BioWare's Lead Writer Resigns

Mike Kayatta

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Aug 2, 2011
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BioWare's Lead Writer Resigns



Drew Karpyshyn, the writer behind games such as Jade Empire and Mass Effect has decided that it's time to move on.

BioWare games are beloved by their fans for many things, but it's their robustly developed stories and characters that seem to define them. While the narrative and dialog are always produced by a large team of talented writers, there's always one person who heads the pack, providing vision and shaping each project's voice and direction. For BioWare, that person was Drew Karpyshyn, at least up until a week ago.

Karpyshyn revealed on his personal website that after more than a decade of penning the scripts to numerous award-winning games, he has retried from his post at BioWare. "For the past twelve years I've had the privilege to work at one of the best companies in the video game industry," he wrote, "side by side with the most talented and incredible group of people I've ever had the good fortune to know. I've enjoyed my time at BioWare immensely, but it's time for me to move on."

According to the post, Karpyshyn doesn't have anything else specifically lined up for full time employment but, at least for now, he's going to use the immediate future for other creative endeavors. "I'm leaving to focus more time and energy on my novels and other non-video game related projects," he explained. "I'll always have fond memories of BioWare, and a great appreciation for everything it meant to me. But my future is wide open, and I can't wait to see what's in store. (Plus, now I'll have more time for golf.)"

Karpyshyn's final project for the developer was new MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, and before he cuts professional ties with BioWare completely, he'll work on finishing the game's tie-in novel, though he won't yet go into details.

"I realize some of you may be shocked by this announcement. Maybe even disappointed," he wrote. "My identity has been closely tied with BioWare ever since I crawled into the public eye, and I know it's a risk to move away from my comfort zone. However, I feel that's an essential step for every creative artist to take at some point. It keeps us fresh, it keeps us energized."

It's always a bit of a shake-up when a staple in the videogame industry decides to move on, but as Karpyshyn himself points out, change can only lead to interesting, fresh developments for both his personal work and the future creations of BioWare.

Source: drewkarpyshyn.com [http://drewkarpyshyn.com/c/?p=369#more-369]

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Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
He is probably retiring to start his long search for a neck.
 

Gennadios

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It's not necessarily a bad thing, companies reusing the same writers tend to eventually make every single game by said company feel samey due to them having very similar hooks and archetypes.

Just like every single Blizzard storyline tends to be exactly the same in different settings, I've lately started to feel that BioWare has been releasing the same game since Jade Empire.

Maybe they'll get someone else equally as talented and BW will have newish stories for the next few games. Or maybe they'll promote one of the Dragon Age 2 writers. Not that I care because I'm not playing any more of their games after ME3.
 

Wolfram23

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Probably for the best. Haven't really liked the latest releases that I've played so maybe a new writer can make things interesting.
 
Sep 14, 2009
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Worgen said:
He is probably retiring to start his long search for a neck.
haha i feel awful but i lol'd hard at this. good post sir.


OT: well it'll be interesting to see what happens i suppose...still, i wonder if those were his exact reasons for retiring.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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That's a shame. And doesn't bode well to me. Recent Bioware games, apart from The Old Republic, haven't exactly been stellar narrative-wise. But hopefully the current writers improve over time.

Hopefully.
 

scorptatious

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Well that's too bad. I guess that means Mass Effect 3 could potentially be the last well written Bioware game. Although you never know, whoever replaces him could actually bring a lot of new and interesting ideas to the table.
 

putowtin

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Worgen said:
He is probably retiring to start his long search for a neck.
Bravo dear boy, bravo.

His recent work (parts 2 and 3 of the Bane trilogy and Revan) hasn't been a patch on his early stuff (Baldurs gate II and KotOR). His resignation might give some new writers a chance!
 

Something Amyss

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Wolfram01 said:
Probably for the best. Haven't really liked the latest releases that I've played so maybe a new writer can make things interesting.
Hasn't he not actually been the lead writer on the latest games?

Because my theory was that he actually read some of the recent storylines. XD
 

Richardplex

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scorptatious said:
Well that's too bad. I guess that means Mass Effect 3 could potentially be the last well written Bioware game. Although you never know, whoever replaces him could actually bring a lot of new and interesting ideas to the table.
FYI, He didn't do the script for ME3, Mac Walters did.
 

scorptatious

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Richardplex said:
scorptatious said:
Well that's too bad. I guess that means Mass Effect 3 could potentially be the last well written Bioware game. Although you never know, whoever replaces him could actually bring a lot of new and interesting ideas to the table.
FYI, He didn't do the script for ME3, Mac Walters did.
He did? My mistake then. I just assumed that since he was the lead writer, he had a part in the script.
 

Sniper Team 4

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Dear BioWare,

I will be more than happy to take this man's job. This is my dream job. Please let me have it. Or not even his job. Even just as one of those talented writers would be awesome. Please.

I never understand why people will leave such a nice job, especially one they enjoy. I'm often told they get burned out, but I guess they have the luxury of leaving a job like that. I would love to have that post. Did I already mention that? I did? Well, thought I'd mention it again, just in case anyone from BioWare reads this.

On a side note, what does this mean for Dragon Age III? Did he leave notes behind for others to follow, or did he just go, "Have fun with it. I have no idea."? Or did he not have anything to do with those?
 

Frotality

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good to see drew get the hell out of dodge. he probably sees the same future for bioware that EA does: yearly mass effect spin-offs and dragon age 3: the return of frieza.

all that aside, his work was getting kind of stale, and its good that he realized it was time to move on to something else. im eager to see what kind of stories he can pen outside of the formula he basically established for bioware, and even more interested to see how bioware will cope without him. i just sincerely hope gaider doesnt get his job...
 

OManoghue

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Well that's it kids. BioWare is officially just another EA lackey. It was pretty decent while it lasted I guess.