Writing for Licenses
A licensed game is one you create based on a pre-existing intellectual property (or IP), such as a character or world first seen in a movie, comic book, real life, television, or even another video game.14 Star Wars, Batman, Harry Potter, and SpongeBob Squarepants are all licensed characters and worlds, known as properties. The property is licensed by a publisher or developer, which means that a fee is paid to use the property for a game (or several games). The group or individual who owns the original property is called the licensor. Licensors include groups such as Lucasfilm, DC Comics, J.K. Rowling, or Nickelodeon (to use the preceding examples). However, just because the licensee has paid to make a game using the character, that doesn’t mean he can make any game he wants. A licensee must work with the licensor to adhere to the brand. For example, a licensor may not want a character to kill enemies. Therefore, the developer has to design the game around...