The Immersive story Life Hutch VR was a passion project of mine, so I was happy to see a new version of this classic sci-fi story appear in a season 2 episode of Love, Death & Robots on Netflix. This new retelling produced by Blur Studio is stunningly beautiful and watching it is every bit as exciting as the first time I read the classic tale years ago. It was also wonderful to see how similar our versions are.
I credit the author Harlan Ellison with this shared vision and also acknowledge that as visual storytellers we stand on the shoulders of giants, such as the directors Ridley Scott and James Cameron, and the production designers Ron Cob and Syd Mead. As producers and directors, we always try to invent new, unseen worlds for the audience, but the vision created by these masters is so rich and compelling that it is almost impossible to ignore. As the game designers created our spaceships, cockpits, computer screens, and uniforms, I found myself drawn to the stark, utilitarian aesthetic of the Alien film franchise. The style fits perfectly with the well-used and war-torn near future that “Life Hutch” is set in, and you can see how both of our productions have embraced it and expanded upon it in new and exciting ways.