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: February 21, 2101 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 September 14 Summer is winding down here in In Austin, however, September ROCKS!!! The plus 100 degree days are mostly over. We’ve finally got some much needed rain. Golf courses are in terrific shape. The NFL season is under way. NBA is just around the corner. A new Magic set is about to be released. Things couldn’t get much better. Now, onto the updates. There’s an interview with me up on Amped Gaming. If you want to know more about BioWare, my books or whether MacGyver could beat Darth Bane in a fight, check it out. I’m also in full swing now working on SW: TOR. (That’s
Star Wars: The Now, some of you might be saying – hey, what about ME2? Well, that project is still pushing hard towards release. So if you want to know more, just hit the ME2 official site. ME2 was also at PAX, and it also rocked the house. Don’t believe me? Check the site out for yourself. And give the FAQ section a read – it answers most of the “big” questions about the game. As for books, I finished the final, final, final review of the Dynast of Evil manuscript. Now I just sit back and wait for it to hit the shelves. (December 8, people!!!) Makes a great gift for anyone who loves Star Wars, loves sci-fi or just loves to read. Hell, even if they don’t read it makes a nice paperweight. Just buy, like, a dozen. (I really want to see this one crack the NY Times top 10 list.) I’m also working on a couple other projects that I can’t talk
about right now, but hopefully in the next update (in mid-October) I can
share more details with you. (Or, now that I’m in Drew August 16 So, here I am back from vacation ready to give you more exciting updates. Only one problem: there’s not much to update you on right now. I don’t have any new book projects in full swing yet, though I am working on my own original fantasy novel so I can send it out to some agents or publishers. But beyond that, I don’t have anything going other than my regular BioWare gig. Partly it’s because I have to wait for a change in status to my immigration visa: currently I’m only authorized to work for BioWare, so I can’t sign any contracts with publishers at the moment. However, even if I could I think there might be precious little to report on right now. We’re really into the dog days of summer. The last Major of the golf season is now over and the NFL and NBA haven’t started yet (pre-season doesn’t count). So I’m mostly just chill-axing at home, playing golf and going to Magic tournaments. (Incidentally, I went 6-2 in my last tournament. Unfortunately you needed to go 7-1 to make the playoffs, but it’s my best finish yet so I am seeing signs of improvement. Golf… not so much.) That’s the reason I’m pushing back the next update to mid September. I’m hoping by then I’ll have some interesting updates on my projects. At the very least I hope to be caught up to within a week on my e-mails. (If you sent me something please be patient: I will respond eventually.) I’ll probably have an update on my latest running-related injury as well. Seems like every 4 weeks or so something else breaks down. Last month it was my right calf. Before that it was the arches on my feet. I’m healthy for the time being, but my creaky old body seems determined to make me suffer for forcing it to run 3 times per week. I’m also hoping to have an e-mail list set up for people to join if they want to get regular updates. I like getting traffic on the site, of course, but a lot of people want to know what I’m working on and when new projects are coming out. No promises, but I’ll see what I can do and I’ll update everyone in September. Okay, that’s all for now. Enjoy the tail end of summer – I know I will! Drew July 27 It’s going to be a while until the next update as I’m
heading back up to It will be a good chance to escape the scorching In Mass Effect news they recently announced a comic published by Dark Horse and written by BioWare’s own Mac Walters, co-lead writer on the Mass Effect 2 game with yours truly. Click HERE for the official announcement, and click HERE for an interview with Mac where he talks about the project. I’ll be honest – I don’t know a lot about the project; Mac was running with this one. So I’m as curious and excited as the rest of the ME fans. In other news, I apologize if you’ve sent me an e-mail and haven’t heard back yet – I’m doing my best but it’s hard to keep up with this kind of thing. I’ll try to find a chance to send messages during my vacation, but I can’t make any promises. That’s all until August – gotta go pack for my trip. Drew July 15 I’ve got something a little different to tell you about this update. The Fandom Association of Central Texas, a group dedicated to promoting sci-fi, fantasy and other speculative works of fiction, is holding a fundraiser on Sunday, July 19 to help out renowned sci-fi author and Star Wars novelist Aaron Allston. The fundraiser is to help offset costs from an emergency
medical procedure, and I’m going to be donating a few autographed books and
other items to their auction. If you live in the central Not to get on my high horse or anything, but in my eyes
the lack of universal health coverage is the single greatest failing in Okay, enough with the political stumping. If you’re in the
area, check out the event. Thanks. Now,, since my last update you’ll see I’ve done a little housekeeping on the website. Nothing major, but I’ve updated the homepage with a more current bio, and I’ve added Dynasty of Evil to the Novels page. I also just reviewed and returned the final galleys for the novel – basically it’s going off to the type-setter at this point, with no more changes. So go ahead and pre-order it now! (I’ll wait.) Let’s see if we can get this one to crack the top ten on the NY Times Best Sellers list! My Mass Effect books are still garnering their fair share of attention. They were among the selections on Kotaku’s 2009 Summer Reading List (along with the recently released Dragon Age novel by David Gaider). And for something rather different, The Rubber Chicken website has posted a number of replies from various celebrities pondering answers to one of the great scientific mysteries of our time. It’s cool to see my answers up there with celebrities like Harry Shearer of The Simpson’s fame, and Dean Haglund from the X-Files. (Not to mention Michelle Rodriguez from Lost, Men Without Hats and Devo, among others!) If you’re wondering why they wanted my opinion, it’s probably because I was also polled last year by this same website on the question of “Why Does the Sun Shine?”. Why they wanted me then is anybody’s guess… You’ll also notice that my next update is scheduled just a
bit sooner than usual. Now don’t get all excited: I don’t have any big news
or anything. My wife and I are just going back to Okay, that’s it. See you on July 27. The day before my
birthday. Not that I expect any gifts or cards stuffed with money or
anything. Though you do have my Drew June 30 Okay, I’m back with another update. In the last couple weeks things have improved greatly in my world. Not that they were that terrible to begin with, of course. But apart from a lingering cough/cold things are looking up for me. First, my golf game is coming around. I’m down to a 10 handicap and I can see the lower scores just over the horizon. There’s also a new set of Magic the Gathering cards coming out in July, and the Spurs made some key off-season moves that should vault them right back into serious title contention. Things were going so well, I even darted off to LA for Magic tournament last weekend. I didn’t win, but I started 4-1 before finishing 4-3-1. Not a stellar record, but better than my under .500 performance at the last big event. In my professional life things are in cruise control right
now. The final rewrites to Dynasty of Evil have been accepted, and I’m
finishing up my work on Mass Effect 2 before transitioning over to the Star
Wars: And I finally got a PO Box for anyone who wants to send me stuff. That’s right: if you want me to sign a book, poster, picture or even if you just want to send me fabulous cash and prizes you now have an address. I’m adding into my Contact page, but I’ll also post it right here. 78630 Remember: if you’re going to send me something to sign you HAVE to include enough return postage for me to send it back. I’m not going to pay to return it to you. Also, send me a little letter with your name and other information so I know who it’s from. Okay, that’s about all for now. Later. Drew June 14 Time for another update. Yes, that’s right – another
fascinating glimpse into the life of Drew! So… the evil Lakers won the NBA
title. I stumbled my way to a 4-5 record at the biggest Magic the Gathering
tournament in But it’s not all bad. Even though I suck, I’m still
golfing 3-5 times per week. The weather in Oh, yeah. And BioWare completely kicked ass at the E3 expo in LA. Check out the BioWare blog for a taste of the reaction to ME2. (Not to brag, but phrases like “slammed my jaw to the floor” were tossed about.) We won all sorts of awards and nominations, including best RPG and Best in Show. Check out the new Mass Effect website, with all sorts of cool videos, pics and downloads, and check out our cool cover on OXM. (In case you didn’t click the link they called us “The biggest story of the year”. Seriously. I guess we rock or something.) But wait a minute, I hear you thinking. (Yes, I can read your thoughts. You are SICK, TWISTED and PERVERTED! Oh, no… that’s just me. Never mind.) Aren’t you in Austin now, Drew? What about the new Star Wars MMO? Didn’t they show stuff at E3, too? Hell, yes! And SWTOR (Star Wars, The Old Republic in case you didn’t figure it out) also blew people away. If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and go here and check out the Deceived trailer. It’s seven flavors of awesome. Now, I realize some of you are actually fans of my novels, so you’re probably wondering what I’m working on now that I’ve finished with Dynasty of Evil. Well, to be honest I’m taking it easy for a few weeks. But after that I’m going to try and get my own fantasy novel ready to submit to publishers. The book is the first in a trilogy. Yeah, I know… another fantasy trilogy. But the thing about my book is that it really will be a trilogy. It won’t become an ever expanding series that goes on forever with nothing ever happening just to sell more books. Unless sales are REALLY good, and the publishers drive the money truck up to my house. Remember – selling out is only a bad thing if you don’t get top dollar. The book is tentatively titled Children of Fire, and if all goes well I’m hoping to get a publisher deal before the end of the year. However, if something else comes up – like another SW novel, or a third ME book – then I might have to put it on hold yet again. As any freelancer will tell you, it’s hard to turn down work that pays you up front for speculative projects. Okay, long update with not much actually said. Guess I’ll sign off now and get back to answering all your e-mails. Drew May 31 Okay, I’m a day late with the update. And, I still don’t have the PO Box address for people to send stuff to me. But in all fairness, things are still nuts around here. BioWare is getting ready for E3 with some kick ass demos of games we’re working on. And I just finished the final (I hope) rewrites to Dynasty of Evil. But I promised you some cool update stuff, so here we go!
Here’s a Mass
Effect preview of the E3 demo. (Because of the move to We also just announced there is an iPhone Mass Effect game! Jacob will be a major character in ME2, so this can give you an introduction of who you might run into in ME2. Here’s the infamous Dragon Age Violence Trailer – warning, may contain spoilers and, uh, violence. Dragon Age also has been pushing out updates with character and environment art, all listed on the news section of their website. And, now that I’m down in Now, I’ve given you these updates and previews. Next week E3 2009 actually hits, and even though I’m not going there’ll be lots of cool updates and videos coming out of the show. As for my personal life, things are going great here in Drew May 13 Holy sweet mother of Zeus!!! I have never been so damn
busy in my life. Here’s the deal – I’m still trying to get crap done for the
move (getting a PO Box set up, getting my driver’s license, getting all my
accounts and financial stuff transferred over to the I’m so damn busy I barely have time for golf. And that hasn’t left me much time for other things. Like watching the NBA playoffs. With the Spurs gone, I’m finding it hard to make time. I watch maybe 3 quarters per week. And answering my e-mail – I’m still behind, though I am finally replying faster than new e-mails come in. So, here’s the deal. No more updates until the end of May. But, and I promise you this, it will be a major update. Lots of cool and useful information – about me, about my work, about various projects that may or may not have been announced. Until then, however, you’ve got this craptastic non-update. Sorry, but that’s the way things roll. Deal with it. And come back on May 30th for the super-mega-awesome update. (Okay, maybe I’m over selling it.) Drew April 29 Wow – talk about a crazy couple of weeks! We’re finally
moved into our house here in I’m WAAAAAY behind on my e-mails, but please be patient –
I’ll try to catch up this weekend. Other than that, not much else to say,
except that I’m bummed about my Spurs being knocked out in the first round.
(I never even got the chance to go see them play….) But, I’m more than happy
to jump on the Okay, I’ll be back in two weeks with another update. At
that time I’ll be updating the website with my new biographical info (since I
don’t live just outside of Until then “adios” from the Texas Hill Country. Drew April 8 Dynasty of Evil is signed, sealed and delivered! That’s right – the manuscript is sitting on my editor’s desk right now. I know that might not mean much to those of you who still have to wait until December to read it, but it’s a huge weight off of my mind. As much as I enjoy writing, it’s always a relief when I finish a project. So, you might be wondering what’s next for me. The book is
done, but the move from Once the move is done, I’m going to get in some serious
golf and Magic the Gathering. There’s a big tournament – Magic, not golf - in
Not to mention the NBA playoffs are about to start… though my Spurs are limping into the post-season. No Manu, Duncan’s hobbled by bad knees and the shooters can’t seem to throw it into the ocean right now. Could be an early exit for the Spurs, but I’m not giving up hope yet. In the playoffs anything can happen, and I’m crossing my fingers for Popovich to work his magic one more time… especially because I might actually get to go down and see a game or two this year. So sit tight, chillax for the next three weeks and when I come back I’ll let everyone know how the move went. And I might even have some more BIG news to share with you. But I don’t want to leave you with nothing to click on this update, so I’ll point you to the website of Brian Kindregan. Brian’s a good friend of mine who also happens to be one
of the writers on Mass Effect 2. He spent something like 13 years working in Okay, that’s all for now. Next update from the sunny hills
of Drew March 25 Well, not much new for me to share with you this update. The last couple weeks have been incredibly busy (and stressful) as we get ready for the move. When I’m not dealing with banks, lawyers or real estate title companies, I’m still pounding away at Dynasty of Evil… or scraping snow off my car. That’s right: we got a fresh dump of snow a couple days
ago. It’s officially spring, it’s still below
freezing and we’re still getting snow. Whenever someone says I’m going to
miss the If that wasn’t bad enough, I’m battling a case of peroneal tendonitis from running too far too soon as I
begin training for my half-marathon. It’s not particularly bad, but it is
annoying as hell, because it makes it much tougher to train. I have to look
for low impact alternatives to running… but I actually enjoy running. (Weird,
I know; I never though I’d like it either.) So, for the next couple weeks,
I’m back on cross-trainers at the gym instead of treadmills and tracks.
Hopefully by the time we move to Speaking of getting older, my Spurs are a little shaky right now. Manu is still out, Timmy is hurting and they’re in a bit of a free fall in the standings. But I’d rather have them struggle now than in the playoffs, and I still think they have time to right the ship. And it’s not all bad news. I expect to finish Dynasty of
Evil this weekend and send it off to my editors, and the Masters is coming
up. Plus, a month from now I’ll be out on a golf course somewhere in But I still will. Drew
March 10 Okay, I just got back from a short trip to But I’m back now, and I’m busy trying to catch up on all my e-mails. So if you sent me something but haven’t heard back, please be patient. I should get to them all by the end of the week. Finally, one more bit of actual news – they’ve released a preview cover for Dynasty of Evil, along with a short plot synopsis. (Don’t worry, it doesn’t really give anything away. This isn’t necessarily the final cover, but I like the direction they’re going. Not that I get a lot of say in the matter… the publishers for the SW novels tend to pick the artists. Fortunately they went with John Jude Palencar, the same guy who did the first Bane novel’s cover. Okay, that’s it for this update. See you in two weeks. Drew February 24 So… I promised a major update this week. Now, some of you have already figured it out, but for those of you who haven’t allow me to present… (drum roll, please)…. the very first Okay, from this point on I’m assuming you’ve seen the trailer, so if you don’t want any spoilers go click on the link before you continue! Now, I know what you’re all thinking… WTF!!! SHEPARD CAN’T BE DEAD!!! All I can say to that is… well, I can’t say anything, really. I will remind you to KEEP YOUR SAVE GAMES FROM ME#1. I will also say that I’m loving reading the forums right now and seeing people argue about whether Shepard is really dead, and coming up with theories to explain why he is or isn’t. Of course, we here at BioWare know the truth, so it’s all very amusing to us. Now, for the love of God, Buddha, Thor or whatever Greater Power you worship, please don’t e-mail me asking for inside info about Mass Effect 2! You WILL NOT GET ANY!! In fact, let’s just get this out of the way right now: Q: Is Mass Effect 2
finished? A: No. Q: When will it be
finished? A: I can’t tell you. Q: Are you going to
show it at GDC? A: I can’t tell you. Q: What about E3? A: I can’t tell you. Q: C’mon, Shepard isn’t really dead, is he? A: I can’t tell you. (see the pattern yet?) So, there it is… probably the most interesting link I’ve had on this page in a while. Wait…what was that? You already saw the ME2 trailer? I just wasted your time? Okay, FINE! I’ll give you something else. Let’s start with this: Mass Effect was recently nominated
for a BAFTA
award for Story and Character – click the link to see all the nominees. As to
why the Brits are just nominating us now, it’s complicated. Let’s just say
that the What, that’s still not enough for you? Okay, one more
bombshell… in 6 weeks I am MOVING from Why am I moving to But fear not, because I’m still going to be working for BioWare. You see, BioWare has a
(fairly) new studio down in However, at some point, I’ll be transitioning over to the SW:TOR writing team. So, let’s do this again: Q: When will SW:TOR be finished? A: I can’t tell you. Q: Are you going to
show it at GDC? A: I can’t tell you. Q: What about E3? A: I can’t tell you. (sound familiar?) Okay, one final note before I go – I’m also updating my Star Wars blog. And I’m slipping a few juicy spoilers for the next Bane novel into the post. That’s right: if you want to get the spoilers you have to go read the latest SW blog entry. Yes, I am a bastard. Deal with it. Drew February 17 Okay, big news this update – we’ve locked down the title for the third Bane novel. And the winner is (drum roll please)… Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil. But even though we have the title, it’s still not coming out until December, so everybody keep their pants on. (Or not… whatever makes you happy.) If you don’t like the title you can send e-mails to TellSomebody@WhoCares.net. (Okay, that’s a joke, people. Don’t actually try and click on the link.) I was hoping to have some more big news for you, too… but we’re still a few days away from me being able to talk about it. So, I’m going to do another update next week. (See how hard I work for my fans?) I can’t say much about it, but trust me: you don’t want to miss this. In other news, my interview with Kim Alexander at Fiction Nation is airing this week. Check out the link for times and details, as well as the link to Kim’s review of Mass Effect: Ascension. Speaking of reviews, Dave-Brendon de Burgh, who I did an interview with a while back, has just recently posted a review of Rule of Two on his website. Okay, that’s all for now. Back next week with some MAJOR news. (Yes, it’s so big it’s worth shouting for.) Drew February 3 Wow – these weekly updates are killing me! Notice – I’m going back to the bi-weekly schedule again… that’s all I can handle. In fact, the only reason I did this update was to let people know when my interview with Kim Alexander at Fiction Nation is airing. You can check it out on Thursday, February 19 at 3pm Eastern on Sirius XM Book Radio (XM163). If you don’t get a chance to hear the interview, they’ll be posting a transcript a week or two later – I’ll provide a link when it goes up. Apart from that, what else can I tell you? I’m still working on Darth Bane 3… and we should have a title for you next update. (Something to look forward to, I guess.) If you get PC Gamer magazine there’s a story in the next issues (due February 11) that mentions me… I’ll post more details next update, after the issue is out. I’m also trying to sort through my backlog of e-mails. I’ve gotten a little behind on answering so please be patient and you should hear back from me soon. I usually try to answer within one week, but I’m pretty busy right now so it’s closer to 2 weeks for most e-mails. Sorry about that. I’m also sorry about my crappy Super Bowl picks. I nailed the Steelers’ final score, but I whiffed big time on everything else. I missed the cover and the over/under… but at least the 4th quarter was exciting to watch. (I don’t know if it was exciting enough to make up for all my bets going up in smoke, but at least it wasn’t boring.) Okay, that’s it until next time. Remember – Feb 17 for the next update. By then I hope to have the new Darth Bane title, plus a couple links to some other relevant breaking news. (I know… you’re tingling with excitement.) Drew January 27 A bit of a mini-update this week just to let people know about my upcoming interview with Sirrius XM Book Radio. I still don’t have the exact airdate, but it will probably be mid-February. I should know the air date when I do the interview on Thursday, so I’ll put it in my update next week. (By the way, don’t get used to these weekly updates. I’m way too lazy to keep this up.) And, since I didn’t come through with the info I promised, here’s a couple other bits of news. The February issue of Official Xbox Magazine has named Mass Effect’s Bring Down the Sky as the best Downloadable Content of 2008. Game Focus also named Mass Effect PC as PC Game of the Year for 2008, and chose Bring Down the Sky as a runner-up for best Downloadable Content. What – you already know how awesome Mass Effect is? Okay,
how about some Super Bowl tips? Let’s see… I like the Steelers defense to
dominate early and force Also, check out my FAQ Page to see an updated picture of yours truly. This was taken by someone at work; it’s an expression I often seem to find plastered on my mug as I make my way through life. I call it the “You must be fucking kidding me!” expression. (Yes, I swore. I’m a terrible human being. I’m corrupting your children. The f-bomb is the greatest threat to life as we know it. Seriously… you must be fucking kidding me!) Okay, more info next update. Drew January 20 Okay, this is a pretty short update. But, as you can see up above, I’ve got another update coming in one week. Why is that, you ask? Well, I’m doing an interview with Kim Alexander from Sirrius XM Book Radio next week. The interview is going to focus on my Mass Effect work, both in novel and in audio book form. You can check out some info on Kim’s Show at Fiction Nation’s website. The interview isn’t going to be live – it’s going to be recorded and played back later. The problem is, I don’t know when. Not yet. But I should know by next week (before I do the interview). So if I do an update next week then I can tell you (my loyal fans) when the show is airing! Apart from that, I’m a little bummed that the Chargers finally went down to the Steelers. (Now I owe my friend a free meal.) Honestly, though, they went farther than I expected, so maybe they can build on this next year. Rivers is starting to make me think I was wrong about trading away Brees, and if Merriman and LT come back healthy (and if Sproles sticks around), the Chargers could be a team worth watching next year. Of course, my disappointment over the Chargers is offset
by the Spurs and their recent exciting win over the Lakers. I know it’s still
regular season, but LA is the team to beat in the West… and I’ll also have a small Bane update next week, and maybe some other interesting news… along with my Super Bowl pick. (If you want to make money, you should probably just bet AGAINST whoever I pick. It’s been that kind of year.) Drew January 6 Welcome to a New Year, full of hope and promise. Not that 2008 was that bad for me. Actually, it was pretty damn good. But I have a feeling 2009 is going to be even better! (Yeah, my life is awesome. But come on – I deserve it!) For one thing, my Chargers are still alive in the NFL
playoffs. Honestly, I never thought they’d get this far. I don’t know if they
can handle that tough Steeler defense, but as they
proved last week – on any given Sunday, any team can win. (Except the Another thing I love about 2009 is the fact that it’s an
odd numbered year. And anyone who watches the NBA knows what that means –
look out for the Spurs come playoffs! Actually, after that slow,
injury-plagued start As for me, I’m back at work now. BioWare traditionally gives the employees 2 weeks of holiday at Christmas, so we get a bit spoiled. But we’re back at that digital grindstone, churning out the next great gaming experience. And I’m still plowing away on the third Bane novel. Things are going well so far. I’ve even started kicking around a few titles… but I’m not going to spill the beans on them yet. Finally, to end this update I’m going to share my two New Year’s resolutions with everyone. 1 – This is the year I will break par on a golf course. 2 – I’m going to run the I figure if I publicly announce my resolutions, the fear of shame and ridicule if I fail will inspire me to keep working at them. Believe me, I need all the help I can get – especially after my first training session on the treadmill. So, in addition to my normal updates about writing, video games, sports and other stuff, you’re also going to hear about my on-going progress as I work towards the big race in December. (And once golf season starts up again, I’ll probably post info about that as well.) Okay, that’s all. Hope everyone had a great holiday season – back in a couple weeks. Drew |