Drew
Karpyshyn Creative Works
The Official Homepage of Drew Karpyshyn
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Archive Here is a list of all my news updates from 2006, 2007 and 2008 Back to NEWS main page. December 23 Welcome to the last update of 2008! We’re only a couple of
days away from Christmas, and it is COLD here in There’s an interview posted with me over at the Escapist magazine. The title is a bit scary (The Greatest Shame of All), but it’s actually a good article about novels based on video games. A couple of the facts aren’t bang on (the Darth Bane novels aren’t really based on the KOTOR games, for example), but at least I’m getting some good publicity. Speaking of novels based on video games, I just received the audio book of Mass Effect: Revelation, as read by David Colacci. Anyone who clicked the link to the novel will notice that the second Mass Effect novel, Ascension, is also out in audio book, but I haven’t received any copies yet. It’s a strange thing for me to hear someone else read my work – I always have a certain voice inside my head that sounds suspiciously like me. But David Colacci is a very well established name in the audio book field – you can check out his profile on the AudioFile website. In case you’re curious, it takes 9 hours to get the full Mass Effect: Revelation story read to you. So if you’re planning any long cross-country drives or flights over the holidays, this could be a good way to pass the time. In non-writing related news, the Chargers still have a
chance to make the NFL playoffs if they can knock off the Broncos this
weekend. I’ll be honest, the Chargers don’t deserve to be in the playoffs
this year… but neither does If the Chargers get on a hot streak and win the Super Bowl
and go down as the worst Super Bowl champs of all time, I’m fine with that.
The Chargers are favored in the game against On that note, I’ll just wish everyone a happy holiday season as I return to working on the still untitled Darth Bane 3 novel. I’ll be back (hopefully with some big news!) early in the New Year. Drew December 10 Whoops – I’m a couple days late with this update. In my defense, I’ve been crunching a little at BioWare as we move towards our Christmas break, and I am in the middle of writing the third Darth Bane novel. Plus, I just got back from Vegas on Friday. Had a great time in The golf on the trip was… erratic. I couldn’t put 18 solid
holes together. (My wife Jennifer, however, played great. In fact, she came
with a couple of strokes of beating me straight up on the last 9.) I wasn’t really
surprised: I hadn’t swung a club in over a month. That’s the curse of the Speaking of full potential, the Spurs are healthy and
starting to look like a force to be reckoned with. Sure, they’re not tearing
it up like the Lakers, Celtics and Cavs, but they’re playing good basketball.
I love them being in this position – just below the radar. Hopefully they can
stay here all season, then make another run for a
championship in the spring. (I’ll probably make my way down to Not sure what else I can talk about right now. I thought there would be a couple new interviews with me posted on the web by now, but they’re still not up so… I guess that’s it. Next update on Christmas Eve-eve. (That’s the 23rd.) Drew November 24 Well, it’s now been about 4 weeks since I went golfing. I’m getting a little bit of “the itch”, but fortunately I’m going to Vegas next week, so I’ll get to swing the sticks! (Now I’ll see if my swing is holding up, or if winter deterioration is already setting in!) Not much new to report on the writing front. Still plugging away on Bane 3, still churning on ME2. No new interviews yet (though I’m working on a couple that should be up before Christmas). So all I can offer is a link to NHLFreak.com – a hockey blog site run by a friend of mine. If you want to see why I gave up watching NHL hockey, you can check out the entries with “Fundamentally Flawed” in the title. (This is also my take on why the NHL isn’t ever going to be popular with North American audiences.) The first post was back in October; check out the archives section on the right of the page to find it. In other sports news, the Chargers continue to struggle.
The Spurs, on the other hand, have clawed their way up over .500 despite
injuries to both Parker and Ginobli (their top two
scorers last season). Comparing the Chargers and Spurs, you can really see
the difference between a team with talent and a team with heart. The Spurs
could have packed it in when Parker went down – they were already 2-5, and
they knew Manu wasn’t coming back for weeks. But they fought back, The Chargers, on the other hand, keep losing close games. They still have a ton of talent, but they don’t make the big play at the key time. They can’t get stops on defense. They settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. Sure, they’ve gotten some bad calls and some bad breaks, but that’s a part of sports. You suck it up and play through… and even though it kills me to say it, I just don’t think the Chargers have the heart to do that game in and game out. The worst part is, the division they’re in is SOOOOO
terrible that they still have a chance to catch Okay, enough complaining. Look for some more ‘writerly’ related news next update. Drew November 11 Okay, it’s Remembrance Day here in I’ve got approval on the outline for the third Bane novel, so I guess you can mark this as official notice that I’m starting the “real” writing. I’m also still churning hard on Mass Effect 2. But I still found time to do an interview for the South African website of Dave Brendon. Beyond that, I’m seriously lamenting the lack of golf. We
actually had snow here today in Okay, I guess that’s it for this update. Not much to report, but would you rather have me writing blogs, or working on the next Bane novel? Yeah, thought so. Drew October 27 Darth Bane: Rule of Two goes on sale tomorrow in paperback! Hurry, order it now! Buy two, they’re cheap! I’ll wait… still waiting… okay, fine. Buy it on your own time, at your own leisure. On to the latest update. Let’s see what else is new, other than the paperback release of Darth Bane: Rule of Two. (See how I snuck in another plug for the book – tricksy, tricksy, I am.) Well, the still unnamed third Darth Bane novel is now “outline complete” and in the hands of my editors at Lucas Books and Del Rey/Random House. Hopefully they like what I’m doing and give me the thumbs up to begin writing the final manuscript. Also, I recently got my hands on a German version of Mass Effect: Ascension. Not sure when these went on sale, but pretty cool nonetheless. (Interestingly, the German version has roughly the same page count – but the pages are about 30% wider, and the type is smaller. It’s a very verbose language, I guess.) Let’s see, what else? Oh, yeah… apparently there was some kind of big video game news. The worst kept secret in the gaming industry is now officially out of the bag: the BioWare MMO has been announced as Star Wars: The Old Republic. Click the hyperlink to check out the website. Now, I know many of you are dying to know details about the game… but I can’t tell you anything beyond what’s posted on the website. So stop asking! If you want details, go to the website. I will say that I’m not working on SW: ToR right now – I’m still hard at work on Mass Effect 2. (But who knows what the future holds?) However, the lead designer on SW: ToR is James Ohlen – the lead designer and one of (if not the) primary creative force behind Kotor and the Baldur’s Gate series. So rest assured, Star Wars: The Old Republic is in very good hands. Okay, that’s all for now. (Yes, I’m ignoring the recent crappy play of the Chargers. Thank God the NBA starts soon. Gooooo Spurs!) Drew October 13 Happy Thanksgiving. Yes, that’s right… it’s Thanksgiving
up here in Darth Bane Update: The third Darth Bane novel is now tentatively scheduled for a December 2009 release. I still don’t have a title, but I’m almost done the outline. Once it goes through all the necessary approvals, I’ll jump straight into the writing. Also, Darth Bane: Rule of Two is scheduled for paperback release on October 28th. If you didn’t buy it in hardcover, now’s your chance to get it in paperback. Makes a great Christmas gift! (Or a Halloween gift. Or a late Canadian Thanksgiving gift. Just buy a damn copy, already.) Thanksgiving always bums me out, because it means golf
season is winding down here in But it isn’t all bad news. The NFL is in full swing (and the Chargers got a big win last week), and the NBA is only a few weeks away. (Go, Spurs!) And, as I mentioned earlier, only a couple more weeks until the paperback version of Rule of Two hits the shelves. To tied you over until then, here’s an interview I did with a website called Immortal Darkness. We chat about writing in general, Star Wars and Mass Effect. Check it out for your weekly “Drew” fix. Drew September 29 Wow – quite the reaction since I announced the new Bane book. Thanks for all the e-mails and posts on my Star Wars blog; it’s good to know the Bane fans are still out there. Imagine if I had mentioned any details, like what it was about or when it was coming out… So, what’s up in the world of Drew right now? Well, I just got back from Vegas. That’s right: Vegas, Baby! Gambled, golfed and gorged myself on buffets and steak and lobster dinners. It was an homage to gluttony. And if you’re wondering how I did at the gambling, let’s just say I lost enough money that the hotel offered to comp me for 3 nights next time I’m in town. (Hey, if you walk away from Vegas with money, you didn’t do it right.) In the NFL, the Chargers are starting to claw their way
back towards the top of the division. It hasn’t been pretty, but I think they
needed a little humility in their lives. Hopefully they’ll be stronger for
it. (I’ve got a deal with a buddy of mine who’s a Finally, here’s an interview with me and Mike Laidlaw, another BioWare writer, in the Edmonton Journal. Funny enough, the article debuted the day after my Bane announcement – interesting timing. Okay, that’s it for this update. Now that I’m back from vacation and the golf season is winding down, it’s time to concentrate on the work that pays the bills. I’ll be burying myself in the worlds of Mass Effect and Star Wars for the next six months or so… at least until the local courses open up on temp greens again. Drew September 15 So, what’s the big news today? Hmmm… oh, yeah. There will be a
third Darth Bane novel! The story that began in Path of Destruction and continued in Rule of Two will (possibly) come to a thrilling (and likely bloody) conclusion in the third Bane novel called… well, I don’t actually have a title yet. Or an outline. Or any other relevant details. Come on, give me a break. Rule of Two isn’t even out in paperback yet. I mean, I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Playing with ideas. But I never bothered to lock anything down. (I’m a terrible procrastinator. Without a deadline looming, I tend to let things slide.) Do I know what’s going to happen to Bane and Zannah? Yes… on a very general, very high level. But it’s going to be a while before I have the details worked out. So I know what you’re all wondering: will Zannah kill Bane? Will Bane kill Zannah? Will we meet any other apprentices? Sorry, but I can’t answer any of those questions. I don’t even know exactly when the novel is scheduled for release (although I think winter/spring of 2010 is a good bet). I will tell you that I need to have the manuscript done by March, so that gives me plenty of time to put together a worthy successor to the first two novels. Okay, I want to end this on a positive note, so I’m going to stop right here. I won’t lament the crazy calls that burned the Chargers this weekend (though I think their inability to get key stops late in games is a bigger issue). I won’t bitch about how my golf game is on the verge of becoming AWESOME just in time for winter to kill my progress. And I won’t mention that the Spurs have a tough road ahead in a stacked Western Conference, especially with Ginobli on the shelf for the first part of the season. Instead, I’ll just remind you all that the paperback version of Darth Bane: Rule of Two is coming out in October, and I’ll thank all the great fans who bought the first two Bane novels… it’s because of you that the saga will continue. Drew September 3 Ugh… golf season is winding down here in the Great White North. I hope we get a nice stretch of weather in September, because the last two weeks of August were windy, wet and cold. (Huh… just checked out my last blog entry, and I was complaining that it was too hot. Guess I’m just a whiny bee-yotch. Oh well; deal with it.) One good thing about the fall weather, though… it means the NFL is starting up again! Maybe the Chargers can finally make it over the hump this year. And NFL means it’s only a couple months until the NBA begins… and my beloved Spurs take another shot at the title. (I know they’re getting a little long in the tooth, but I think they have another good run or two in them.) What’s that? Oh, you want something RELEVANT in this update? Okay... So, I’ve finally updated my Star Wars Blog with some thoughts on the sales numbers of my Mass Effect novels versus my Star Wars novels. Check it out if you’re interested in that sort of thing. I’ve also done an interview with EU Cantina – PODCAST is available for download. We chat about KOTOR, Mass Effect, Darth Bane and more. That’s all for now. See you in a couple weeks. Drew August 18 Okay, I’m back for another update. Happily my cold seems
to be gone, but now it’s so damn hot here I can’t sleep at night. (Most
people don’t have AC in Anyway… Mass Effect: Ascension still seems to be selling well in the third week since release. Judging by feedback on the BioWare Forums, the on-line reviews at various sites and the e-mails I’m getting, people seem to like it even better than the first one. However, I found it funny that some of the reviewers at sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble say they really enjoyed the novel, but then deduct points off the rating because the feel it doesn’t continue the story line from the game. I’ve done my best to manage expectations and make sure everyone understands that the adventures of Commander Shepard will NEVER be in one of my novels… YOU get to choose Shepard’s course in the game – that’s YOUR story. The novels are meant to expand and broaden the Mass Effect universe by telling a different story, so they will never simply recount events in the game. (Okay, never say never… but as of RIGHT NOW, that will never happen. Unless something changes. I’m not above selling out for the right price.) But that doesn’t mean the books have no connection to the
games. Anyone who reads Revelation can see how it set the stage for the first
Mass Effect game. Ascension does the same thing for the second Mass Effect
game. It’s actually a bit frustrating when I see people complain that the
second book doesn’t tie in with the game story line, because it DOES! I know
it does, because I’m writing them both. You WILL see some of the characters,
species, locations and story lines from Ascension in the second game. And
once ME2 is out, a lot of people are going to realize they didn’t give me
enough credit. I guess that’s my cross to bear: artistic genius is never
fully appreciated in its own time. (Wow, I guess the heat is making me bitter
and sarcastic. No, wait – that’s just me.) Seriously, though – thanks to everyone who’s purchased Ascension and thanks for all the e-mails, reviews and forum posts from fans. In somewhat related news, I finally got some updated sales numbers for Mass Effect: Revelation. We’re up around 70,000 copies sold in the first 9 months. It’s not quite up there with the Star Wars sales, but they had 30 years to build a fan base, so I think 70,000 in less than a year is pretty damn good. I was actually hoping Ascension would sneak onto the paperback bestseller lists, but that didn’t happen. Maybe if we do another one it’ll break through. I’m going to look at the comparison of my Mass Effect and Star Wars sales numbers in greater detail in my Star Wars Blog next week, so if you’re into that kind of stuff you might find it interesting. Okay, off to the sweltering sweat box that is my bedroom. Drew August 11 I’m fighting a wicked summer cold, so not much of an update this week. Mass Effect: Ascension has hit the shelves, and initial reaction seems good. That’s about all I can muster… off to bed. I’ll be back next week with a real update. Drew July 28 Mini-Update Happy Birthday me! I turned the big 37 today. To celebrate I skipped work, golfed 36 holes (first round okay, second round terrible), ate some cake and watched ATHFCMFFT (click the Wikipedia link if you have no clue what I’m talking about.) All in all a good day. But the real fun begins tomorrow when Mass Effect:
Ascension goes on sale at bookstores across Okay, that’s all I’ve got. The whole point of this update was to give you the sample chapter link and promote Ascension one last time in the hopes it will have a huge opening week. Drew July 20 We’re coming up on the release date for Mass Effect: Ascension. I received a couple preview copies already, and I’m really happy with how the cover looks. There should be some sample chapters and previews being released right away to promote the book, but I don’t have the details yet. That’s why I’m doing another update on July 28 – come back and I’ll provide links and info so you can get a peek before you buy the novel! (And you’re all going to buy the novel, right?) I’ve also updated my Star Wars blog a couple times in July, so you might want to check those out if you haven’t seen them yet. In other news, BioWare showed off Dragon Age at the big E3 trade show this past week. You can get details on the game from the Dragon Age website. I’m excited about Dragon Age, because it’s one of the few BioWare projects I haven’t worked on. Although I’ve seen the story at various stages of development, this is one game I’ll be able to enjoy as a fan rather than as a developer. I’m looking forward to it. There’s also been a lot of recent speculation about the BioWare Austin project, but I can’t comment on that. Don’t even bother asking, because I can’t say anything. Finally, one last note – I registered my first hole-in-one
on the golf course last weekend! It was Saturday evening at the Still waiting to break par for a full 18 hole round, though… and my handicap is actually getting worse. I started the season around a 9 and now I’m up to about a 12. It hasn’t been pretty. I’m hoping the hole-in-one marks a turning point where I start to get back into form. And even if it doesn’t, at least I got a hole-in-one! Okay, that’s all for now. Remember – mini-update next week! Drew July 6 Okay, it’s been a while since my last update. Since then, I’ve been working on the golf game (results have not been satisfactory) and my own non-Star Wars, non-Mass Effect novel. I’ve been kicking this thing around off and on for many, many years, but I think I might finally get it done and off to a publisher (or agent) this summer. I’ve also received an advance copy of Mass Effect: Ascension. Looks good. The release date is coming fast (July 29!), and I’m hoping I’ll have some news (and, with luck, maybe even an excerpt) from the novel for the next update. I also managed to squeeze in a few interviews since the last update. The first is an article for Robot Rabbit – it’s the second part of an examination of diversity in the video game industry. So if you want to hear this particular middle class, white-bread male’s thoughts on diversity in gaming, check the article out. The other interview is located at the Escapist on-line. (Article was down for a bit while they do some maintenance – just check back in a day or two for more info.) The article focuses mostly on my Star Wars work, though it does look at some of my other projects as well. And if you’re into video games and you’ve never listened to Yahtzee’s Zero Punctuation review segments on the Escapist, check a couple of them out. Freakin’ hilarious. Okay, other than that not much else to say during this update. I’ll probably be posting a new Star Wars blog next weekend (July 13), so give that a look if you need your Drew fix. Otherwise, see you in a couple weeks. Drew June 18 Mini Update: I’ve added the Galactic Binder link, and I’ve updated my Star Wars Blog. Okay, lots of fun things going on right now. Congrats to my good friends Cookie and Dusty on the birth of their first baby! I’m not so much into the kid thing (the laughter of children cuts through me like a knife), but I’m happy for them. (And ecstatic that this hasn’t happened to me and my wife…) I’m not going to spoil things like gender, name or anything like that, because Cookie has her own blog, and I don’t want to steal her thunder. Check it out now for all the details if you’re interested. You can also look back at her rantings…uh, I mean, thoughts… during the pregnancy. Be warned, though – she can swear like a sailor when she gets riled. Also, congrats to the Boston Celtics for winning the NBA championship by *crushing* the Lakers. It’s too bad my Spurs didn’t make the finals, but maybe next year… Congrats to Tiger Woods on winning one of the most interesting/intense/entertaining US Opens I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Sucks he had to destroy his knee to do it, but hopefully he’ll come back strong next year. (In the meantime, maybe Mike Weir and Stephen Ames can steal a couple tourneys while he’s out!) Okay, enough life stuff. On to the real reason you’re here – an update on Mass Effect Ascension! We’re closing in on the release date, and I can finally tell you a little more about the story. I’ve already mentioned that Kahlee Sanders is back, but now I can admit that Cerberus – a radical pro-human military cabal the player can encounter during side missions in the first ME game – plays a crucial role in the story. And so do the quarians. And biotics. If you want the slightly spoilerish version of the plot that will be printed on the dust jacket, click on this link to the Del Rey posting, or check out the NOVELS section of my website. There should be some excerpts from the novel coming soon, both on the net and in print, so hopefully I’ll be able to give you some links to those with the next update. Also, I’m finally going to be updating my Star Wars blog this weekend (link at the top of the page). Check it out on Monday, as I probably won’t update it until Sunday night. And I’ll also be posting a link to an interview I did with Galactic Binder… but not until Saturday. (Yeah, I’m making you come back in a few days for an update on this update. I suck. Get over it.) Drew June 2 Time for my post Vegas report. In pool, the HK-47’s got our assess kicked. Out in the 3rd round. At the craps table, I got my ass kicked. On the putting greens of the golf course, I got my ass kicked. And the Spurs (with a little help from a questionable no-call from the refs) got their asses kicked. Yet despite all this, I had a great time last week. I saw some shows, enjoyed some golf, had a blast throwing away money at the casinos, and had some really fantastic meals. Vegas is my kind of town, baby! In other news, Mass Effect PC is getting great reviews. Many of the reviewers actually think the PC version is better than the original. So if you haven’t played ME yet, now’s the time to check it out. You also might want to check out the interview posted with me on Xbox360 Asylum. And check out the BioWare site sometime later in the week for a podcast where I answer a few more questions. (Podcast link now posted – may take a couple minutes to load. The first 10-12 minutes is a talk with Ray and Greg – my bit comes after that, about halfway through. ) Finally, I’ll be getting to my e-mails over the coming week, but they kind of piled up while I was away. So please be patient while waiting for a reply. Thanks. Drew May 25 I’m packing my bags for Vegas even as I type, so I’m only doing a mini-update this week. But, when I get back next weekend I’ll have a whole bunch of new stuff for you. I’ll let you know how things went for the HK-47’s in our big pool tournament, I’ll have a couple new interviews to link you to, maybe some more info on the novel… and hopefully the Spurs will still be gunning for back-to-back NBA titles. However, before I get on that big ol’
jet plane and head down to Drew May 11 Time for another update. The golf game is showing some
real potential; I think this is the year I break par for 18 holes. My Spurs
are in tough against a very talented (Cover moved to the NOVELS page of this website.) Pretty sweet, right? I’m very pleased with how the cover turned out – my thanks to Derek Watts (Art Director for ME) and Casey Hudson (Project Director for ME) for pulling this together. Now, I realize some of you may have already seen the cover, so you may think this update is a bit of a let down. But don’t despair - I’m going to do a little Q&A session about the novel, too. So as far as updates go, this is pretty good (at least for me). Q: When does Mass Effect:
Ascension come out? A: Release dates is July 29, 2008 (1 day after my birthday). You can pre-order at Amazon or Barnes and Noble right now! (Go ahead – pre-order then come back. I can wait.) Q: Is that Tali on the cover? A: That is NOT Tali on the cover. It is, however, a quarian. Yes, quarians play a very important role in the novel, and you will get to learn a lot more about their species and their culture. However, you won’t see Tali or Shepard or any of the squad members from ME in the book. The stories of Shepard and his (or her) squad members are being told in the games, and I don’t want to retell those stories in the books. (Besides, those stories are influenced by the choices you make as a player, so I don’t want to impose my version of the narrative on anyone.) The novels focus on other characters and events in the Mass Effect universe (it’s a big place, with lots of cool stuff going on). I do make reference to events from the game, but this story stands on its own. Q: Who are those
three people at the bottom? And what are they running from? A: Okay, without giving too much away I’ll say the woman on the left is Kahlee Sanders from the first book. The other two are new characters you haven’t met yet. And I can’t really tell you why they’re running without giving too much away. Q: What else can
you tell me about the novel? A: I can’t really give you a detailed plot teaser yet. Maybe next update. But I can say that the novel is set a couple months after the events of the first game, and lays some groundwork for the second game. You’ll meet characters and organizations that will play a very significant role in the second ME game, and the novel will give you a deeper look into their backgrounds and motivations. I also take a much deeper look at biotics, and the implications of this amazing phenomenon on humanity and the galaxy as a whole. Other than that, all I can say is that it’s my typical fast-paced story with some interesting – and a few morally questionable – characters. Like the first novel, it has some dark moments, and more than a few scenes of graphic violence. (Dark characters and graphic violence seem to be a hallmark of my writing… not sure why that is.) Basically, if you liked the first book I figure you’ll like the second. If you didn’t like the first book… well, uh… I’m sure I fixed all the issues you had with the previous novel, and I honestly believe you should fork over more $$$ to pick this one up. I’m not just saying that so I’ll get more royalties. Not at all. I would never do that. Ever. Q: Do I have to
play the game before I read the novel? Do I have to read Mass Effect:
Revelation to understand this book? A: Mass Effect: Ascension is a stand alone story. I think people who have read Revelation or played the game will get into the setting more easily, and they might get more out of it – they’ll appreciate some of the nods to the first book and the game. But it’s not a requirement. Q: You said earlier
you make reference to events in the game. How do you do this if player’s can
change what happens through their choices? A: With the second Mass Effect game, we’ll be able to look at your choices as a player and adjust the narrative accordingly. Obviously, I can’t do that with the book. So when I reference things from the game, I do it in an open-ended or ambiguous fashion. Is that a cop out? Maybe… but I think if you read the book you’ll see that I get across the most important elements without compromising the Mass Effect game story or the ME: Ascension plot. Q: With the book
releasing in July, what does that mean for the release of the next game? A: Nothing. There is ZERO correlation between the release of the novel and the game. The game is on its own schedule; it will be ready when its ready. As with all BioWare games, we will announce a release date only when we feel comfortable with the quality of the product. In other words, to sum up this disclaimer in the plainest language possible: DO NOT ASK ME ABOUT THE RELEASE OF THE
NEXT MASS EFFECT GAME! Okay, that’s it for this update. Hope you enjoyed it, and I hope people are as excited for the release of Mass Effect: Ascension as I am. Drew April 28 Let’s start off with a little link to an interview I did for Imperial City On Line, a Polish Star Wars site. We talk a bit about Mass Effect, a bit about Star Wars and writing in general. Don’t worry if you don’t speak Polish (I don’t either) – the interview is in English. Go ahead and check it out if you’re jonesing for a Drew fix. Now, on to the update: The last two weeks have been a little up and down for me.
On the plus side, the NBA playoffs have started, and my Spurs look to be in
good shape with a 3-1 lead over the Suns in round 1… hopefully they’ll close
it out in Game 5 back in On the down side of things, the HK-47s got slaughtered in
the And, worst of all, it SNOWED here in Sometimes I think that if I had a time machine, I’d go
back to my ancestors who decided to settle in As for work, personal projects, and all that other stuff… not much new to report right now. I’m kind of in a lull at the moment, but there may be some big news coming down the pipe for the next update. We’ll just have to wait and see. (See, that’s called a teaser…) Drew April 14 Wow – it’s been a busy two weeks for me. Sunday I watched
the Masters (congrats to Trevor Immelman) and took
in some NBA action (my Spurs look a little out of sync right now… but just
wait until the playoffs start next week!). I’ve also been working on my golf
game (courses are just starting to open up around Mixed in with all that, I also got a chance to go down to In official news, Mass Effect PC is coming out soon. Here’s an article you should read if you’re interested in the game over at IGN. And there’s an interview with me and Mike Laidlaw (fellow BioWarian and Lead Writer on Jade Empire) over at the CVG website on the art of story telling in games. As for what I’m working on right now in my free time (apart from my golf swing), I don’t have any “official” projects on the go. The Mass Effect sequel is done, and I haven’t gotten a contract for another Star Wars novel yet. So I’ve taken this time to try and complete my own original fantasy novel so I can send it out to a few agents. It’s kind of a weird position for me to be in: writing something that I don’t know for sure I’ll get paid for. And, with no deadlines looming over me it’s sometimes hard to bear down and put the hours in. But, on the other hand, it’s fun to write something that is 100% my own creation – it’s not based in anyone else’s world, and I don’t have to follow anyone else’s rules. Of course, I have to balance this with my full time job at BioWare. Mass Effect 2 is in full swing, so I need to get my novel done before we start the long hours that seem to inevitably come with every video game project. And with summer coming, the fairways are calling to me… Okay, that’s all for this update. Back to my novel. Drew March 31, 2008 Whoops - a little late with this update. But I have a good excuse: I’m lazy. Anywho… Not a lot to report with this update. Here’s a Globe and Mail interview with me and Casey Hudson (project director) about Mass Effect and writing/story in video games. Might be worth checking out. And I’m heading down to That’s all I’ve got. Short week. But the NBA playoffs are coming, and it looks like it’s going to be a hell of a post-season! Go Spurs! Drew March 15, 2008 Okay, I’m back from vacation to the Caribbean And, on my return, I discovered my billiards team (the HK-47’s) was still in first place in our league! With only a few weeks to go, it looks like we’ll be qualifying for the 2008 International VNEA World Championships down in Vegas! Here a couple more links people might be interested in. Here’s an article that mentions me before going on to explore stories in the video game medium. Also, the e-zine Canite Gamer has an interview with me this month. (Issue #3 – free to download as a pdf.) And finally, a few photos from the Elan Awards, including a couple shots near the end of me accepting awards on behalf of BioWare for Mass Effect. Also, I’ll be updating my SW Blog next week sometime, so go ahead and check that out around Wednesday or Thursday for more info about what I’m working on now. I’ll also be addressing some rumors about certain BioWare projects… but you might not like the answers I give. Drew February 18, 2008 Wow! I just got back from the Elan Awards in I’ve also done a few small updates to the web pages here. For example, the news now only shows updates from the current year. The rest of the updates have been transferred to the archive page (link above). And I’ve updated the FAQ page, rearranging the questions a bit and adding a couple new ones dealing with Darth Bane, Mass Effect 2 and how I got started as a writer. Now, for a bit of a bummer update – Darth Bane: Rule of Two finally slipped off the New York Times bestseller charts. But it had a great run, debuting at #14, then going to #12, #17, #23, #25 and finally #26 before dropping off the list this week. Still, it was a great 6 week run! As for my normal life, things are going along quite well. We’re in early production on ME2 and things are rolling along. The NBA All-Star game is over, and now basketball gets serious as teams gear up for the playoffs. I can’t wait to see if the Spurs can win back-to-back championships for the first time! My billiards team continues to lead our division as we push towards the end of the season, meaning we’ve got an excellent shot at winning another trip to Vegas. And golf season is slowly creeping ever closer. One final note: I’m away for the first two weeks of March
as I take my annual winter escape. This year we’re going to the Drew February 6, 2008 Okay, the update was a little late this time around. But I have a good excuse: I was completing the final draft of Mass Effect: Ascension. Well, that and watching the Super Bowl. For the record, I had the Giants to cover the spread, but I was as stunned as anyone to see them win. As for Ascension… the manuscript is now done! (Hooray for me!) Currently the book is scheduled for a late July release, so it’ll still be a while until you can get it on the shelves. But don’t despair; there is more Mass Effect coming soon! (see below) Speaking of Mass Effect (see above), BioWare just announced our downloadable content for Mass Effect coming in March. Finally fans will get to see the batarians from the Revelation novel in the actual game! You can get more info about Bring Down the Sky on the BioWare forums. Mass Effect has also been nominated for a stack of awards
by various organizations in the entertainment and video games industry. In
fact, I’ll be attending the Elan awards in In other Drew news, Rule of Two is still on the New York Times bestseller list. The book is down into the mid 20’s now - the so called “secondary list”, as opposed to the top 15 sellers on the “main list”. But I don’t care what they call it, the novel’s been on the list for five weeks now! Still no word on a sequel or a signing tour, but if I hear anything this website is probably the first place to get an update. Finally, look for some changes to the webpage coming soon. Yes, it will still be ugly. But I’ll add a few more questions to the FAQ page (like how I got my start, and what the status on the next Bane book is), and I’ll set up an archive for the news reports so that this page isn’t so text heavy. Okay, that’s all for me. In the last 30 months I’ve written 4 novels, 1 screenplay (un-produced) and Mass Effect, so I need to take a short break to recover. Later. Drew January 21, 2008 I’m hard at work putting the finishing touches on Mass Effect: Ascension right now, the sequel to the first ME novel, so I need to keep this update short. First, an update on Darth Bane: Rule of Two. After debuting at #14 on the NY Times Bestseller list, it climbed up to #12 for the second week! Right now it’s still on the list at #17… way to go, Bane fans! Next, a couple interviews with me to let you know about that have been posted on the net. The first is at Fan Force Portugal – don’t worry if you can’t speak Portuguese, they have an English translation. The second interview is over at the Jedi Masters website. Finally, I’ll be doing a live phone-in podcast over at the EU Cantina on Saturday, Feb 2nd, at 5 pm EST. Check out the link for all the details. (And if you have technical questions about how to phone in, ask at the website – they’re the ones running things, not me.) Okay, that’s it for now. Look for longer updates in February, once I have a little less on my plate. And I apologize to everyone who’s waiting for e-mail responses from me. They will be coming… just be patient. Thanks. Drew January 7, 2008 Happy New Year! So far 2008 is shaping up to be a hell of a year for me. My Chargers finally won a playoff game, Canadian golfers Stephen Ames and Mike Weir both performed well in the first PGA event of the season, the NBA is in full swing and my billiards team is in first place. Plus, Rule of Two is on shelves now… and it debuted at #14 on the New York Times bestseller list, and #10 on the Publishers Weekly list. I’m going to post more about this later in the week on my SW blog (check the blog around Friday for the update), but I’m obviously very pleased with this news. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who braved the winter weather to purchase Rule of Two! I’m also pleased to announce that Mass Effect has won several Game of the Year and RPG of the Year awards, as well as topping 1.6 million in sales so far. Goooooo MASS EFFECT! I’m also hard at work on Ascension, the second Mass Effect novel and I’m back to the grind at BioWare as we being work on the second video game. Busy, busy, busy… but it beats the alternative. I don’t have any information yet about a book tour for Rule of Two, but as soon as I hear anything I’ll let people know. I do, however, have several interviews scheduled at various websites over the next couple weeks, so I’ll post links to them in the next update. Okay, that’s all for now. Hope you had a great 2007, and I hope you have a better 2008. Drew December 24, 2007 Okay, this is it – the last update of 2007! Kind of a short update today, as I’m starting to get into holiday-family-celebration mode. It’s a mad week of friends, family and food for the Karpyshyn household over Christmas and New Year. Add in my work on the Mass Effect sequel novel (below), and I’m - as usual - swamped for time. So, on to the news! First: Rule of Two comes out in 2 days! Actually, it’s on shelves in some bookstores already, and some people who pre-ordered it online already have it. And here’s an interview with me about the novel over at the SW official site. Expect an update to my SW Blog (linked at the top of the page) sometime later this week talking a bit more about the book. And, on the heels of my first sequel, we’ve just announced my SECOND sequel novel. Mass Effect: Ascension is coming out in July 2008. Here’s the press release over at the BioWare site, and a short sneak peek of what the novel will focus on over at the BioWare ME forums. (Scroll down to my post at the bottom of the page.) Happy holidays, and talk to you all again next year! Drew December 10, 2007 Well – interesting couple of weeks for me. Got back from the Spike TV awards in Vegas, where Mass Effect picked up RPG of the Year. I had a good time in Vegas, though I got my ass handed to me on the craps and blackjack tables. But we hit some good restaurants and the Spike awards were… let’s just say “interesting” and leave it at that. On other fronts, things are going well. Even an injury to Tim Duncan couldn’t slow down my Spurs – Parker and Ginobili have done a great job of picking up the slack. (Remember – Ginobili and I share the same birthday, so it must be a good time to be a Leo!) Now, if the Chargers can just get Merriman back healthy for the playoffs everything will be just peachy in the world of sports as far as I’m concerned. In other aspects of my life, the praise continues to roll in for Mass Effect. Most recently we’ve been included in Time Magazine’s top 10 video games of 2007. And Mass Effect: Revelation has gone into a FIFTH printing – not too shabby for a first time novel for a brand new IP. (That’s “intellectual property”, a buzz word referring to a unique world, universe or setting.) I’m still hard at work on the second Mass Effect novel, and Rule of Two – my Darth Bane sequel – is coming out in just over two weeks! Remember – DECEMBER 26 – use those Christmas gift cards to buy it at your local bookstore and celebrate New Year’s with the Sith! Honestly, I’m still a bit surprised by the release date being so close to Christmas, but I trust my publishers know what they’re doing. And, with any luck, Rule of Two will crack the top 10 in the New York Times Bestseller list. (No pressure on my fans out there… no pressure at all. Hint, hint.) Watch for several interviews and profiles with me in the next few weeks at various games and Star Wars sites as we continue to promote both Mass Effect and Rule of Two. I don’t have any dates right now, but I will post them on my site here on my next update. And I’ll be making posts on my SW BLOG blog each of the next two Thursdays to promote Rule of Two, and offer some sneak peeks into the novel. Drew November 26, 2007 Good week for me. The Spurs are rolling, the Chargers are
back leading their (admittedly weak) division, and Mass Effect is out – the
game is on shelves now in North America, Mass Effect was also nominated as a game of the year contender (along with a bunch of other awards) for the Spike TV Video Game Awards. I don’t know if we’ll win or not, but a few of us from the team are heading down to Vegas for the awards ceremony just in case. (Plus… Vegas, baby!) So now that the game is finished, I’m going full bore on the next Mass Effect novel. For those who are curious, it will be set after the first Mass Effect game, and it will help set the story for the ME2 game in the same way Revelation set up the story of the original game. I’ll see if I can sneak in a few more details about the story in my next update. Until next time – Go, Spurs, Go! Drew November 12, 2007 Another two weeks has come and gone, so here I am to give another update on where my world is at. I finished reviewing the page proofs for Rule of Two – that means all the changes are done, signed off and I’m on to my next project… in this case, the Mass Effect sequel novel. Can’t say too much about it right now, but I’ll have more info next update. (Look for a press release from BioWare sometime this week for more details.) Also, I’ll have more details on the final touches we put on Rule of Two on my SW Blog later this week, and I’ll talk a bit about how it feels to juggle two vastly different universes like Star Wars and Mass Effect. As for Mass Effect the game, we’re starting to see the hype machine gearing up now. The official release is November 20, so we’re already getting in some of the early reviews. Not to brag or anything, but this game totally kicks ass. I’ve worked on a lot of great games at BioWare, but there’s no doubt in my mind this one is the best thing we’ve ever done… and the reviews are starting to bear that out. We’re also doing a bunch of interviews for TV and internet to talk about the game. Check out Spike TV’s GameHead online at Game Trailers if you want to see me (and other Mass Effect team members) talk about the game. Or you can watch it on November 16th on TV. My stuff is towards the end of the first video, just after the Conan review. (I’m the round-looking guy with the big nose.) You can see more of me in some of the other videos linked on this page as well. Another interview with me and Major Nelson from Xbox live on podcast (audio only) here, and some video footage of me and the Major on YouTube. (I show up around the 2:30 minute mark.) Also, on check out Mass Effect on Sci vs Fi airing on the Sci-Fi
Network on November 20th. (Not sure if or when this airs up here
in Okay, that’s about it for now. Next update I’ll focus on something really important: how my Chargers and Spurs are doing! Drew October 29, 2007 Hey, everyone. Time for my bi-weekly update. Things are going along at a nice little clip for me now. Mass Effect is officially done, which means we’re into a much more relaxed frame of mind around the BioWare studios right now as we go into the pre-production for the sequel. It’s kind of nice to be getting home between 6 and 7pm each night. The semi-break from work has allowed me to focus my
attention where it needs to be: sports and Magic the Gathering. Sadly, golf
season is basically done here in Also, the NBA is about to kick-off, and the Spurs are trying to go back-to-back for the first time in franchise history, so I’ve got that to look forward to. And the Chargers seem to be out of their funk and back to the style that puts them back into the mix of Super Bowl contenders. (Although the Pats and Colts are definitely the teams to beat right now.) As for Magic, I just entered my first tournament in about 2 years last weekend. If you care (and even if you don’t), I played an elf deck and ended up 3-3, but I made a few play mistakes. (That’s what happens when you don’t play for a long time; it’s a complicated game.) I’m looking forward to getting my rating up from TEH SUCK to at least MEDIOCORE over the next few months. But it’s not all fun and games for me. I just did a book signing over the weekend, and I got to meet a lot of other local authors. It really made me appreciate how lucky I’ve been to hook up with BioWare and Lucas – most of the authors there were self-published, and it sounds like a tough gig. I’m really blessed to be able to have books come out in mass market, and I want to thank all you fans for making that possible. Without your support I don’t sell books, which means I’d be back working as a loans officer or – god forbid – teaching a room full of students somewhere. (Not that I have anything against teachers; I just hate most children. And teenagers. And… well, people in general. But not you – my loyal fans!) I’m reviewing the final page proofs for Rule of Two. (I think the title is official now – hooray!). And I’m starting on the Mass Effect sequel. (Title pending.) I’m also doing a lot of TV and web interviews for Mass Effect… I’ll start posting them next update as they become publicly available. Okay, that’s about all for this update. Thanks for reading. Drew October 15, 2007 Okay, it’s been a couple weeks since my last update, and I’ve been hella-busy. (That’s Eric Cartman from the South Park Halloween special “hella”, not Gwen Stefani “hella”.) First, a little shameless self-promotion: Drew
Karpyshyn Author Event Saturday, October 20th 11am-5pm at Chapters Bookstore 9952-170 Street, Okay, I’ll be honest… it’s not a “Drew Karpyshyn” exclusive event. I’m just one of a number of local authors being featured at the event, so there should be plenty of literary types on hand. Come on down if you’re in town and I’ll gladly sign copies of Mass Effect: Revelation; Path of Destruction; Temple Hill; Throne of Bhaal; any BioWare game or anything else you want me to put my name on. (And I do mean anything…) Now for the big news: BioWare was bought out by Electronic Arts! Here’s one of the many websites talking about the deal in case you’re interested. I can’t really comment on this since I don’t want to run afoul of insider trading laws, but it sounds like things will be business as usual for us at BioWare, so nobody panic. I’ve also got back the editor comments for Rule of Two. I’ll talk more about that on my SW BLOG on Wednesday, but the short answer is they liked what they saw and I only had to make minor revisions. I finished them up over the weekend, so we’re into the final push on the book! And we’re starting to see some early press reviews of Mass Effect. I hate to sound immodest (yeah, right) but it looks like people think the game KICKS ASS! Keep an eye in the next few weeks for those reviews to be published – I’ll link to them here as I find them. Okay, that’s about all for now. Hope to see some of you on Saturday at my book signing. Drew September 30, 2007 Just completed the Darth Bane sequel and sent it off to the editors at Lucas and Del Rey today. I’m feeling pretty good about the novel, and I always get a nice buzz when I finish a project. (That’s a natural high, kids – just say NO to drugs.) I’ll be updating my SW BLOG on Wednesday with some more info about the book, so check it out there. It’s a good thing the novel worked out, because things
aren’t going so well for me in the sports world. The Chargers continue to
stumble, and the I guess it’s not all bad. Mike Weir knocked off Tiger
Woods on the last day of the Cup in front of the home crowd. Moose power!
(That means Okay, that’s all I’ve got. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go golf my brains out until the snow flies. September 16, 2007 Wow – seems like I’ve been away for a while. Probably because I have. A lot has happened in the past three weeks, so I should just jump right into my update. But I won’t. Because first I need to point out that I’m going to a bi-weekly update schedule for the news section. Updating every week was just getting to be too much work, so I’m cutting back. Deal with it. Now, on to the good stuff! Had a good time down in Austin, hooked up with some
friends who’ve transferred down there from BioWare
Edmonton to work on the top secret MMO project that I’d love to talk about
but really can’t. And the talk I presented with Mac and Mike (more BioWare writers) seemed to go pretty well. There’s a
couple good write ups on “Writing the Rule of Two Update: I’ve got some big news on the Darth Bane sequel… but you’re going to have to check out my updated SW BLOG on Wednesday, September 19th. That’s right – I’m making you wait. Worse, I’m luring people in with faux content so I can drive traffic from my website to my own blog. Tacky, yes? So, to make up for it and earn some “www karma”, I figured I’d link to a couple blogs written by other people I know. Blog the first: http://titacookie.blogspot.com/ Cookie Everman is the editor for the Mass Effect writing team over at BioWare. She’s also a good friend and a serious blogger. She gives updates every few days, unlike those jerks who only update every couple weeks. And she gave me a little shout-out on her site this past week, so I figured I’d return the favor. (Plus, we’ve got a little thing going where we want to see who drives more traffic to the other person’s site.) Blog numero dos: http://pats-quinade.livejournal.com/ Patrick Weekes is a fellow writer at BioWare who worked with us on Mass Effect before moving on to THE PROJECT THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED. He doesn’t know I’m linking to his blog yet, though I will advise him in an e-mail so he doesn’t get completely blindsided. There. That should atone for my sin of bouncing people back and forth between my own personal websites. For anyone else out there wanting to send me a blog link, DON’T! If I know you personally, speak to me face to face and I’ll give you mention. Otherwise, don’t bother. (Note: Drew does not play well with others.) Okay, I guess that nearly wraps this session up. Except for me to say that I’m thrilled the NFL season has finally started again. Hopefully my Chargers offense will realize the games actually count now, before they hit the suck-trifecta and stink the joint out yet again in Week 3. (It’s always hard cheering for teams with high expectations. If they win it’s no big deal, if they lose you get pissed-off. But we all have our cross to bear.) At least my Chargers don’t cheat by using illegal cameras and recording devices. They only cheat by taking steroids. (Sigh...) Drew August 26, 2007 Okay, you may have noticed the next website update isn’t until September 16th. WTF, right? Well, thinks are crazy busy right now. Busy, busy, busy. Next weekend is the Labor Day holiday, so no update then… I’m taking a much needed break. The week after that I’ll be coming back from GDC Austin, so no update then. That takes us to… September 16th. Seriously. Time flies by when you’re crazy busy. Quick update on where things are at in the world of Drew. Everyone on the ME team at BioWare is still working hard on those finishing touches to Mass Effect, which was shown at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) (video over at Game Spot) and the Leipzig 07 Game Convention. Click on the links to see details. Also, there’s a spotlight on game writers over at a site called Gamer’s Block, and I’m lucky enough to get a mention in the article. This coming week I’m also working with Mac Walters and Mike Laidlaw – two of the other writers at BioWare – on polishing up our presentation for GDC Austin. We’re presenting on Thursday, September 6th at 4:30 pm. All the details for our session, Writing the BioWare Way, can be found by clicking on the link. Hope to see some of you in Drew August 19, 2007 Not much news to report this week. There’s an interview with me up on the Firing Squad website where I talk a bit about writing for BioWare and working on the Mass Effect novel. You can check it out HERE. And I’m scheduled to speak at GDC Austin in the first week of September along with a couple other BioWare writers, so as we get closer to that date I’ll post some details. Other than that, still working on Rule of Two at home and still working on Mass Effect at BioWare. You’re probably getting sick of seeing those same two things over and over as updates, and I gotta be honest… I’m a bit sick of seeing them. Mass Effect is going to be awesome when it comes out in November, but now that we’re this close to the finish line I’m looking forward to taking some time off so I can recharge my batteries. On the bright side, the NFL is already in pre-season, the
NBA is looming and my billiards league starts up in a few weeks. And my golf
game is finally looking up again. Fired a couple rounds in the 70’s recently, and my short game is really coming together.
Maybe I was inspired by the LPGA players stopping into Now the trick is squeezing in every last round over the
next 2 months before the way-too-short Drew August 12, 2007 Some new footage of Mass Effect on 1UP Gaming. Just click on the link and check the video. It can take a long time to load, but there’s about 10 minutes of ME coverage starting at about the 18:20 mark. They talk a little about my novel Revelation, as well. I find it interesting that the two hosts who read the book seemed to enjoy it (based on how much they remembered and their general reactions), yet when asked directly whether it was “good” one of them dismisses the writing style. It’s almost like he’s afraid to admit he enjoyed it. (And maybe he didn’t… but based on his comments in the piece he sure seemed to “get into” it.) It’s funny – the main criticism I hear about my work has to do with my “writing style”. Now, I don’t expect everyone to like my work, but I think I see a bit of an interesting bias common to most of the criticisms. There seems to be a school of thought (more prevalent among critics than fans) that plain, easy to read writing is somehow inferior to a more obvious “literary” style. This always seemed a bit backwards to me. While there are examples of excellent literary science fiction and fantasy, I do find that many writers let their writing get in the way of telling a story or entertaining their readers. Too many times a novel gets bogged down in overlong descriptions, or writing that screams out “look at me – I’m ART!”. I’ve always believed that if a reader notices the writing during the story, then the author is trying too hard. I prefer to use a style that doesn’t draw attention to itself and moves the story along quickly. You could say that’s my video game background showing through… except that I was writing this way long before I ever went to work at BioWare. If anything, my style emulates the classic “pulp fiction” feel – and I consider that a good thing. I doubt I’ll ever win any prestigious literary awards for my work, but I’m okay with that. As I’ve said many times, I’m not in this for awards or recognition… I’m all about the cold, hard cash. Luckily for me, the vast majority of readers aren’t “critics” and, based on sales and the e-mails I receive, there are a large number of fans who don’t feel they have to apologize for liking my work. So I should be able to keep at this for a while. So why am I telling you this? No reason, really. Just
making some observations because I don’t really have much else to talk about.
I’m still working on Rule of Two. I’m still working on Mass Effect. I’m still
working on my golf game. And Tiger Woods continues his run of mind-boggling
excellence by winning another of golf’s majors. Nothing new to report.
(Although fellow Canadian Stephen Okay, that’s it for this week. Drew August 5, 2007 So it’s a long weekend here in In other Mass Effect news we’ve announced that we’re going to be showing the game off at PAX, the Penny Arcade expo. You can find details on the main ME website. Rule of Two, the Darth Bane sequel, is still rolling along. Obviously I can’t talk too much about it without giving anything away, but I’m pretty happy with how things are going on that front. My golf game, however, sucks right now. I got myself some flashy new irons hoping that would turn things around, but right now my short game has gone to hell. Obviously I need to put some practice time in… so don’t be surprised if my updates are a bit short for the next couple weeks. Okay, that’s all for this week. Drew July 29, 2007 Not much of an update today. (Hell, it’s only been a few days since my last update.) I’m back at work as we put the finishing touches on Mass Effect, and I’m pushing forward on the manuscript for Rule of Two, so it’s keeping me pretty busy. I did discover that a disturbing number of replies I’ve sent out to e-mails I’ve received have disappeared into cyberspace, so if you sent me an e-mail and I never got back to you that’s probably why. Please send it again. (Generally I try to reply to every e-mail sent to me within 2 weeks.) Okay, that’s all I’ve got this week. I’m tapped. Drew July 24, 2007 Hello, all. As you can see (read?) I’m back from vacation. I’ll be catching up with e-mail over the next few days, so if you’re waiting for a reply from me be patient. So how was the vacation, you ask? (Well, you didn’t ask.
But I’m telling you anyway.) It was good. I spent some time in But now I’m back to the grind. I’ll be updating my SW Blog today with a bit more info on the sequel to Path of Destruction, so check it out if you’re interested. And while I was away, BioWare and Mass Effect made a big splash at this year’s E3 show. We won a bunch of “Best in Show” awards, the press reaction has been amazing and we finally announced our release date: November, 2007. For details on the press coverage, some new trailers and other ME goodness go to this LINK and click on the “Coverage” tab about halfway down. And finally, there’s an interview with me posted at the EU Cantina Website. Okay, that’s it for now. Look for another update on Sunday. July 8, 2007 Okay, first off – if you notice the date above you’ll see
there is NO UPDATE next week. In fact, it’s going to be a little over two weeks
before my next update. Why? Well, I’m going on vacation. Mass Effect is
finally at a point where I can sneak away for a short break. So Jen (my wife)
and I are heading down to But before I go, a couple small updates. I sent off the outline for the Darth Bane sequel for approval this weekend. So if there aren’t any major changes requested by the publishers then I’ll be hitting the manuscript full time when I get back from my trip. And the July/August issue of Avenue Magazine is finally out. Turns out they don’t release on July 1st like I thought. I haven’t even seen the actual magazine yet, although they’ve updated the online site. I don’t know if they ended up using my photo on the cover (like I said, I haven’t had a chance to check out the actual magazine yet), and the website is still showing the cover from the May/June issue. However, the on-line contents are up to date, and you can see a little blurb from my article and a small picture of me HERE. If you look at that picture you can see why I rarely smile for photos. Makes me look like a goofy doofus. I usually go with the sullen/serious look whenever a camera shows up. And the shirt… well, that was chosen by the photographer. I rarely wear anything that isn’t black or dark navy blue… and I never wear shirts with buttons or collars (golf T-shirts are the only exception). But, all in all, I guess I don’t look *too* bad. (And I can’t blame the photographer… he can only work with the face God gave me.) Okay, that’s it. Talk to you in a couple weeks. Drew July 1, 2007 Happy That’s right – we have our own day here in the Great White North! We may be a modest people, but we still have national pride. We even do fireworks. Of course, we only get a 3 day weekend to celebrate the formation of our country, rather than the big 4 day celebration like our neighbors to the south. I blame it on the weak Canadian exchange rate. Unfortunately for me, I only have 2 work-free days this long weekend. (Or 2 golf days, depending on your point of view.) BioWare’s gearing up to show Mass Effect at E3, so I was in Saturday with the rest of the team pushing hard to get the game all spiffed up for the press demos. I can’t release too many details about E3, but if you go to the Mass Effect forums you can see more info in this thread here. In book news, Path of Destruction is out in paperback now. No sales numbers yet, but it’s been spotted on the shelves in local bookstores. Seems like most stores around here are getting 24 copies (my dad counted them), so it looks like somebody somewhere is expecting some major sales. (No pressure or nothing.) I’m going on vacation in a couple weeks, and I’m hoping to see it in the airport gift shops, too. It’s cool to see the book out in paperback - gives me a nice rush as I’m starting work on the sequel. Also, there’s an interview with me in the July/August
edition of Avenue Magazine – a local
Calgary/Edmonton publication. They said they were going to have a picture of
me on the cover of the Okay, that’s about it for me today. Except to say this – I promise Sunday updates to my website. But they’re LATE Sunday updates, so if you come here and it’s not updated don’t fire off an angry e-mail. Just check back on Monday and it’ll all be good. June 24, 2007 Only a few days left until Path of Destruction is out in paperback! You can order the novel through Amazon by going to my Novels page and clicking on the link – hopefully the paperback can match the hardcover performance and make it onto the bestseller lists! Also, as confirmed on StarWars.com I am doing a sequel to PoD, due out December 26, 2007. No, that’s not a typo – the book is actually going to be on the shelves before the end of this year. How do I get a book I’m just starting to write out in roughly 6 months? Check my Star Wars blog on Wednesday to find out! The Mass Effect novel continues to get good reviews: these were recently posted at Ars Technica and Game Spectrum. As for the Mass Effect game… we’re getting real close now. There are new updates on at the BioWare Mass Effect website and some previews on the krogan species from the game over at IGN, so check them out. June 17, 2007 Happy Father’s Day! I’m trying something a bit different now. Going to be updating the website every week. I guess this will kind of be like a blog – I’ll give people a little peek at what’s going on in my world in the remote hopes that anyone out there actually cares. Here we go… Look for an update to my Star Wars Blog in the next couple days. Might have some interesting news to share with people about Darth Bane… (say no more, wink-wink, nudge-nudge). Also, check out this interview with me at Game Spectrum – gives you a glimpse of what it’s like behind the scenes at BioWare. Other than that, it’s been a fun week for me. My San
Antonio Spurs win the Larry O’Brien trophy yet again in an odd numbered year…
now I just hope they can repeat. Got to watch most of the US Open on TV (all
4 days) and got to see fellow Albertan Stephen Mass Effect: Revelation sales seem to be going well; they’re going to a second printing, so that’s good. Also seems to be getting a lot of favorable response from the fans. The Mass Effect game still has no official release date, but we’re getting closer and closer. Hopefully we’ll have some release date info soon. Path of Destruction comes out in paperback June 26. Pretty excited about this; I’m hoping the paperback sales will expose a whole new set of Star Wars fans to Darth Bane’s world. June 14, 2007 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE Duncan, Parker and friends did it again! It wasn’t pretty, but they walk away with the rings for the 4th time in 9 years. Now the only question is… can they repeat in 2008? On a more “Drew” related note, I plan to start updating the news section of this site every Sunday, so be sure to check back often. April 27, 2007 Lots to update, so let’s get right to it. Mass Effect: Revelation – my prequel novel to the Mass Effect video game - is about to hit the shelves! May 1st you can buy your copy for your first look into BioWare’s Mass Effect universe. There’s a free preview of the prologue posted over at the Mass Effect site here. Also, Path of Destruction is coming out in paperback in June, so it’s an exciting time for me. (And a busy one, what with me working on finishing off the Mass Effect game.) I’ve also updated my Star Wars blog, including some my reaction to the Robot Chicken Star Wars special. Check it out at the link above. Golf update: still no courses open on permanent greens
here in NBA update: My Spurs are in a dogfight against the Denver
Nuggets as they go to the Look for more updates in a couple weeks once early reaction of Mass Effect: Revelation starts to trickle in. February 25,2007 BioWare and Del Rey have officially announced Mass Effect: Revelation, my first Mass Effect novel. It’s a prequel novel set in the Mass Effect universe that takes place 18 years before the events of the game. It’s coming out in early May, so I’ll be updating my novels section soon with more information as we get closer to the release. If you want to discuss the novel, check out the Mass Effect forums here. January 10, 2007 A New Year springs with hope and promise… and lots of snow
here in I’m now back at work after a much needed break over Christmas. I’m putting the finishing touches on my next novel – and hoping to officially announce it soon – as well as starting the final push for the Mass Effect game. (Not much of a news update, I know. Give me a break. I’m still new at this.) Since I don’t have any current news I’ll throw in some retroactive news. Back when I was on my book tour for Path of Destruction in October I was made an honorary member of the 501st Legion. Here’s a link from the Rebel Scum website detailing the festivities: http://www.rebelscum.com/story/front/Drew_Karpyshyn_Signing_100941.asp I just wanted to say a belated thanks to Bryan White and
all the members of the Old Line Garrison down in December 27, 2006 Okay, my web page is up and I’m officially launching my pan-media empire upon the world! |