Drew
Karpyshyn Creative Works
The Official Homepage of Drew Karpyshyn
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News This section is where I’ll share all the latest significant happenings in my life with my adoring public and rabid fans. You can find older news stories (2006, 2007 and 2008) in my news ARCHIVE You can also check out my blog at StarWars.com for more news. Next site update: March 28, 2010 March 07 Okay, I’m a day late with the update. But in my defense, I’m still trying to catch up on all the e-mails I’ve gotten over the last month. And, I got all the editor feedback on Mass Effect: Retribution, so I wanted to complete all the rewrites on the manuscript this weekend. (I’m happy to say it’s all done, and everyone who’s read it seems to love the book.) So, what am I working on now? Well, obviously I’m still involved with the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. In fact, they just recently posted a new developer dispatch video with a few short interview clips from yours truly. You’ll also get to hear from, among other people, James Ohlen - the creative director behind the Baldur’s Gate series, Neverwinter, KOTOR, Dragon Age and SWTOR. James is also the guy who convinced me to move down to Austin, and he’s my testing partner whenever we want to try out the latest Magic the Gathering decks in preparation for a big tournament. Speaking of big Magic tournaments, I’m heading out to LA in a couple weeks for the TCGplayer.com 5K tournament. That’s why the next update won’t be for three weeks. But I do hope to have my e-mails updated by then, and I might even have some other interesting news for you. (Well, I think it’s interesting, at least…) Later. Drew February 21 It’s been almost a month, but I’m back with another update. And let me tell you – it’s been one HELL of a month for me. Let’s do a quick recap of what happened. First, Mass Effect 2 was released. It’s setting all kinds of sales records, and it’s one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time. So, let’s chalk that up in the plus column. I also managed to complete the final draft of Mass Effect: Retribution – it’s sitting on my editor’s desk right now, waiting for final approvals. That’s another big plus, and a huge weight off my shoulders. Like most writers, I tend to push any project right to the deadline, so I’ve been busting my ass for the last month to get this book finished. In the end I’m happy with how things ended up, but there wasn’t any lack of stress or drama in the making. That’s because, for the second time this month, I had a computer crash. This time I lost 3 full chapters of writing because, like an idiot, I was only backing up twice per week. I had to finish the novel by commandeering my wife’s laptop, since my machine was toast. So that’s a pretty big negative. So let’s toss the computer crash redux into the negative column. That’s also the reason I’m about a month behind on my e-mail. I’m working hard to catch up, but I have over 100 e-mails in my inbox waiting for replies. So please, be patient with me – I’m doing my best to get back to everyone. Also in the negative column: my golf game (driver fell apart, had to take a lesson to get back on track), the Spurs (can’t seem to click as a team, in danger of another first round playoff exit or even – for the first time ever in Tim Duncan’s career – missing the postseason!), and the coldest Austin winter in 35 years (still one million times better than Canada). But I think with the book being complete I can see change on the horizon. I finally broke 40 for 9 holes for the first time this year at the golf course; I’m planning on hitting a few Magic tournaments in the next month; we’ve got a trip to Turks and Caicos planned in April; and I’m planning to attend some of the WSOP events in Vegas come June. So all in all it’s still pretty damn good to be me. Look for another update in a couple weeks. Drew January 25 So I’m a day late with this update. No real excuses; I’m just busy and it kind of slipped by me. And, just to prove I’m busy, notice that the next update isn’t for 4 weeks. That should give me enough time to catch up on all the things I’m behind on. But I do have some cool things to talk about, so on with the update! First, they finally officially announced the big, secret project I’ve been working on (that is keeping me so busy): a third Mass Effect novel! The book, Mass Effect: Retribution, is scheduled to come out sometime in July, though that could change. Click on the link to see the cover and a plot teaser for the novel. Basically, like the other ME books, this novel focuses on a story not directly involving Commander Shepard, but that still helps flesh out the ME universe while helping to set up elements that will be featured in the third game. I’ve been cruising the forums a little bit (yeah, I lurk there once in a while) and it seems like people are pretty excited about ME: Retribution. But there is also a little confusion I’d like to clear up. The novel takes place AFTER the events of the second Mass Effect game. So you can play ME2 when it comes out and not worry about spoiling the book. Speaking of the game, Mass Effect 2 is set to drop tomorrow. Here’s a little tidbit to file under “weird” – Dynast of Evil released on December 8th, my Mom’s birthday. Mass Effect 2 releases on January 26… my Dad’s birthday! Bizarre, yes? Well, maybe not bizarre, but odd. (I figure this means I don’t need to buy them gifts, since they get the pleasure and pride of seeing something their son made on the shelves. Plus, I’m cheap.) The early reviews for ME2 are fantastic – the game is blowing people away. Reviewers are raving about the characters, the story, the graphics and the gameplay… really, there isn’t anything they don’t like. As co-lead writer on the game, I’m pumped for the official release because I know it’s going to do much, much better than the first game – which was itself universally praised and won a ton of awards. If you want to get a sneak peek at how the sequel is tracking, check out the ME link on Game Rankings. On a side note, I was watching the NFC Championship game (Go, Saints!) and when the telecast went to commercial for the 2 minute warning I was surprised to see a commercial for Mass Effect 2 pop up. The timing was perfect, and the ad itself was awesome. Plus, it’s waaaay cool to know that millions and millions of people watching the game saw it. Okay, that’s all for this update. Back to writing Retribution and trying to get caught up on my e-mails. (I’m up to 2010 now, so I’m only about 3 weeks behind. I guess that’s progress.) Drew January 8 Happy New Year! I know I’m a few days late with this update, but my computer crapped out on me, so I wasn’t able to update the website or answer e-mails. Great way to start the New Year, right? A late update and over 100 e-mails in the in-box. But it’s not all bad. The Spurs are starting to put it together, and the Chargers are looking strong for the NFL playoffs. (I admit, I was trash-talking them earlier in the season. My bad. I should have known they’d make their second half of the season run.) The golf game is starting to come around, though with the
recent cold snap here in So, what to talk about for the first update of 2010? Well, I was hoping my “secret” project could be revealed, but the official announcement isn’t out yet. If you do a little poking around on the interweb, you can probably figure it out, but I don’t want to get in any trouble with the powers-that-be, so I’ll keep quiet for now. As for my Christmas and New Year’s, they were pretty good.
Went back up to Dynasty of Evil is hanging on in what they call the New York Times “extended” best seller list, ranking right around 30th place right now. It’s 3 weeks and counting, so that’s a good thing. And we’ve had more printings for the first two Bane novels, so I guess I’m collecting a few more fans. Okay, that’s about it. Next update in a couple weeks. Until then, I’ll start grinding away at the e-mails. Be patient. Drew December 21 Welcome to the last update of 2K9. Tomorrow I’m off to the frigid north to visit family over Christmas. I’m going to enjoy seeing them, but I am NOT looking forward to the weather. (I was just out golfing earlier today, and now I’m about to be thrust into a sub-zero, ice covered golfing wasteland!) I’ve tried to catch up on my e-mails as much as possible before I left, but I have been SWAMPED with e-mails from fans since Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil came out. Don’t get me wrong – that’s a very, very good thing. It’s just a little overwhelming, so if you haven’t had a response yet please be patient – I’ll get back to you in the New Year. As for DoE sales, I don’t have any concrete numbers yet. But the most recent New York Times bestseller list came out and I placed at #18. At first I was a little disappointed: I was really hoping to crack the top 10 (the first two books both topped out at #11). Then I started to read the names on the list. Stephen King. Dan Brown. John Grisham. James Patterson. Sue Grafton. Michael Crichton. (Wait… isn’t he dead? How can he still be publishing!) Dean Koontz. The collaborative final book in the massive Wheel of Time series. That Kathryn Stockett novel that’s been clogging up the list for 37 straight weeks. Seriously – check out that list. It is EPIC. What I failed to realize was that the pre-Christmas push from publishers includes all the heavy hitters. For a (not-so) young up-and-comer like me, it’s hard to compete with the legends. So I don’t feel all that bad. I’m going to assume the numbers are there; the competition at this time of year is just a lot tougher than when Rule of Two came out (the week after Christmas). But I haven’t given up hope yet. There’s still a chance to
climb a few spots in next week’s list. So if you haven’t bought your copy
yet, rush right out and pick it up! Yes we can! Yes we can! (And if we don’t,
I’ll deal with my sorrow by playing an extra round of golf when I get back to
Okay, that’s all. Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Joyous Kwanzaa, Festive Festivus (A Festivus for the rest of us!), and a spectacular New Year. Drew December 12 Wow – talk about a busy couple of weeks. First, we went to
So, how did I do? Answer: AWESOME! I wanted to break 2 hours 10 minutes, and I came in at 2:09:12 – not bad for a fat guy pushing forty. I also managed to beat the time of the full marathon winner, which was a secondary goal for me. If you’re interested in seeing the results, click this RESULSTS LINK. Overall it was a great experience: almost 30,000 runners in total for the full and half marathons, racing down the Vegas strip in the early morning hours. My aunt and my brother-in-law also participated, and my wife, parents and other aunt were there to cheer us on. Plus, VEGAS BABY! If you’re into running, I highly recommend it – interesting views, nice flat course and you can celebrate by staying up for 24 straight hours and losing your shirt at the blackjack tables (like I did). But be warned – there is a price to pay! I’ve been fighting the flu ever since I got on the plane to come home. It’s like I’m getting old or something. In other news, Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil is now out! If you haven’t read it yet, go out and get yourself a copy! No sales figures yet (maybe next update), but the early reaction has been good. There is just one *small* problem. A lot of people are confused by the ending. So, if you’re one of those people you can go to my SUPER SECRET SPOILER page and read my thoughts on it. Okay, that’s about it for now. December is a busy time for me, but I’m going to squeeze in one more update before Christmas (hopefully with some early sales results for Dynasty of Evil). Drew November 21 So, my author’s copies of the book just arrived and it looks SWEEEET! (Yes, I get a limited amount of free copies. No, you can’t have one.) Holding one of the actual books in my hands made me realize just how close the release is, I’m starting to feel that rush of anticipation I always get when a project is about to go out to the public. However, as you can see from the date above, this is my last update before Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil hits shelves on December 8. That’s right – I celebrate this rush of anticipation by posting a blog entry saying I won’t be posting anymore entries until after it comes out. Sounds stupid, I know. But as much as I want to build excitement with continuing updates, I simply won’t have time between now and then to sit down and write another update. Next weekend (US Thanksgiving) we’re going to visit friends in LA. The weekend after that, I’m in Vegas to run my first half-marathon. That’s it – those are the only two weekends between now and when the book comes out. (December 8 – did I mention that?) And to all you smart asses saying, “Just post a blog update during the week, you lazy sod,” let me remind you that I still work for a living! Weekdays I’m in the BioWare offices hammering away at SWTOR. (Well, 3 days a week, at least. The other two are reserved for golf. And if you think I’m giving that up to write more updates, then you really need to read my blogs more carefully.) However, I’m not going to leave you with nothing but this crappy blog to tide you over. I’m desperately trying to catch up on my e-mails (about two weeks behind), and I also updated my Star Wars blog today with some insight into what I thought about as I was trying to come up with the Dynasty of Evil story. It’s not much, but it’s all you get until December 12. So try to make it last. Drew November 6 Welcome to my first November update. You’ll notice that the next update is coming in a couple of weeks – I’m going to try to pick up the pace as we near the release of Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil. In anticipation of this event, I’ve also updated my Star Wars blog for the first time since February. This first update is basically just a recap of what’s happened to me over the last few months, but going forward I’m going to have some interesting blogs where I delve into Dynasty of Evil in more depth by exploring the characters, the dynamics of their relationships and the creative process I used when deciding who comes out on top in the Bane vs Zannah confrontation. (Sorry if you think that was a spoiler, but come on… that’s the whole point of the Sith. Master vs Apprentice, and only one can survive. Which one is the real question, isn’t it?) But that’s not all the Star Wars news I have today. You can also check out my developer blog over at the official SWTOR site. I talk about what I’m working on for the MMO, and I look a little more closely at the Jedi. If you like my take on the Sith, you might be interested in seeing how I feel about the flip side of the coin. Writing the blog was an odd experience for me. I mean, I write a semi-regular blog here and over at StarWars.com, but it’s very clear that I’m just spouting off like most bloggers do. With the developer blog you really are representing BioWare, Lucas Arts, EA and a host of other entities. It kind of forces you to be a little more reserved. In fact, my blog was edited slightly before it went up. It’s not like I was dropping F-bombs all over the place or anything, but there was a little bit of “smart-assery” that was removed. Not a big deal, but it just emphasized the difference between something “official” and me just shooting the shit. (See, I could never say “shooting the shit” over at the official site. And if that offends you, tough shit.) One other thing I found interesting were the fan comments in reaction to my blog. People seem very excited, which is cool. But I do feel like I’m being given more credit than I deserve. All of the BioWare games I’ve worked on, including SWTOR, are the creation of an entire team… including a team of anywhere from 4-12 full time writers. And while I’m more than happy to accept praise and thanks, I think it’s important for people to remember that much of the great material they experienced was created by other writers on the team. That’s what I love about working for BioWare: everybody here is a master of the craft, and if you ever get stuck (or submit something subpar) you will get feedback and help from the rest of the team. In other BioWare related news, Dragon Age is now out on a
multi-platform release (PC, 360 and PS3). I didn’t work on Dragon Age, so for
the first time in a decade I’m an “outsider” on a major BioWare
title. However, based on the reviews over at Game
Rankings, DA kicks major ass. Nice job by the folks back in Finally, a little Mass Effect news. Mac Walters, the co-lead writer for ME2, is also the co-writer for the ME comic coming out. Click on the link if you want to check out a PDF preview. In non-writing related news, my running is going great – I’m shooting for a sub 2:10 time in the Vegas Half-Marathon in December. (That may not sound impressive, but keep in mind I’m a fat guy approaching 40.) My golf game is coming around: after a rough summer, my handicap has dropped 1.5 strokes in the past two months. (I’m an 8.1 index now; hoping to get to 6 by Christmas.) And I’m still optimistic about the Spurs this year, despite a couple shaky outings early in the season. (The Chargers are another matter, however. They’re going to need to make some big strides to reach the post-season.) Okay, that’s all for now. Next week some good friends of
ours from Drew October 20 Wow – busy month for me. Went to In other words, things have been a little helter-skelter for me lately. Now I’m looking forward to things settling down and getting back into my normal routine: working on the Star Wars: Old Republic game; running 3 times a week to train for the Vegas half-marathon; watching my NFL games on Sunday and keeping up with the golf. The other thing I need to get back to, of course, is my
writing. I don’t just mean my novels. I mean answering my e-mails; updating
my website… all that good stuff. I can’t use the excuse that I’m still
adjusting to What I should be talking about, however, is Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil. It hits shelves in less than 50 days, and it’s already available for pre-orders. So starting in November I’m going to be doing more updates and pushing this novel HARD. I’ll also be updating my SW Blog for the first time in months, and in November I’ll be doing a post for BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic developer blog. I’m also going to get caught up on all those e-mails
you’ve sent me; I’m about 2 weeks behind right now, so if you haven’t heard
from me just be patient. I know I’ve been neglecting all the fans who come by my site a little bit, but my Columbus Day
resolution is to spend more time on this website and answering my e-mails. (I
figure now that I’m in the Of course, that doesn’t mean everything else in my life is
going to stop. I’m going to keep golfing, and playing Magic, and I might try
to get down to Baby steps, baby steps. Drew |