Owning What You Don't Own: Writing For Beloved Franchises
summary
Examples include lead writing on a Telltale Guardians title with recorded Groot lines that win awards, producing 420 pages in 30 days for Adventure Time tie-ins, and scripting thousands of FarmVille lines localized into 12+ languages across ~50 markets (including renaming a cow to avoid insulting a prime minister’s wife). Built a Captain America spin (Aaron Fischer) that sparks international headlines and expanded Blue Beetle with untranslated Spanish for authenticity. Shows hands‑on techniques: word clouds for voice, heavy fan research, collaboration with licensors, and when things succeed or backfire.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (24)
- 0:00Writing for beloved franchises
- 1:23Childhood to professional writing
- 4:15Licensed video game failures
- 8:09Telltale Games and Guardians
- 12:23Writing unloved franchises
- 15:33Dialogue for LeBron James
- 18:45FaZe Clan Batman crossover
- 20:51Rick and Morty comics
- 22:37New Marvel characters
- 24:20Blue Beetle authenticity
- 26:48Harry Potter pandemic
- 29:57Advice for franchise writers
- 31:03Vulnerability in characters
- 33:30Character arcs vs franchise
- 35:15Avoiding identity crises
- 37:45Fan fiction writing tips
- 39:27Teaching franchise writing
- 41:35Avoiding stupid characters
- 44:04Respecting franchise heart
- 45:52Cancel culture and tropes
- 47:18Dialogue for iconic characters
- 48:45Snappy dialogue tips
- 49:50Dream characters future
- 51:17Closing remarks
related talks
46mWriting for Games - A Backstory
23mGames industry panel: Working with brands
58mWriting & Narrative Design: A Relationship
47mMultinational Monster: Collaboration Across Countries
51mBuilding Enduring Franchises: Turning Games into Global IPs
39mPlaying with IP over different media
44mThe Spirit of Creativity
19mTelling your brand's narrative across mediums: A case study on Best Fiends