Our Hopes And Dreams For A Hyper Light Drifter TV Series
March was a huge month for fans of Heart Machine, the developer of 2016’s Hyper Light Drifter. First, we finally got to see what the studio has been working on with the reveal of Solar Ash Kingdom. Now, we get the announcement of a Hyper Light Drifter TV series from the producer of Netflix’s Castlevania and the upcoming Devil May Cry animated series.
With the announcement of a TV series comes questions that the developers seemingly don’t have answers for just yet. According to an interview with Polygon, development of the series is currently at a conceptual level, but we’re assured by creator Alx Preston that they’re “going to make it cool.” So with that, I’d like to throw my woefully under-qualified hat in the ring and give some pointers on how to make the series as amazing, if not more amazing, than the content upon which it is based.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Hyper Light Drifter is easily the thing that makes the game so special, its complete lack of dialogue. This decision, however contentious within the gaming community, left it up to players to decipher its cryptic story and lore. Sadly, however cool this was in a game it probably won’t translate well to the small screen – especially because at this point it doesn’t seem like anyone really knows the full story of the Drifters journey and the world before its destruction. This is where a fully voice acted TV series could shine, adding context to the Drifters’ plight and fleshing out the world in which he lives. Of course, this would obviously benefit Netflix as well, as being the only place that some hundreds of thousands of fans flock to for the full story on the game would behoove them.
Dialogue only goes so far when it comes to creative endeavors and that’s where Disasterpiece and his amazing chiptune sounds come in. The music for Hyper Light Drifter is just as crucial to its overall feel as the amazing art and story. So the return of the original composer would really bring things home for the animated feature. Since the release of Hyper Light Drifter, he’s worked on a number of different movies such as It Follows, Under the Silver Lake, and Triple Frontier. The last being distributed by Netflix, so hopefully that bodes well for his involvement in the Hyper Light TV series.
Last, but certainly not least, we need to talk about the amazing pixel art showcased in Hyper Light Drifter. However much I might adore its 16-bit aesthetic, this is also where issues may arise with its adaptation. Making pixel sprites on their own is quite the task, let alone making several hours worth, but damn would it be awesome to see an extension of the opening theme of the game into a full-fledged series. If anything, it’ll be adapted into an anime style similar to Castlevania, which I have absolutely no problem with.
When it comes to Hyper Light Drifter I can easily say that any adaptation will be fantastic as long as its creators are given some creative leeway and put their heart into the project. I’m freakishly excited for the future of Heart Machine as a studio and indie games as a whole with this large leap into the mainstream. But here’s hoping that we one day get a true sequel to this amazing indie game.
