Elias Inaty was formerly a writer and producer with Riot Games. He served as a consulting writer and producer on the short-lived, PLAYERS, a mockumentary that followed the highs and lows of a fictional LCS team. I caught up recently with Elias to discuss working on PLAYERS, the gut punch of the show disappearing from streamers, and the contraction we’re seeing in both the TV and video game industry.
Minus World: Could you describe your work on Players and your work at Riot in-large?
Elias Inaty: It’s probably easier if I just describe it as a timeline. Previously, I was working in TV as an assistant on the Marvel TV series, Daredevil, season 2. Everybody on Daredevil knew I loved League of Legends because I would watch the LCS on set and then my boss would get mad at me for watching League of Legends on set. Eventually, one of them heard about an open writing job on the LCS and they pushed me to apply. I cold emailed the person who would eventually be my manager and after a grueling interview process, I joined Riot in November 2016, where I was a broadcast writer for five years, and then a content producer after that. In that time I was very clear that I had a dream of making a show, and I still have dreams of making shows and everybody within the LCS was very supportive and understanding of that. They were also very honest about how nearly impossible that would be. One day, Riv [Rivington Bruce Bisland III] heard that there were a couple of TV producers, Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, coming through the studio. I knew them by name because I loved American Vandal so much.
MW: It’s a great show.
Inaty: RIV was essentially set to have lunch with them. And he was like, “Elias you should come.” And I will forever appreciate him for that. In that meeting with Tony and Dan we hit it off immediately. I then spent a few years teaching them League of Legends, LCS lingo, and other general things around League of Legends esports. I would eventually join Players, still employed through Riot as a producer in the writers room. And that would be my official capacity for Players.
MW: Being a producer in the Players’ writers’ room, was your role more on the consulting side to make sure characters read true? Were you the guy who would step in to say, “Creamcheese and Organizm wouldn’t do this.”
Inaty: It’s important to note that as much as I wanted to be a TV writer, that this was my first experience in a TV writers’ room. Initially, it was more about asking questions about the scene and trying to understand essentially where this esport was in the context of traditional sports. The NBA in the context of The Last Dance and F1’s Drive to Survive were huge inspirations to the show. My initial job alongside Kien Lam, another very talented writer, was essentially to find the honesty in the jokes being pitched. We’d have to find the reality. And there were a lot of jokes that were over the top. In the room there’s no bad pitches, but we’d walk away from some jokes or try to keep others for later. And there were numerous reasons something wouldn’t make the cut. “That wouldn’t happen. That’s just not real. It’s unrealistic. It could throw fans.” Once we all got comfortable with each other and were pitching jokes and storylines, we [Kien and I] contributed in every way a writer does, except for literally typing anything into a script. We would help writers who wanted authentic League moments. There are a couple scenes where Creamcheese and Organizm are going on these little rants. They needed to feel authentic and real to the time. We had to do some tweaking here and there. Towards writing the back half of the season we would essentially be working alongside the writers to consult on the League of Legends authenticity side, but realistically by then we all kind of knew what the show was, so we were just pitching. What made it funny, what made it feel real, How we get to the finale in a way that feels authentic. That’s essentially my contribution to the writers’ room.
MW: It’s fascinating because the show is a mockumentary and it does that thing docs do where, you get to a certain story beat and then it time hops back to explain something else, like Creamcheese’s come up or Guru’s come up. Something that I really appreciated about the show was its exploration of the esport’s growth. Were you the esport historian in the room?
Inaty: I wanna make something super clear. While Kien and I operated as sort of those historians. I can’t emphasize the amount of research the writers on the show did, and they did an incredible amount of research. The problem is research is not as good as living through it, and that’s sort of where the gap would come in. So yes, we would operate as these sort of historians, not so much as people who studied the space but moreso, people who lived through it, Kien especially. I was a die hard fan of the LCS, but I really started intently watching towards the end of 2012, which would have been just before spring 2013, which I believe is when the LCS started. If I got my math right. And because I intently followed it, whenever the writers would pitch a story, I could cite a player or cite a reason why that wasn’t real. So in those ways, yes, we operated as historians. But the reason I wanted to make the caveat is because the writer’s did the research and a part of the reason why Tony and Dan wanted to make this story was because of how much esports had grown in a very short amount of time, and I should say specifically League of Legends esports. I think there’s a world where Players was based on a competitive shooter. I can see a world where Players was based on a fighting game. There were options for games and they decided they wanted to do a MOBA because they liked how Organizm and Creamcheese’s story would intertwine in relation to the game. They also loved seeing the pre-2016 style of esports, pre-franchise, and where everything ended up. They loved the stark contrast and how expedited it was and specifically the ways it sought professionalism. And I think that sort of thing always interested them, and of course Kien and I were very valuable resources when it came to asking questions about that.
MW: I love that contrast between “pre-money” and then how fast everything changes once the money starts coming in. Another thing that was really interesting through the run of the show was the streamer versus esport culture. And it plays out in the central conflict between Organizm and Creamcheese. Was that something inspired by actual events? Was that something you’ve seen in the LCS?
Inaty: So Creamcheese is absolutely a stand in for a few players meshed together with very distinct insecurities that we thought would make for a good story. The perspective of streamer and pro was centered around this idea that Organizm was this sort of phenom that people liked tuning into but was not in himself entertaining. If I remember correctly, when we were talking about the show in its early stages. We were seeing the fall of that type of streamer. Which made it more interesting for our story. Now streamers are sort of demanded to be full time entertainers and it is an especially exhausting endeavor to be a streamer, and that was an aspect that we were really interested in for the before and after timeline for season one. It very much centered around the pre-franchise era vibe to the post-franchise era vibe, when it’s a business.
MW: Right.
Inaty: There was also this understanding that we were telling a story about a time where streaming was just, “Turn on your camera, play the game and people like watching you play the game.” You didn’t have to be super entertaining. You didn’t even really have to interact with chat that much. And there is an aspect of that Organizm would have to reconcile. So to answer your question, is it something I observed? I think to a certain extent, yes, but not because of a sort of animosity between pros and streamers, but because streaming was changing so rapidly. When we were talking about the timeline of the show, Creamcheese was the traditional esports personality from yesteryear, with the house logs and that sort of thing. I think one aspect of the storytelling that I really appreciated was that Organizm had a way to be the personality. We’ll call it the “Internet content creator” personality type. For Creamcheese, his chance to have been that sort of content creator passed because he’s very much not a streamer. He was the guy with the camera with the hot sauce shots and all that sort of stuff. So I think that’s sort of the aspect of the streamer/esports player dynamic. As far as how much it reflects the real world, I think every esports player who’s ever thought about being a streamer understands how much work goes into being a streamer, and decides for themself whether they want to do one or the other. I think Doublelift is an excellent example of that. As a person who has moved into streaming moved back to the pros and then back to streaming. It is difficult work and you sort of have to decide what you’re made for.
MW: Is there anything that you wish the show had more time to cover? You touched on the streamer side of things. Was there anything on the pro side of things that you would wish there was more time to explore?
Inaty: I really can’t emphasize enough Players is and was the show of my dreams. It was my first show and I learned so much from it. If I could go back, there is so much I would change, but Players is still the show that I wanted it to be. We actually got to meet-up with the Players writers recently for a friend’s birthday. Whenever the show comes up, there’s always love and a joy for it and a deep sadness that we never got to do it again. There’s this sort of purveying dream that four or five years from now it’s a cult classic and then a streamer decides to pick it up for a second season.
MW: Something like the old syndication model that saved Family Guy.
Inaty: Right. For me, I think we underestimated how much people wanted to understand League of Legends, especially general audiences. We learned that general audiences wanted to learn more about the game. They wanted to follow these kids and were invested in their stories.This is from data that I’m thankful I saw even if I shouldn’t have but a contingent of people wanted a deeper understanding of the mechanics. Things like, what does it mean to be a top laner in your island? What does it mean when your jungler is just interconnected with everybody? So I think that’s one aspect I wish we could go back to. I’d fight for it now, but that’s hindsight 2020.
MW: It’s funny you mentioned that. I remember reading an interview with Tony and Dan over on Polygon and they mentioned Queen’s Gambit’s recent release around the time of them pitching the show made it a lot easier for them to pitch. Like hey, you don’t need to understand the game. Do you feel like that was kind of a detriment to being able to explain the game more?
Inaty: I do. I think so, but I don’t think it’s the same thing as knowing the rules of the game versus knowing how the players play. I do think that’s one aspect that we kind of get into later, when you start to understand how Nightfall plays. People wanted to understand how team dynamics work a little more out of the jump so that when players grow into their role, that would eventually create a championship roster. We understand it a little bit better. I think Tony and Dan are correct that you don’t need to go rule by rule, but I think like I said in hindsight, I would have pushed a little more understanding of how the game works just a little bit more because again my impression is from the data I’ve seen, that was something that general audiences would have liked a little bit more.
Inaty: To get back to things I wish we explored more. We had a plan for how the characters within Players received and dealt with internet hate. There were powers that be that pushed back on those moments and we had to either remove them or entirely glaze over some pretty significant aspects of that. I wish we could have stuck through that bit of storytelling. I think it’s reflective of the type of pressure that these young players go through. I think the LCS is trending in a direction that is much, much better about this, but there’s often a criticism of pros being too boring and not wanting to put themselves out there and having ‘no personalities’. I would say to a significant portion of pros, it is absolutely rooted in this fear that the Internet will destroy them if they find out who the real versions of them are and that’s an aspect of the show that goes missing.
MW: One of my favorite moments in the show is when Organizm returns home to Philadelphia for the championship. His perception of home has completely changed in the time he’s been away with the team. His loved ones were calling him Piss Jar before he left, and now everyone holds him up as this hero and he can see right through it. Is that detachment to one’s home something we would’ve seen more of in the future?
Inaty: That was definitely something we wanted to explore more. I think the inclusion of Organizm’s family was a very important part of how we frame him. Especially because we wanted it to feel like Organizm was once in a lifetime talent. I think the only way to feel like you’re a once in a lifetime talent is to have a backstory where you’re like, “Ohh, I understand how this produces this kind of talent.” Luke Tennie’s character Rudy, Organizm’s brother, is this overbearing machismo type manager, and he comes from a family of competitors. You sort of see how the corners of the painting start to fill in and you understand the kind of image you’re trying to create with Organizm. The family was really fun to explore. Organizm’s backstory is fundamental to how he sees himself now as a competitive gamer. And that’s how you get the kind of awkward, quiet, uber competitive Organizm. It is one aspect of gaming adjacent characters that shows miss out on a lot. What is the context that creates a person like this? Who falls into gaming?
MW: Luke killed it as Rudy.
Inaty: Luke is a superstar. And like I’ll say this. Everybody on our show was a superstar. I’m so impressed and I’m happy to see a lot of them finally having their breakout moments, and I hope that everybody in that show has the recognition they so rightly deserve. It was just so unbelievably well cast. Everybody in that show deserves their moments. I’m happy Luke is on a rocket ship. I’m happy Holly is getting her moments as Jubilee on the New X-Men show. And I think it’s a matter of time. Before, like Misha and Da’ Jour [Jones] and Ely [Henry] and Alexa [Mansour] and Peter [Thurnwald] and Moses [Storm], they all really break out and have a moment and I can’t wait.
MW: So you’ve had the unique experience of seeing contraction from both the television and video game industries. I wanted to congratulate you on that. Six months removed from the latest round of layoffs at Riot, I wanted to ask how you’re doing?
Inaty: I’m good.Towards the end of my tenure at Riot, I was burnt out and unhappy with the work I was doing. There is no point in me trying to dissect what parts of it were the company side, product side, and what parts of it were just me. But I’ve learned that it was more me than I’d initially realized. In that way I am very, very fortunate. That one, Riot offered a very generous severance package. And two, that I needed the break. I don’t mind disclosing leading into the layoffs I was essentially on track to have like a medically mandated sabbatical of sorts. And I don’t want to have that be like a reflection of conditions at Riot. I think I had just gotten to a strange point that was deeply unhealthy for me. And I think the only thing that would have fixed that was time.
MW: Right.
Inaty: I am also very fortunate that everyone at Riot that I previously worked with has treated me with the utmost kindness. Initially I was very angry about the whole thing, but I think it’s because I didn’t have control over it. And in hindsight. I’m still very thankful for my time at Riot and I look back at it very fondly. And if there’s a world where I can work with them on something again, I’d be there. A long time ago when Players was first starting out, I joked that I owed them an Emmy. And so I would like to make good on that. Not that there is any shortage of it. Arcane has already won one. I have confidence in the TV side of Riot for as long as they’re making shows.
MW: You know what’s better than one Emmy winning show?
Inaty: Two exactly. Yeah. You just gotta rack them up.
MW: Back on Players. So. It came off of Paramount+ almost eight months after the premiere, How was that to see something that you worked on not have a home anymore?
Inaty: It was a pretty big gut punch. I think it was more of a gut punch because of what I understood the metrics of success to be, us meeting those metrics, and it still not getting greenlit for a second season. To further understand the state of streaming that January (2022) and learn that streamers were not in the business of original content that is made for a niche audience, because it’s not good for the business of selling your entire streaming platform was especially frustrating. It’s just one of those disappointing aspects of the industry where hindsight is 2020. And there’s nothing you can really do about it. We wrote Players in the initial wave of lockdown. When it premiered, we were under the impression we were hitting the tail-end of the nationwide lockdown. I think there was an aspect of it where the games and TV industries were learning that the activity of players and audiences were not authentic to how they were going to be after lockdown. So there was a clear, rapid readjustment. Overall, I think it was more about how much of a gut punch it was that we essentially did what we needed to do and that still wasn’t good enough. Which is a big bummer.
MW: And now to see game adaptations like Fallout and The Last of Us finding audiences in the last year, do you feel like you guys were ahead of the curb?
Inaty: It’s funny because I would love to hear the rest of the writers room’s answers to this. I think esports mockumentary is definitely very different from just a straight up adaptation. Those shows invite audiences into the fantasy world and the platforms that they’re on leverage them as these fantasy or sci-fi shows and not as their “gaming show”. Players is a little more difficult because it has to be, in my opinion, a streaming platform’s comedy. Because it is an esports mockumentary about a game that’s real, it’s a little more obtuse in the streaming portfolio. Like Fallout is on a rocket ship. The Last of Us is on a rocket ship. The goals are different for something like that. For example, on Paramount+ we had Halo and to assume the audiences that watch Halo would also watch Players is kind of a fool’s errand. The reality is the way that they’re seeking audiences is very different. Halo wants to be this big epic sci-fi splash that brings in the Halo audience, and Players wants to, in my opinion, frame itself as a comedy for general audiences and be this cheeky inside joke about gaming. I think that is a very difficult thing to do and I think we did it really well. All things considered.
MW: Not knowing a thing about League myself, I think you guys hit the mark.
Inaty: Thanks. It’s really interesting, the gaming TV space right now, because to me it’s proved that you do need people who know the IP and people who don’t. You need somebody who doesn’t know a lick about it and is there to make sure that the story is being served and then you need the other person who is just like, “What if we implemented this from the game?” And I think the bad shows are going to fall one way or the other. They’re going to have too many gamers in the writers’ room, or not enough gamers in the writers room. And they can’t hit that happy medium.
MW: Heather Anne Campbell mentioned the issue with bad adaptations is that essentially, you have this cup of whiskey that you’re adding stuff too, but you’re overdoing it and losing the whiskey.
Inaty: Yeah. Right. I think that’s a great way to describe it. It’s a perfect metaphor. I adore it. Also, this is a completely tangential topic. I’m very surprised, not enough people talk about Castlevania as one of the super successful video game shows, but we should be doing that. That show is an exceptional adaptation of video game IP. It is very surprising to me that people think Arcane is the first good video game show. Tons of credit to Arcane, The team over there was so foundational in making sure Players was good. I love them and Arcane got its flowers because it is an exceptional show. Castlevania came out seven years ago and it is exceptional. It finishes its season so fucking strong. It’s crazy to me how much that show does not get its credit.
MW: With Players removed from Paramount+, and then bouncing around between YouTube, and now I believe you can purchase single episodes on Apple and Google.
Inaty: That’s right. Amazon too.
MW: With the show bouncing around the way it has, have you become a physical media guy?
Inaty: That’s the worst part. I haven’t, but I know I should be. I keep hearing these stories about shows that are just gone forever. Actually, funny enough, a friend created their own Blu-ray box set to add to their own personal collection. I think there’s a part of me that needs to hold on to this because before I know it, It could just be gone forever. At a certain point I just want to say, “Throw that shit on YouTube forever. Let people watch it for free.” I’m genuinely not a physical media person. Realistically, I’m also just the kind of person who will download something and throw it on a hard drive. That’s my form of physical media. I used to be a person who collects DVDs and games in that kind of way, but I found over time that the thing that I actually want to hold on to is the machine that holds them all and have that machine protected from outside interference.
MW: So I’ll have to reach out to your friend to get a copy of that Blu-ray.
Inaty: Yeah, exactly.
MW: What have you been up to since Players and the end of your time at Riot? Are you siding more towards a TV career side or a career in video games?
Inaty: I have a few projects that I’m working on with friends for no pay at the moment. I’ve taken a few interviews for a couple TV shows that if they get picked up I could join the room, that sort of thing. Streamers are in a standoff right now, and nobody’s firing the gun quite yet because everybody’s afraid. Companies want to sell off and combine and that sort of thing, and until that happens, the dominoes don’t quite start falling. Writers are hurting right now, but they’re hurting together, so there’s an understanding. As far as where I want to land, the projects that I have in flight are a feature length project, a TV show, and a video game that I am personally making to sort of prove to myself that I can do it. One thing that happened after the layoffs was a lot of people were very, very nice and reached out and they encouraged me to make things and they wanted to make sure I was making things because when they were in a position to hire again, I wouldn’t have nothing in my resume. And I’m hoping to finish things by the end of the summer. That being said, there’s a project that’s come up that I might need to drop everything to work on in the next few months, which would be exciting and very, very fun. It’s a little different ballpark, but it’s something I’m very passionate about. So the point is it’s a lot of spinning plates at the moment, none of which make actual money yet. Still though, I’m very thankful that my head is not under the gun yet, but also when I talk to compatriots within the industry, they’re all kind of feeling the same kind of heat. So,that’s where it’s at. . At the moment, staying productive and trying my best not to just play TFT or Balatro.
MW: Elias anything else on Players or your time at Riot?
Inaty: As much as I could feel bitter about outside forces influencing things about whether or not a show takes fire, It’s always a roll of the dice. Everyone in this business knows that. At the end of the day you want to find an audience, but a show’s value is not fully tied to the audience that engages with it. If you are trying to chase an audience, you will end up creating something derivative or creating something that’s not reflective of you. Moving forward, I’ll always remember what it felt like to make something like Players and only try to make things that make me feel that way and just hope that the dice roll goes in my favor.
MW: Elias, thank you so much for your time.
Inaty: Oh my gosh. No, it’s my pleasure. Thank you.
