Writer David Goyer (Foundation, The Dark Knight trilogy, Blade) has created Emergence, a world meant to be the first franchise on a new platform called Incention, which connects fans to expand and create intellectual property.
It basically allows studios and rights holders to open their IP to fans and other creators while leveraging AI to streamline licensing, revenue sharing and community engagement. The platform is built on the blockchain so ideas can be tracked and creators compensated.
Organizers are ambitious, hoping to introduce a new blueprint for building modern franchises through “collaborative creation” that can help avoid costly misfires on the big and small screens with early input from a passionate base. AI will help users sort through the content.
“In the current fragmented entertainment industry, AI’s growing influence holds immense opportunity, but also risks reducing franchises to formulaic outputs and potentially sidelining human creativity in a market that is saturated with content fatigue. Meanwhile, Hollywood IP — both old and new — currently struggle to harness the power of fandom and community, missing opportunities to extend their relevance and deepen engagement,” the announcement says.
Goyer’s sci-fi franchise Emergence, conceived with other writers and artists and now open to the global creative community, aims to showcase the potential of the model, which has been in beta for about six months.
In a video, he explained that Emergence is set in a world where objects tumble out of a white hole. They have tremendous energy and power, and no one knows where they come from or who makes them. Others on the platform can flesh that out. The scribe called this first test case a “universe designed as a creative sandbox — a galaxy shaped by mysterious forces where storytellers can explore limitless narratives, empowering both creators and audiences to play a role in shaping the canon, together.”
“With Incention’s tools and Story’s technology, creators can add characters, worlds, and relics, all tracked and financially compensated across mediums. We’re inviting collaborators to help weave this evolving tapestry of tales,” he said.
Incention is built on Story, a blockchain that transforms intellectual property into programmable digital assets, and backed by Andreessen Horowitz venture capital fund a16z crypto.
The platform also unveiled Atlas, an AI agent designed to serve as a creative partner to help with common tasks like aggregating ideas, crafting narratives, and even generating full videos. Atlas, which is still in early stages, will be able to autonomously post on social media platforms, community manage, and gauge sentiment online to refine its creative process.
“We’re ushering in a new era where creators, fans, and IP holders can connect like never before via AI,” said Incention CEO and co-founder Chase Rosenblatt.
“To creators: Your talent deserves more opportunity and more upside. To fans: You deserve fresh, captivating content and the ability to shape its future. To IP holders: Your stories deserve fresh perspectives and untapped revenue streams. And to Hollywood: We’re looking to partner with other innovative minds like David S. Goyer and help bring their IP to life in a format that will not only survive, but thrive,” he said.
