Your Guide to Pilot Script to Multi-Platform IP Development

Think of your pilot script as a seed. It contains all the genetic material—the characters, the world, the core conflict—needed to grow an entire creative ecosystem. But for that seed to flourish into a thriving, interconnected universe, it needs careful planning and cultivation. The process of pilot script to multi-platform IP development is about nurturing that initial idea, creating a strong root system with a detailed series bible, and strategically branching out into new formats like games and virtual productions. This guide will walk you through how to tend to your story, ensuring it grows into a resilient and expansive IP that engages audiences for years to come.

Key Takeaways

• Build Your Foundation for Expansion: Treat your pilot script and series bible as strategic business documents, not just creative outlines. Use them to map out long-term character arcs, world rules, and potential spin-offs to prove your IP's franchise potential from your very first pitch.
• Translate, Don't Just Copy, for Each Platform: A story must be reimagined to fit the unique language of each medium. Adapt your core narrative to suit the interactive nature of games or the visual pacing of film, ensuring the emotional experience remains consistent even when the plot structure changes.
• Pitch a Franchise, Not Just a Show: Secure investment by presenting a comprehensive plan that includes a multi-platform rollout, a clear revenue-sharing model, and the right technical and creative partners. Investors are backing an entire entertainment ecosystem, so show them you have a clear roadmap for long-term growth.

What is a pilot script and why does it matter?

Before a story can grow into a sprawling universe with games, movies, and spin-offs, it needs a starting point. In television, that starting point is the pilot script. Think of it as the blueprint for everything that follows. It’s more than just the first episode; it’s a proof of concept designed to sell your entire vision to a network or studio. The pilot introduces the world, establishes the tone, and makes a promise to the audience—and to potential investors. A great pilot doesn't just get a series greenlit; it lays a foundation so compelling that it begs to be explored across multiple platforms, setting the stage for a true transmedia experience.

Understanding the foundation of television storytelling

A pilot script is the first, and arguably most important, piece of your story's DNA. It’s a standalone episode created to test a new show concept. Its primary job is to convince a network to order a full season. To do that, it has to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. The pilot must introduce your main characters, establish the central conflict, define the rules of your world, and capture the show's unique voice. Getting these elements right is crucial because they form the bedrock not just for a potential series, but for any future transmedia storytelling you might envision. It’s the document that proves your world is worth investing in.

Seeing how pilots influence network decisions

The journey from idea to a full series order is incredibly competitive. Each year, major networks review around 500 pitches, request about 70 full scripts, and then order roughly 20 pilots to be filmed. Of those, only a handful will typically get picked up as a full series. This intense development process shows just how much weight the pilot carries. Networks use it as a critical tool to gauge everything from audience appeal to production feasibility. They’re not just asking, "Is this a good episode?" They’re asking, "Does this concept have the potential to become a long-running, profitable franchise?" A successful pilot script answers that question with a resounding "yes," signaling that your IP is ready for the screen and beyond.

How do you turn a pilot script into a multi-platform IP?

A great pilot script does more than introduce characters and a central conflict; it plants the seeds for an entire universe. Thinking beyond the first season from day one is what separates a successful TV show from a true multi-platform intellectual property. It’s about seeing the potential for your story to live in games, virtual productions, and other interactive experiences. This isn't about forcing a story into different boxes, but building a world so rich that it naturally spills over into new formats, inviting your audience to engage on a deeper level.

The key is to view your pilot as a blueprint. It establishes the core themes, character dynamics, and world rules that will serve as the foundation for everything that follows. By identifying the most resonant elements of your story early on, you can strategically plan for expansion. This proactive approach ensures that as your IP grows, it does so cohesively, creating a unified experience for your audience whether they’re watching a show, playing a game, or exploring a virtual world.

Finding opportunities for expansion

Your pilot script is a map, and your job is to find the unexplored corners of your world. Look for minor characters with compelling backstories, intriguing locations mentioned in passing, or historical events that shape your narrative. These are your entry points for expansion. A good series bible shows investors you have a clear plan for how your project can grow across different platforms. It’s about turning your original idea into a big, successful story that can thrive as a movie, a game, or an immersive experience.

Building an interconnected entertainment world

Once you’ve identified opportunities, the next step is to build a world that feels whole, no matter where your audience encounters it. Consistency is everything. An interconnected world ensures that the rules of your universe, character motivations, and story tone remain the same across all platforms. This is central to building interconnected entertainment ecosystems. It keeps your entire team—from writers to game developers—working from the same playbook, preventing continuity errors as your story grows. The goal is to create a durable IP by building a world that feels authentic, encouraging fans to explore every part of it.

Adapting your core story for different formats

Adapting your story isn’t a simple copy-and-paste job. Each medium has its own language and narrative structure. A linear story in a pilot script needs to be re-imagined to accommodate player choice in a video game or the visual pacing of a comic. The key is to translate the core emotional experience, not just the plot points. From the start, consider how your story could work across different formats. This means designing characters and plotlines that are flexible enough to be compelling in a 90-minute film, an episodic series, or an open-world game.

What goes into a series bible?

Think of a series bible as the master blueprint for your entire creative project. It’s the single source of truth that keeps every writer, artist, developer, and producer aligned, whether they’re working on season three of the show, a prequel comic book, or a new video game. When you’re expanding a pilot script into a multi-platform IP, the bible becomes your most critical tool. It ensures that the world you’re building feels cohesive and authentic, no matter where your audience experiences it. A well-crafted bible goes beyond a simple story summary; it dives deep into the DNA of your IP, covering everything from character motivations to the technical specs needed for a virtual production shoot.

Creating frameworks for characters and world-building

A series bible organizes all the important details about your story, characters, and world. This is where you bring your universe to life on the page. For characters, you’ll want to include detailed backstories, personality traits, core motivations, and their relationships with others. What are their fears? What drives them? For the world, you’ll establish the rules, history, geography, and culture. Is there magic? What are the laws of physics? This detailed framework is what allows your IP to expand consistently. When a new team starts developing a game, they can consult the bible to ensure the world they build aligns perfectly with the one seen in the show, just as we helped expand the lore for the Star Wars universe.

Outlining story arcs for narrative consistency

Your bible should also outline the story and narrative arcs well beyond the pilot. Plan out the main story, including a summary of the first episode and brief ideas for future seasons to show your project has a long future. This demonstrates that your IP has longevity and can sustain audience engagement over time. Map out the major plot points for the first season and beyond, as well as the emotional and developmental arcs for your main characters. This long-term vision is crucial for securing buy-in from partners and investors, as it proves your story is more than a one-off idea—it’s a world ripe for exploration. Our strategic services often focus on building these roadmaps for sustainable IP growth.

Defining technical needs for each platform

A modern series bible must also detail technical and production needs. Think about practical things like key locations, special effects, or what game engine you might use. This shows you've considered how to actually make the project. If you envision a video game spinoff, which engine would best capture the look and feel of your world? If your series relies on complex visual effects, what are the specific requirements? For projects like Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, defining these technical needs upfront is essential. Including this information proves to potential partners that you have a grounded, actionable plan for bringing your multi-platform vision to life.

How do you develop characters that succeed everywhere?

Your characters are the heart of your story, the constant that guides your audience across every new platform. A character who resonates in a TV pilot needs to feel just as authentic in a video game or a comic book. The key is to build them with an adaptable core, ensuring they can evolve for new formats without losing the essence of who they are. This means focusing on what makes them tick—their core motivations, flaws, and desires—while leaving room for their expression to change with the medium.

Designing adaptable character frameworks

Think of a character framework as a flexible blueprint. It defines the non-negotiable elements of your character: their core personality, backstory, fundamental beliefs, and primary motivations. This foundation remains solid, no matter the platform. From there, you can adapt their secondary traits—like specific skills, dialogue style, or even physical appearance—to fit the new medium. For example, a character’s strategic mind, showcased through internal monologue in a novel, could be translated into special abilities in a video game. This approach ensures your character feels both familiar and fresh as your audience follows them into new worlds.

Keeping characters consistent across mediums

Consistency is what makes a character feel real and reliable to your audience. The best tool for maintaining this is a comprehensive series bible. This document is your project’s single source of truth, detailing everything from a character’s complete history and relationships to their unique mannerisms and speech patterns. When every writer, artist, and developer works from the same master document, you prevent contradictions that can pull an audience out of the story. A well-maintained series bible ensures that your character’s voice and actions are consistent, which is crucial for building a cohesive transmedia experience.

Meeting audience expectations on each platform

How an audience interacts with a character changes from one platform to another. Film viewers might seek a deep, emotional journey, while gamers often want agency and the ability to shape the character’s actions. Understanding these different expectations is vital. You need to consider what each audience wants from their experience and adapt the character’s presentation accordingly. Gathering and analyzing the impact of audience feedback is a great way to learn what resonates. This allows you to fine-tune character arcs and interactions to meet the specific demands of each medium, strengthening engagement across your entire IP ecosystem.

What are the key technical needs for multi-platform development?

Taking a story from a pilot script to a sprawling, multi-platform universe is more than a creative challenge—it’s a technical one. To build an IP that feels cohesive everywhere it appears, you need a solid technical foundation from day one. This means thinking beyond the immediate needs of your film or TV show and planning for how your world will function as a game, a virtual experience, or an animated series. A successful expansion relies on a unified transmedia strategy that ensures assets, character designs, and narrative logic can be shared and adapted without breaking the audience's immersion.

This technical planning touches every part of the production pipeline. It involves choosing the right software and engines that allow for cross-platform asset sharing, establishing clear guidelines for how digital models are built, and designing a workflow that lets your creative teams collaborate effectively. Without this foresight, you risk creating disconnected experiences that feel like cheap knock-offs rather than authentic extensions of your world. Getting the technical details right allows you to build a truly interconnected entertainment ecosystem. It’s the invisible framework that supports a rich, consistent, and expandable story world, giving you the flexibility to take your IP in exciting new directions.

Exploring virtual production capabilities

Virtual production is a game-changer for creating consistent, high-fidelity worlds across different media. Using real-time game engines like Unreal Engine, you can build digital environments that serve as virtual sets for film and television while also being the foundation for a video game or VR experience. This approach allows for incredible creative flexibility and visual continuity, as seen in major productions like Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. The emergence of generative AI is also reshaping these workflows, making it easier to create and modify assets on the fly. By building your world with virtual production, you ensure that digital assets—from character models to entire cities—can be seamlessly shared and repurposed.

Integrating game development

Adapting your IP for a video game requires a deep integration of narrative and gameplay mechanics. It’s not enough to just tell your story in an interactive format; the gameplay itself must feel like a natural extension of the world. This means your technical plan must account for how core story elements will translate into player actions and systems. From the start, think about how your story could work as a video game. This involves creating a development pipeline that allows for the easy transfer of assets and lore from your primary medium into the game engine, ensuring the game development process is smooth and the final product feels authentic to the source material.

Planning for film and television crossovers

A smart multi-platform strategy involves planning for crossovers from the very beginning. A good series bible shows you have a clear plan for how your project can grow, and a key part of that is technical preparation. This means creating digital assets with future adaptations in mind. For instance, a 3D character model built for an animated series should be created with enough detail and technical flexibility to be used in a live-action film’s visual effects or a high-end video game. This forward-thinking approach to asset creation saves significant time and resources down the line. It ensures that as your IP expands, you have a library of high-quality, adaptable assets ready to be deployed across any medium.

How do you fund a multi-platform project?

Securing funding for a multi-platform project requires a different mindset than pitching a standalone film or series. Investors aren't just backing a single story; they're investing in an entire ecosystem of potential revenue streams. Your financial strategy needs to reflect this long-term vision, showing a clear path from the initial script to a thriving, interconnected world. It’s about demonstrating how each platform feeds the others, creating a brand that’s more valuable than the sum of its parts.

This means you need to master both traditional funding models and innovative revenue-sharing structures. You have to show potential partners that you’ve thought through every stage, from the initial writer’s fee to how profits from a video game will be allocated. A solid financial plan proves that your creative vision is grounded in a sustainable business model, making it a much more attractive prospect for investors. This is where a partner with experience in transmedia strategy can help map out a clear and compelling financial roadmap for your IP.

Understanding pilot script and episodic pay

If your project starts in television, the first financial hurdle is understanding the standard payment structure. Pilot deals typically include a Pilot Script Fee, which is the one-time payment for writing the pilot, and an Episodic Fee, which is what you’re paid for each episode if the show gets picked up for a full series. Knowing these figures is the baseline for your initial budget.

While these fees are specific to the television component, they are a crucial piece of the larger financial puzzle. This initial funding validates the core concept and provides the capital to get the first part of your IP off the ground. Think of it as the seed money that proves the story has legs. For a deeper look into these agreements, the Writers Guild of America provides detailed guides that can help you budget accurately.

Structuring revenue sharing across platforms

Once you move beyond a single medium, the financial model gets more complex. You’re no longer just thinking about episodic fees; you’re building a system where revenue from one platform can support and be shared with another. For example, how will profits from a mobile game be split among the original story creators, the game developers, and the investors? A clear revenue-sharing plan is essential for keeping all your partners aligned and motivated.

Your plan should outline how different products—like a TV show, a video game, or a comic book series—will generate income over time. This approach focuses on building rich narratives and memorable characters that can live and earn across various formats. When you present a clear structure for how everyone gets paid as the IP grows, like in the expansive Star Wars universe, you build trust and make it easier for stakeholders to commit to your long-term vision.

Planning your investment for long-term expansion

Investors want to see that you have a clear, strategic vision for how your IP will evolve. This is where your planning documents do double duty as financial tools. A well-structured series bible, for instance, is more than just a creative guide; it’s a business plan that demonstrates to investors how the world can grow. It shows you’ve thought about future storylines, character arcs, and potential spin-offs that can generate income for years to come.

This strategic planning is what secures major funding. By outlining opportunities for expansion from day one, you show that you’re not just asking for an investment in a pilot—you’re asking for an investment in a franchise. When you can articulate how a story can extend into new mediums, you justify a larger initial investment and prove the long-term viability of your project. A comprehensive guide to creating a series bible can help you build this foundational document for your pitch.

How can you use audience feedback to strengthen your IP?

When you’re expanding a story into a multi-platform universe, your audience becomes your most valuable partner. Their feedback isn’t just a collection of opinions; it’s a real-time map showing you what resonates, what’s confusing, and where the most passionate energy lies. Using this feedback strategically helps you build a stronger, more cohesive world that keeps people invested, whether they’re watching a show, playing a game, or reading a comic.

The key is to create a continuous loop: you create, you listen, you refine, and you expand. This process doesn’t mean letting a committee write your story. It means understanding the audience's experience so you can make your creative vision even more impactful. By actively listening, you can identify potential issues early, double down on what fans love, and build a loyal community that feels seen and respected. This approach turns passive viewers into active participants who are eager to follow your IP wherever it goes next.

Gathering meaningful viewer insights

To get feedback that truly helps, you need to go beyond surface-level comments. The goal is to gather insights into viewer preferences and expectations so you can understand what truly connects with them. Instead of just asking if they liked something, ask what specific moments or characters stood out and why. You can use a mix of methods, from running test screenings and focus groups for a pilot to monitoring online discussions on Reddit and social media for fan theories and reactions. For interactive platforms, beta testing a game provides direct feedback on mechanics and narrative clarity. This kind of detailed audience analysis helps you see your work from their perspective, revealing what makes your world feel alive and compelling.

Letting feedback guide development

Once you have these insights, the next step is to let them inform your development process. Creating a culture that values and embraces audience feedback is essential for staying relevant and connected with your audience. This doesn’t mean you have to act on every suggestion. Instead, look for patterns. If many viewers are confused by the same plot point, it’s a sign that you may need to clarify it in the series or a companion piece of content. If they absolutely love a minor character, that might be an opportunity for a spin-off story on another platform. This iterative approach, where feedback directly influences creative execution, makes your IP more resilient and fosters a sense of community and loyalty among fans who feel their voices are heard.

Balancing your creative vision with audience wants

Many creators worry that listening to feedback will compromise their artistic vision. However, the goal isn’t to let the audience dictate your story but to ensure your story is being received as intended. Think of feedback as a diagnostic tool. As one writing coach puts it, the best feedback tells you what an audience would experience and whether that matches the creator’s goal. If your intention is for a character to be seen as heroic but audiences perceive them as villainous, you haven’t failed—you’ve just discovered a disconnect between your vision and its execution. The challenge and the art lie in finding ways to close that gap while staying true to your core narrative and strengthening your IP for long-term success.

What are the common hurdles of multi-platform adaptation?

Taking a story from a single script to a sprawling, multi-platform world is an exciting prospect, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Think of these hurdles less as roadblocks and more as creative puzzles to solve on your way to building a successful IP. The biggest challenges usually fall into four key areas: protecting the heart of your story, adapting it to fit new formats, keeping your audience hooked everywhere you go, and managing the practical resources to make it all happen.

Successfully expanding your IP means handling these complexities with a clear strategy. You need to know when to stick to your original vision and when to let it evolve. You have to become fluent in the languages of different media, from gaming to film. Most importantly, you need a plan that accounts for your audience’s journey and the real-world logistics of production. Tackling these challenges head-on is what separates a collection of disconnected projects from a truly interconnected entertainment ecosystem. Arctic7’s transmedia services are designed to help you build that cohesive strategy from the ground up.

Protecting creative integrity

As your IP grows, so does the number of people with a stake in it. You’ll be balancing feedback from network executives, creative partners, and a passionate fanbase. The biggest challenge is filtering all that input without losing the core essence of your story. It’s a delicate dance between staying true to your original vision and being flexible enough to let the world expand in new and interesting ways.

Creating a culture that values audience feedback is essential for staying relevant, but it can’t be the only voice in the room. Your series bible is your north star here, grounding every new expression of the IP in the established rules of the world. This document helps ensure that even as characters venture into new mediums, they still feel like the characters your audience first fell in love with.

Meeting format-specific story requirements

A story that works perfectly as a one-hour television drama won’t automatically succeed as a video game or a feature film. As one writer put it, moving from a novel to a screenplay presents a major challenge because the narrative structures are different. Each medium has its own pacing, audience expectations, and storytelling conventions. A video game needs compelling gameplay loops, while a film requires a tightly contained plot.

The key is translation, not transcription. You aren’t just copying and pasting your story; you’re reimagining it for a new context. This requires a deep understanding of what makes each format unique and a willingness to restructure your narrative to play to its strengths. You need a team that can identify and overcome the challenges inherent in different production formats to make your story feel native to every platform it lives on.

Keeping your audience engaged everywhere

When your IP exists across multiple platforms, your audience is no longer in one place. The fan who binges your TV series might not be the same person who spends hours in your video game. The challenge is to create a cohesive experience that feels rewarding for every type of fan, whether they engage with one platform or all of them. You want each piece to stand on its own while also contributing to a larger, interconnected world.

This means designing meaningful cross-media activities that encourage exploration. Maybe a clue in the TV show unlocks content in the game, or a character from the film appears in a comic book prequel. These connections make the audience feel like they are part of a bigger story, rewarding their investment and keeping them engaged across the entire ecosystem.

Solving resource allocation challenges

Building a multi-platform IP is a massive undertaking that requires significant time, budget, and specialized talent. Managing multiple production pipelines for a game, a show, and other media simultaneously is a huge logistical puzzle. You need experts in game development, virtual production, and traditional filmmaking, and coordinating these different teams can be complex and costly.

This is where strategic partnerships become invaluable. You don’t have to build every capability in-house. Working with other creators and production partners can bring new perspectives and fill crucial resource gaps. By assembling the right team, you can ensure each piece of your IP is produced at the highest quality without stretching your internal resources too thin. It’s about finding collaborators who share your vision and have the technical expertise to bring it to life.

How do you pitch your multi-platform vision?

You’ve built a world, developed compelling characters, and outlined a story with massive potential. Now comes the crucial step: convincing others to invest in your vision. Pitching a multi-platform IP isn’t just about selling a single story; it’s about selling an entire ecosystem of entertainment. Your pitch needs to be as expansive and interconnected as the world you’ve created, demonstrating not just creative brilliance but a solid strategy for growth across games, film, and television. It’s about showing stakeholders that you have a clear roadmap for success.

Clearly explaining your cross-platform idea

Your pitch needs to immediately communicate the scale and coherence of your vision. This is where a series bible becomes your most valuable asset. It’s a powerful document that proves you’ve thought through every detail, from character arcs to world-building rules. A strong series bible shows potential partners you have a clear plan for how your project can grow and make money across different platforms. It’s not just about the pilot; it’s about demonstrating how that initial story can organically expand into a game, a comic book, or an animated series, creating a rich, interconnected world that audiences will want to explore for years to come.

Customizing your pitch for different stakeholders

Not everyone in the room needs to hear the same pitch. Tailor your presentation to your audience. An investor wants to see the financial projections and monetization strategy, while a showrunner will be more interested in the character journeys and narrative potential. For a writing position, you might lead with the full script, but for a studio executive, a polished pitch package is more effective. Understanding what each stakeholder values allows you to highlight the most relevant aspects of your IP. This shows you’ve not only developed a great story but also understand the business of bringing it to life, which often requires the right transmedia services and partners.

Sidestepping common pitching mistakes

A great idea can be sunk by a poor pitch. One of the most common mistakes is presenting a proof-of-concept that isn’t professionally executed. If your short film or demo isn’t A+ quality in every respect—acting, sound, visuals—it’s better to let your script do the talking. Another pitfall is information overload. While your series bible should be thorough, don’t cram it with unnecessary details. Focus on the essential elements that someone needs to grasp your world, characters, and story. The goal is to ignite their imagination, not bury them in lore. Keep it concise, compelling, and professional to leave the best possible impression.

How do you plan a successful IP expansion?

Turning a single great idea into a sprawling, multi-platform universe doesn’t happen by accident. It requires a solid plan. A successful IP expansion is built on a strategic foundation that considers not just where your story could go, but how it will get there. Without a clear roadmap, even the most brilliant concept can get lost in translation between mediums, face legal hurdles, or fail to find the right collaborators to bring it to life.

Thinking ahead is crucial. Many creators focus entirely on getting their initial project off the ground, but the real potential lies in planning for the future from day one. Your IP has a lifecycle that begins long before a script lands on a producer's desk. By mapping out a timeline, clarifying ownership, and finding the right team, you set your world up for sustainable growth. This proactive approach helps you make smarter decisions, attract better partners, and build a cohesive experience for your audience, no matter how they engage with your story.

Creating a timeline for your platform rollout

It’s easy to get caught up in perfecting your pilot script, but a successful transmedia strategy starts much earlier. Think of your IP as having a life of its own, with stages of development that extend far beyond a single project. The key is to map out a flexible timeline that anticipates where your story could go. Start by brainstorming all the potential platforms—a video game, an animated short, a comic book series—and consider a phased rollout. Which platform makes the most sense to launch first? How can subsequent releases build on each other to create momentum? This strategic foresight allows you to plant seeds in your core narrative that can blossom into new storylines on different platforms later.

Managing the complexities of IP rights

As your world grows, so do the legal complexities. Expanding your IP means dealing with a web of rights, licenses, and agreements that can feel overwhelming. Every new platform introduces questions about ownership and control, and it’s essential to have clear answers from the start. Before you even think about partnerships, work with a legal expert to define the terms for your IP across different formats. This includes everything from character rights in a video game to merchandising deals. Addressing these legal and ethical obligations early not only protects your creative vision but also makes your project a much more attractive and secure investment for potential partners.

Building the right partnerships for transmedia success

You can’t build an entire universe by yourself. Bringing a multi-platform vision to life requires a team of specialized collaborators, from game developers to virtual production experts. The right partners do more than just execute a plan; they share your passion and bring their own expertise to enrich your world. When looking for collaborators, focus on finding teams whose goals and resources align with yours. A successful partnership is built on a shared creative vision and transparent communication. When you find a team that gets what you’re trying to build, like the transmedia services we offer at Arctic7, you create a foundation for a project that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Related Articles

• How to Create a Series Bible for Multimedia Projects
• How to Extend IP Across Platforms: A Creator's Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a complete series bible before I even write my pilot script? Not necessarily. Think of it as a parallel process. While you're writing your pilot, you should also be sketching out the core ideas for your series bible. You don't need every detail of season five mapped out, but you should have a strong sense of your world's rules, your main characters' backstories, and the overall direction of the story. This initial framework will make your pilot stronger and show potential partners that you're thinking about the long-term potential of your IP from the very beginning.

What's the biggest mistake creators make when trying to expand their story to new platforms? The most common hurdle is treating each new platform as an afterthought instead of part of a unified plan. A video game that feels disconnected from the TV show or a comic that contradicts the film's lore can damage audience trust. Success comes from building a cohesive world from the start, where every extension feels authentic and intentional. This requires a clear strategy and a master document, like a series bible, to keep every creative team aligned.

How do I make sure my characters feel the same in a game as they do in a show? Consistency comes from defining a character's core. Before you adapt them, you need to know their non-negotiable traits: their fundamental motivations, fears, and moral code. These elements should remain constant. From there, you can adapt how those traits are expressed to fit the new medium. A character's sarcastic wit might come through in dialogue in a show, but in a game, it could be reflected in item descriptions or combat taunts.

Is it better to launch on all platforms at once or roll them out one by one? A phased rollout is almost always the smarter approach. A simultaneous launch across multiple platforms is incredibly complex and expensive, and it doesn't give you a chance to build momentum. It's often best to launch with your core narrative—like a TV series or film—to establish the world and build an audience. You can then strategically release content on other platforms, like a mobile game or a prequel comic, to deepen engagement and keep fans invested between major releases.

How do I find the right partners to help me build my world? Look for collaborators who not only have the technical skills you need but who also genuinely understand and respect your creative vision. You're not just hiring a vendor; you're building a long-term relationship. Ask for case studies of their previous work, and during initial conversations, pay attention to the questions they ask. The right partner will be just as interested in your story's themes and character arcs as they are in the production pipeline.