Fandom and Creative Freedom in Star Wars

Ben, Matt, and Steve share their (non-spoiler-y) impressions of the new first-person shooter 'Doom: The Dark Ages,' focusing on the ever-evolving nature of the franchise, whether the series' latest experiments improve upon its tried-and-true formula, how they'd rank the three most recent 'Doom' games, and more. Then, Ben brings on video game writer and screenwriter Tom Bissell, who wrote the three-part finale of 'Andor,' to talk about the 'Andor' writers room; working within story constraints and established universes; tying the finale to 'Rogue One'; the future of 'Star Wars' and IP storytelling in the aftermath of 'Andor'; 'Andor' as a video game; the differences between writing for TV and video games; his work on 'Uncharted,' 'Gears of War,' 'What Remains of Edith Finch,' and 'Masters of Doom'; Hollywood's appetite for video game adaptations; and more.

Intro (0:00)
Reactions to 'Doom: The Dark Ages' (2:30)
Interview with Tom Bissell (35:35)
Outro (1:41:53)

Host: Ben Lindbergh
Guests: Steve Ahlman, Tom Bissell, and Matt James
Producer: Devon Renaldo
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal

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