#christian vander | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

piltoversfinest-caitvi · 1 year

Text

Christian Linke and Alex Yee Q&A

From here (will update if there’s more)

With special addition from Amanda’s

Below the cut are the questions and answers they provided

Q: Anything in regards to an art book for this show? Would love nothing more than to secure a copy of one.

Christian: There is one in the works! I remember talking to some folks at Fortiche and Riot about it a few months ago. I'm not sure where they are in the process, but it's coming for sure.

Q: Hi! Do you think Caitlyn and Vi shippers will be happy with the upcoming season?

Alex: There's that part they might like, and that part they're probably gonna hate.

Amanda (A reply to Alex’s post): I take full responsibility for both. And stand by that they make the show better!

Q: How did you all go about capturing such minute and captivating micro-expressions? Also, Caitlyn and Vi have been really fun for my wife and I to watch together as a lesbian couple. We really hope we get to see their relationship grow in new and interesting ways. I'm curious about how their roles as "Piltover's Finest" will differ from how they do in LoL. Will caitlyn still be a sheriff, or more of a private eye working independently from the Enforcers?

Also, what is the likelihood we will see them as official "girlfriends" next season? Will it mainly be implied or outright stated? I realize if you can't share much, but I (and my wife) are dying to know.

Lastly, will we get to see the entire tattoo on Vi's back at any point?

Christian:

I appreciate you speaking to the smaller details of the character moments. Generally speaking, people in animation will advise against those silent beats where subtle expressions mean as much as any word could, but that's the sort of drama we really craved in the animation space. We simply have awesome animators :) And a wildly talented animation director Bart Manoury, who defined that entire look for Arcane.

For Vi's tattoo -- we have the complete design, I'm not quite sure why we haven't shared it with everyone. Let me inquire about that.

Regarding Vi and Caitlyn, I wish I could say more at this point, but a lot of the answers I'd give you would spoil the experience on screen. I'm confident in the direction we're taking it, and I very much wanna hear from you once Season 2 is out.

Q: what we should expect for Viktor in season 2?

Christian: Everything

Q: Will there be anymore merch drops for Arcane? O: I would love to have posters or even figures/statues/nendoroids of any of the characters!

Christian: Yes. I myself am the sort of person that likes to have dozens of statues, trinkets and figurines on his shelf. The underwhelming amount of merch during Season 1's release is very high on my list of gripes. We're actively working on making sure that we do much better next time around.

Alex: I certainly hope so!

Q: Are there plans to release the scripts for Arcane? I would love to study these.I know you guys don't come from a typical Hollywood background and that's what I love about Arcane, it's so fresh and new. How did you learn how to create a show? How did you write the finale to encapsulate so much emotion and meaning?

Christian: Yes! Quite frankly, we just haven't gotten to consolidating all the different versions yet. Some of it also touches on Season 2 spoiler risks, so I'm afraid we still need to find the time to go through the mountain that is our Season 1 scripts. ;o

In the beginning, we certainly had no idea how to craft a TV series. Personally, I tried to read a lot of books about story crafting and screenwriting. I can't say that I found many of them useful, but at least they all confirmed the general framework of act structures and character drive.

We spent a good amount of time in meetings with other folks who worked in the industry, always looking for that secret sauce that unlocks a TV story structure, and... turns out it doesn't exist. So once you come to that conclusion, it becomes a bit easier to roll up your sleeves and go "alright, let's find our own". At this point, we have our own "metrics" and processes to track plot and character. It's always somewhat messy when you intend to craft a complex story, but that's just part of the work.

Good story (in my mind) is all about hard choices. Many writers talk about being "character driven" without actually writing character driven stories. If you ask your hero whether or not they will help save the world from an alien invasion, the answer always is "yes, duh". Thus, the character doesn't REALLY have a decision to make. The sole question that remains is "HOW are they gonna overcome their obstacle?" -- which is entertaining, but it really doesn't drive the story forward with full autonomy.

I think Alex and I gravitate toward stories that leave characters with costly or even impossible choices.

Amanda (Add onto Christian’s post): I think of this in terms of what a character hopes and fears. You have to know what these are (and make sure the audience knows too) and use them to tug a character towards impossible decisions. I also think you have to be able to relate to these hopes and fears. As Christian mentioned, the fear of dying in an alien invasion isn’t relatable. Neither is the hope of winning a civil war (for most people), but what made Silco’s quest for Zaun’s freedom relatable is that it was rooted in his hope that he could win back his brother Vander’s respect. And without his respect, Silco feared he was the “dirty little thing” his station in life always ascribed to him. Fearing you aren’t good enough, and craving respect from family are deeply relatable emotions. This is what a “character driven story” means to me!!

Q: I've watched this show many many times, introducing it to new people, and always finding another detail or two I didn't during previous watches! While writing the story, what was the most complex story-telling issue you guys ran into?

Christian: We wanted all of our characters to be "real", and thus, make imperfect decisions. The finale of the 3rd episode was scary, because both Vi and Powder really mess up and make terrible decisions. At the same time, we didn't want these choices to alienate them entirely.Characters like Jinx and Silco constantly murder and manipulate. Can an audience still root for them? It's a bit of a dance between their many risky actions and choices.

Amanda (Add onto Christian’s): Again, I think this comes from relatable motivations. Jinx, (and Powder before her), was always desperate to prove herself worthy — worthy of her sister’s faith in her, worthy of Silco’s faith in her. We shouldn’t have to prove ourselves worthy of love, but that is a struggle we all face in so many different ways. A character making terrible decisions is much more forgivable if you too have felt what they’re feeling. I always say I love characters that do the right thing for the wrong reasons, or the wrong thing for the right reasons, everything else is boring!

Q: If you could have made arcane about any other part of runeterra which one has most interest to you?

Christian: Sheesh... there's a lot. ;) We've been working on Arcane for over 7 years now, so naturally, you have ideas for other stories over time.I think the "grimsical" tone that Arcane features works well for Alex and I. That said, I'm really interested in exploring some more quirky stuff as well. The League IP has a lot to offer, it's very diverse in cultural and tonal aspects.

Alex: There are stories I'd love to tell all over Runeterra. One of the joys of working on Arcane was having the opportunity to dive deep into the style, look, and culture of Piltover/Zaun. At Riot we of course have our ideas, but there is still a magic of discovery whenever you invest time conceptualizing one of Runeterra's regions.I've always been a fan of the intrigue/machinations of Noxus, the aesthetics and history of Ionia, the mythos of the Freljord.

Q: In an episode of “Into the Rift”, it’s said that the early drafts of Arcane weren’t good. How much of that draft and the final show are similar or different? Just character arcs and interactions? Major plot points? Or was the entire idea of the show changed?

Christian: A lot (if not all) of the story structure and character arcs were the same.

Crafting the episodes and scenes in a fashion that builds the right tension over time and tracks all the parallel stories wasn't really clicking yet at that time, so Alex and I getting help from the outside and learning more about how to "break an episode" really unlocked the episodes to be stronger.

Alex: The broad strokes of the show never really changed. I'd say the biggest evolutions concerned pacing and development of emotional storytelling. We were more plot-focused before that. We always wanted big emotional beats between characters, we just strengthened their integration to the overall story.

Often, a slight shift in our approach significantly changed the spirit of a scene or beat. We were fortunate to have brainstormed so many moments before we rebooted the story though, it gave us a wealth to draw from when we went into the proper writer's room.

Q: What were some of the small touches in the art and writing of Arcane that didn't mean that much in the big picture, but that you really enjoyed personally?

Christian: Man... also too many to count. ;) The wonderful thing about our collaboration with Fortiche is that artists at the studio are really empowered. An example that Alex likes to bring up and that we all really love is the ash tray in Silco's office. We didn't instruct them to make it look like Jinx painted it in her trademark whimsical style, they did that themselves. They were tasked with designing a simple ash tray and thought, "how can I do more with this than the minimum?" -- and so they did. Now, an ash tray tells a story.

Q: Will season 2 be the final season in the Piltover and Zaun region? Will there be more interactions between Ekko and Jinx in season 2?

Christian: I don't think answering this first question would actually benefit you, so I'm not gonna do it. Oh yes (to the q of Ekko and Jinx).

Q: Will there be another season of bridging the rift or any more behind the scenes content?

Christian: I don't know if it's gonna be another full Bridging The Rift, but I know that we're filming BTS material all around. So in some shape or form, there are gonna be more glimpses behind the curtain for you. :)

Q: If you could choose a single word to describe season 2, what would you pick?

Christian: War

Alex: Rubicon

Amanda: Well I’m more of a sap than these guys, but I say “forgiveness.”

Q: What were some of the biggest influences on Arcane in terms of writing or animation?

Christian: Alex and I were talking a lot about Peaky Blinders while we were working on Season 1.For animation, there really isn't that much I would reference to be frank. When we started Arcane, there wasn't really anything out there that had the look and style we had in mind.

Amanda: Let’s not forget our “Lord of the Rings” dollar jar. Bunch of bills in there from you, Christian!!

Christian: True. Though Arcane development started long before Spiderverse.

Q: When is season 2 coming?

Christian: B-)

Q: How long do you see yourself doing Arcane? Can you see the series becoming a revolving door of stories told from different regions of Runeterra at some point?Have you ever had a great idea for something in the show, that came too late? eg: animation is too far along to change

Christian: We definitely want to explore other regions. At the same time, we've all seen shows and movies that try to cram in too many different perspectives too quickly. I think we gotta earn our way into a larger world view first. So definitely coming in the future, but we have to find the right pace for the story we wanna tell.

Regarding having an idea for something that came too late -- yes, constantly. ;) As someone much wiser than us once said: "Art is never finished, only abandoned".

Q: Does "Our Love" image on the record in the show refer to personifications of Piltover and Zaun? Since the girls are colour coded as respective cities over big red-dot in the sky.

Christian: Indeed!

Q: When making the soundtrack for the show, what did you and/or others have in mind for selecting artists and sounds for what would end up making the cut? Were there any you were considering that didn’t make it?

Christian: It starts with the editors at Fortiche looking for the right moment(s) in every episode that could feature a "music video moment". Usually, the vibe and mood of the story boards paints a target that we then try to cast appropriately.

You tend to have a shortlist of 5-10 artists that you then try to hunt.

During Season 1, it was really hard to find artists, because we were an unproven studio, and a lot of artists weren't interested in animated series. Luckily, the ones who joined us did so because they really believed in the vision, more so than it being an easy win.

Amanda: The storyboard artists make the intention of the scene work. Without them our writing would be boring, flat words. Coming from a live action background, the collaboration in the boards feels like working with a director and the actors all at once — they decide camera angles and blocking which is everything to the emotion and feeling of a scene.

Q: Did you guys overall have a favorite scene or episode from the final product? What was it like/how did it feel to take in all of the positive reactions, to witness the major impact that Arcane left?

Christian: The finale of Episode 6 is always very powerful to me. Probably that. It was a powerful feeling, because you poured your entire existence into this project for over half a decade, well knowing that the League audience is unmerciful. It was super-scary to imagine that they may not like it. That's a chunk of your life you'd never get back. Thankfully, it worked out. :)

Alex: Definitely one of the hardest questions to answer. Kind of a copout to say the dinner scene (109), but I always marvel at the emotion Fortiche was able to evoke in animation there. Similar feeling for the bridge fight (107), even though I do really love the intergration with music and how much story is told.

I'll throw a nod to the Chuck/Thieram scene with Jinx (106). It is/was a moment of general silliness, both in the writing act and the show that doesn't always feel like it fits with the rest of the tone, but it makes me smile that it survived all the way to the finish.

Q: What's your favorite episode of the show? Did Silco braid Jinx's hair? How long did Jinx's tattoos take? Who's your favorite character?

Christian: Probably 106. Yes, though he most definitely sucked at it, no matter how much he tried. Eventually, he paid someone to invent a machine that can braid Jinx's hair, but Jinx would always tinker with it, to a point where it once nearly strangled her in the process. He once asked Sevika to do it, but Sevika threatened to quit. So Silco had to keep doing it, until Jinx was old enough to learn it. Not sure I understand the question. Heimerdinger.

Q: You mentioned passionate tweets on social media. Does that mean the creators of Arcane see a large part of the fans tweets, fanart, disccusion?

Christian: Yeah, we see a good amount. Though Arcane's fan art on twitter tends to be a bit of a minefield. :X

Alex: We see quite a bit, but I have the feeling it's only the tip of the iceberg. I wish I had the fluency to dip into more of the fan reactions from all the non-English regions where Arcane was released.

Q: Are there people in the production crew you'd like to give a shout out to and why? Who are the unsung heroes of Arcane? What's a small detail or easter egg in the show that no one has discovered yet? What is your favorite plugin/audio effect that you used to produce any song in the Arcane soundtrack? Any teases for S2?

Christian:

I'd say that the story board artists are truly the creative unsung heroes. Our story boarders are FANTASTIC, and the amount of things they have to juggle is insane. And yet, none of their work ends up in the final picture, which always makes me sad.

There's loads. I think someday -- maybe in a few years -- I'll wanna check in on that and see which have just not gotten discovered. :)

Gulfoss. It's pure magic.

Q: Are all the scripts complete for Season 2?

Christian: Yes. Though there's always some amount of tweaks that happen in the process. Seeing story boards & hearing voices for the first time makes you realize that something doesn't quite click, or there's new opportunities you didn't recognize before.

Q: What were some events and actions that you really liked and wanted in the show, but had to rewrite or cut because they didn’t properly push story arc of some characters, or went against how that character should act at that point in their arc? Or what was your proudest achievement with this show that was cut, rewritten, or something that you knew the viewing audience would never know about?

Christian: There was another scene in Episode 107, a flashback between Ekko and Powder that takes place a few months after the end of Episode 103. It was a very touching moment during which Ekko tries to save Powder from Silco, but Powder refuses to go with him. "Powder is dead" .Alas... sometimes, it is your darlings that end up on the chopping block. Animation is expensive, and time is very much so money.

Q: How did y’all decide to include Get Jinxed by Djerv in the show, even though it was created for the LoL version of Jinx back in 2013? Does that song actually exist in the Arcane universe, or was it just part of soundtrack/Jinx’s imagination?

Christian: The song has a lot of meaning for us, because it was the first time Fortiche and I worked together on something. The beginning of the whole relationship.I don't think the song exists in the Arcane universe, no. That was more a selfish little moment for us. :)

Q: One of the things I really liked about Arcane was how there was no fat. There was not a single scene that felt tacked on or unnecessary, but you still managed to flesh out the world. Noxus was a great example. Their inclusion made the world feel bigger but it didn’t slow down the plot for a second.I know it’s a group effort deciding which scenes to cut but I was wondering what you’re criteria is when making those decisions.

Christian: I know that some people said Arcane moves at a pace that's too brisk, but both Alex and I like it when episodes really move the story forward. We all have our favorite TV shows that often enough present us filler episodes. We just didn't want that.

We followed act structures per episode. Every character story line would get their 3 acts, plus "twist" to set up the future conflict.

We did also have a piece of paper in our writer's room that spelled out our criteria for a successful scene:

- How does this scene develop the character?

- How does this scene further the plot?

- How does this scene teach the audience something new about the world?

You don't always get all 3, but it needs to have at least 2.

Q: Is it possible for Mel Medarda to return in Season 2? :c

Alex: Solidly possible.

Q: Are there gonna be any sex scenes in S2?

Christian: Ew, no! Gross. Maybe.

Alex: Hmm... any characters springing to mind?

Christian: I dunno Alex. Haven't seen anything on social media that makes me believe people even thought about this.

Amanda: They hired me back for season two, which means there will be sex. I’m the reason it’s in season one.

Q: Why did you name the show Arcane? When you were first developing the show who would you say was the character that changed the most from how you originally developed/ thought of them? Did Jinx and Vander have a close relationship? Does Jinx actually see Vander as someone who betrayed Silco?

Christian: Magic ties a lot of our world together. Every region, every champion has a different relationship with it.

Viktor for sure. I kinda just wanna leave it there. ;P

They weren't as close as Vander and Vi were. Vander was the person that Vi looked up, whereas she was the person Powder looked up to. I don't think that Jinx necessarily blamed Vander for what happened, though she does think (now) that Vander chose wrong.

Q: I want to ask if there's anything you can share about the Firelights! I'd definitely love to know more about them and how they were conceptualised, some more information about the members if possible, perhaps even word on their involvement on next season?

I think the idea of "Hope for a better Zaun" is one of the core tenets of Ekko, and I'm certainly proud to see that he has a group that is actively working towards that goal. I'm satisfied with where you've taken his storyline and I can definitely say you guys completely understand him!

Christian: Appreciate that! The firelights were inspired by and named after the green insects that you see flying around especially in episode 107. They come out of nowhere, swooping in, zipping through the air, and they look cool. :)

It happens easily that a place like Zaun gets written off because dangerous experiments and shady streets scare people off. In many ways, however, it is the kind of place where a truly revolutionary technology or idea can find purchase. So if you ask me, Zaun really is the place where the true magic can happen, and Ekko totally gets that and wants to enable and amplify that.

Q: Who was the easiest character to write and who was the hardest?

Christian: Hardest I'd say Silco and Jinx. They're both stylized in very different ways. Alex is the specialist for their dialogue on our team.

Alex: They all give you trouble here and there, but I would say on average Heimerdinger and Jayce were easier to write than Silco and Jinx.

Q: Will we ever get to see a younger silco and vander pre betrayal? Also any flashbacks to silco being a dad to powder when he first took her in?

Christian: You will, in fact.

Amanda (Reply to Christian): Spoiler! In the episode that always makes me cry.

Q: Will we ever learn about why Vander betrayed Silco? What was Silco planning on doing after he gained the Nation of Zaun? Would he have attempted to improve Zaun? Even though Silco is dead, can we expect to see more of him in s2? (ex. Flashbacks and mentions of him from other characters?) What are your opinions on Silco overall? Did you expect to see him as such a fan favorite?

Christian: Silco was a very special character. During the early phase of development, we talked about everyone's chip on their shoulder. Silco's was being "the dirty little thing". Never being enough. Always having topside look down on him. He could never quite past it, and if it would take his life to escape that existence, so be it. He had nothing to lose.

At the end of the season, he realizes far too late what it's like to have something to lose. Just like Vander, radical notions begin to stumble when your loved ones are threatened by your ideology. "It all makes sense now, brother."

I don't think he had a plan after the Nation of Zaun. It was an impossible pipe dream from the beginning, and if you ask me, achieving it would probably have ruined him.

We did not expect Silco to become such a fan favorite. Jason Spisak did such a wonderful job, it's hard to put in words just how transformative his performances have been.

Alex: We've always liked the relationship between Silco and Vander. It's the original rift that informs the generational split between the sisters. I'll just say, it's a story we'd like to tell.

I think Silco always wanted to improve Zaun, though there are always trade-offs to progress. To me, the real question is who would have helped him realize this vision, and what would have mattered to him at that point in time.

Silco is one of those characters you can get addicted to writing, but I don't think we ever expected him to be such a fan favorite. It really blew my mind when some people engaged with him more as a father figure than Vander.

Amanda (Add onto Alex’s post): To me, the story of Arcane at its core is whether or not the sisters will repeat the sins of their fathers. As Vi and Jinx’s story unfolds we hope you’ll recognize the parallels between Vander and Silco’s story and be desperate for them to take a different path, impossible as that path seems to be.

Q: Did you begin writing the story with the idea of having an antagonistic corrupting/nurturing force to serve as the catalyst for who Jinx would become, or was he developed gradually over time as the right piece to fill what the script needed?

Alex: We knew fairly early that we wanted to have, as Christian put it, a non-champion "svengali" to oppose Vander in the first three episodes. The world felt small when every character happened to be a champion, and we liked the idea of the principle villain being someone who needed others to fight for him. It felt so oppositional to League.

However, we didn't initially plan for Silco to have such a presence throughout the latter half of the season, that developed over time. In fact, we were nervous about giving him too much screen time once the story with Vi and Jinx was rolling. I do remember us asking ourselves right up to the end whether or not Silco would have traded Jinx for his vision of Zaun.

Q: What's a piece of advice you'd give to people trying to create interesting/dynamic characters and stories?

Alex: For me, the best moments come from characters when they surprise you. It's easy to feel omnipotent/omniscient when you are a storyteller. You're usually one step ahead. But sometimes, as you brainstorm all the ways a character might handle a situation or argue a point, they say or do something you hadn't considered. In the best instances, it knocks you off-kilter as much as their opponent in the scene/story. I guess this is all to say, strive to make your characters cleverer than you.

Q: Which scene in the show holds a special meaning to you and why? Possibly because you relate to it personally or there's a funny story behind it from during production.

Alex: There are many, but I'll call out Silco's monologue at the beginning of 103 "Ever wonder what it's like to drown?"This used to be the opening to the show. It sort of encapsulates the core of the story. I think after writing this with Christian, and hearing Jason's performance, it was the first time he looked at me and thought "you might actually be able to write." Of course, I quickly disabused him of this fantasy.

Amanda (Add onto Alex’s post): And it’s my fault that this beautiful sequence is no longer the opening of the show. But I love what it adds to the gut punch of episode 103 and I’ll defend that choice until the day I die. (Even if Alex doesn’t exactly agree with me…)

Q: How did you decide the tone for Arcane? It has adult themes and topics but presents them with such maturity despite being seemingly high fantasy. Was the tone decided from the beginning?

Alex: Tone was the original looming question. We decided we needed to see Vi and Jinx in their younger years as sisters in order to feel the loss and yearning as they struggled to reconnect, but this also made the show feel more "kiddy." I remember calling Christian after having an epiphany that our tone could be like that of the edgier anime I appreciated growing up - no idea why this didn't occur sooner, it just hadn't felt as much like League at the time. For me, anime straddled a tonal line unlike anything else at the time - the bridge from childhood to adulthood.

Once that locked into place, it got a lot easier for me to find the story, although you're always wondering if this or that moment pushes too far. The scene where Singed injects Jinx with Shimmer gave us pause for a little while.

Some anime refs: Hellsing, Berserk, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Gungrave

Q: One question: Who came up with the idea, for Jinx Vs Ekko fight scene, it was a work of art, absolutely surreal experience, so many emotions and exposition in such small amount of time.And also on the topic : how in the world did You managed to fit so, so, so many of such scenes in only nine episodes? I mean, on top of my head, flare scene, Victors run and the climax! So much emotions on screen, i couldn't handle it.

Alex: The credit goes almost entirely to Fortiche and the music team on the bridge fight. 107 felt like a fulcrum-point in their authorship of the series - weaving their music video superpowers with the storytelling.

How we crammed so many scenes in? We wrote scripts that were too long and then battled in editing to save as many darlings as possible. (Slightly joking, but slightly not.)

Thanks for watching!

Q: Now that it's been a year, and you've been able to properly see the praise and criticism of the series, is there anything you wish you did differently? Did you expect it to blow up as much as it did?

Alex: My strategy is more to try to learn and adapt as opposed to rue the missed opportunities. Luckily, I'd say a lot of what we saw in reactions to season 1 aligned well with what we were focused on in season 2, though we did adjust emphasis here and there when we felt like fans had a strong connection with certain beats.

I don't think we ever expected it to have quite the reception it had, though we were always very confident in the quality of our voice actors' performances and the artistic brilliance of Fortiche.

Q: Will we get to know more about the mysterious wizard, who saved Jayce and his mom, in upcoming seasons?

Alex: There will be magic.

Q: I wanted to ask if you could share a list of the champs you worked on during your time on a League, since not many people may know what you worked on prior to Arcane but I loved the creative AMAs you used to host on the forums lime for Zyra and Varus.

Alex: When I was on League, champions would always have an assigned writer/creative focused principally on their story and thematics, but it takes a village to develop a champion, so it would be disingenuous to take credit for many aspects of what they became. Some of my favorite contributions were on champions to whom I wasn't assigned. Sometimes the heart of a champion was present before they came across our desks. And then players could also imbue champions with characteristics/meaning that superseded our intentions (Blitzcrank springs to mind).

That caveat aside, some of the champs I worked on who are close to my heart despite murdering me on Summoner's Rift: Lee Sin, Graves, Leona, Caitlyn, Varus, Lulu, Thresh, Ahri, Riven, Draven, Viktor, Irelia, Nocturne, Jarvan, Karma, Maokai, Nautilus, Sejuani, Sona, Wukong, Vladimir...

There was also a lot of side content and legendary skins (I recently recalled Christian and I working together on the first PROJECT video.) It's important to note a lot of these characters were significantly deepened in updates and later content. Working at Riot is more about doing your best to carry and pass a baton than being an auteur.

Q: will we ever see vi's abs

Alex: I'll put in a request.

Q: When you where writing it, did you have any moments where everything just connected and you thought “wow! I can’t believe we’re this clever!”? If so, when?

Alex: I think what would happen more often is that I would see the end result of something I wrote and think "Wow! Thank heavens Fortiche, the voice actors, and all the other teams managed to make me look like something other than a blathering idiot!"

Of course... no one can stop me all the time.

Q: I believe Riot executives have realized the importance of Arcane to the company, does their support make production easier than before? Will season 2 come out quicker because of that?

Alex: Their support is a huge part of why Arcane has the time, trust, and resources to hit the quality we aim for. People who've worked in the industry always tell us how rare and special our situation is. However, I'd say that extra trust is more likely to mean the season would incubate for more time, rather than less.We know you're all waiting though.

We always try to find the sweet spot between bringing you content and trying to improve/polish it.

Q: In the scene where Finn tries persuading Sevika into betraying Silco, Finn mentioned something about "bigger fish than silco". I feel like this was potential foreshadowing to who will fill the power vacuum Silco left, but I'm not sure. Was Finn referencing someone within the scope of Season 1, or was he talking about someone/something we'll see in the future? (cause it makes me wanna think he was referencing Urgot potentionally)

At the end of the Bridging the Rift, y'all mentioned wanting to expand to other Runeterra regions in animation. Will these new series be anthology to Arcane, or will it be directly/partially carrying on some of Arcane's plotlines?

When and if there are more animated shows outside of Piltover and Zaun, is Fortiche willing to make these projects or can we see different animation studios throwing their hat in the ring? (ie Japanese studio animates Ionia series)

Alex:

Heh, I wondered if this stood out to anyone. There is someone he's referencing, who does capitalize on Silco's death, though I don't know if this will be apparent in season 2. It's one of the things we wanted to connect, but didn't feel was important enough to sacrifice some of the other scenes we wanted.

No specifics to report yet, but we do hope we'll be able to feel a connection between different stories we might tell, even if the camera moves to a very different place.

We love working with Fortiche and (hopefully) vice versa. We also want to explore a range of styles for League content. The question is how to best have the capacity to deliver stories regularly without diluting the quality.

Q: Will there be information about Orianna somewhere in Arcane?

Will there be hints in Arcane Season 2 about Warwick's creation?

Will Janna have any mention in Arcane?

Amanda: Yes! (not sure if a yes to all three or a specific one)

212 notes · View notes