keeping an eye on.
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Topics Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
