TWINSBURG, Ohio - "Marvel: Future Fight" is a mobile action role-playing game starring iconic characters from Marvel comic books and the movies adapted from them. Marc Sumerak, who graduated from Solon High School in 1996 and currently lives in Twinsburg, helps write the game's storylines.

Sumerak has worked for Marvel as an assistant editor and a freelance writer since he graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2000 and started penning scripts for "Future Fight" levels about a year ago.

"Future Fight" is a mobile game for smartphones and tablets released in 2015. Korean publisher Netmarble Games releases new levels on a regular basis and those new levels sometimes require new characters. They always require new stories, so they continually need the services of writers like Sumerak.

The game, for example, recently introduced several members of the X-Men - a legendary group of mutant superheroes born with extraordinary powers - all of whom need story arcs.

"There was a brand-new level so (players) could unlock those characters to experience their story," Sumerak said.

Working for Marvel

Sumerak's first experience with Marvel came as a college student when he secured an internship in the publishing company's editorial department and then spent a semester working for Marvel in New York City.

"I was making copies and sending out mail, and learning everything I could about the industry and the craft of creating comics," he said.

His first published work came in the form of a casebook based on the popular Avengers superteam in 1999. The book summarized several years worth of "Avengers" comics.

Sumerak moved to New York after graduating from Bowling Green and worked as an assistant editor for Marvel, working on titles such as "Avengers," "Thor," "Black Panther" and "Captain Marvel."

He held that job for four years before transitioning to freelance work and moving back to Northeast Ohio.

The artist continues to work on comic-book stories and also writes guide books dealing with superheroes and super teams. He often appears at fan conventions selling copies of his work.

"Future Fight" mixes characters from alternate universes and time period and lets players step into the shoes of superheroes from Marvel's comics and movies. Sumerak had worked on video games before, but says all of those projects died in the development stage.

Marvel, however, remembered his work on several unreleased games based on their characters and contacted him when they needed a "Future Fight" writer.

"It was an offer I couldn't pass up," he said.

Writing for a video game

Video games like "Future Fight" take place largely on the battlefield, giving players the chance to participate in the action-packed confrontations. But the games still need a story to move the player from battle to battle.

That's where guys like Sumerak come in.

While the writing process is similar for both comic books and video games, Sumerak said the technical aspects are different.

"In terms of story and usage of characters, it's about staying true to the core of character," he said.

Video games are developed one level at a time which "isn't that different from comic books," he said.

Small differences exist in the process for the two mediums. In a comic book, for example, a line of dialogue only needs to be written once for a single character. However in a video game, where a story can take different directions and the player can fill the shoes of different characters in the same level, a line of dialogue needs to be written several times for multiple characters.

Netmarble and a division of Marvel that works on video games sometimes provides Sumerak with guidance.

"Sometimes they come to me with specific ideas in mind and sometimes they just throw some names (of characters) and say 'can you come up with a good story?'" he said.

Marvel is always providing feedback on how the stories fit the direction of the game and whether or not they stay true to the Marvel universe, which Sumerak called "a positive thing."

"When you're a writer, you work in a bubble," he said. "You don't get a lot of instant response."

"Future Fight" is available on Google Play and the iTunes app store.

You can learn more about Sumerak's work on his website.