GCAP 2017

As game designers, we love to work in worlds we create ourselves. But the reality is that we may find ourselves working in an already fully realised setting. In this lecture, Ellen Jurik (Blowfish Studios) and Anthony Sweet (Black Lab Games) will discuss the challenges and strategies of designing and writing for games set within pre-established settings.

The session will go through all stages of writing for established IPs, including concept development and stakeholder approval, research for narrative authenticity, finding an IP’s dramatic pillars, and engaging fans and entrenched expectations with new content.

Ellen and Anthony will draw from their experiences working on a number of high profile properties and clients, including Battlestar Galactica, Ice Age and various Scholastic multiplatform worlds. The lecture will include examples from their previous and current projects, and practical strategies for writers and narrative designers on how to approach writing for someone else’s property.