Drew Karpyshyn leaves BioWare

Drew Karpyshyn leaves BioWare.

He's going to write novels full-time now.

This is both a yay and a nay for me. On the one hand I like his writing style. On the other hand, I love Bioware games, cause the writing is one of my favorite parts.

edited 17th Feb '12 11:27:27 AM by theLibrarian

:-O

I'm pretty much just shocked. Never read any of his novels, but I obviously played his games.

What worries me most is how Bioware will replace him. I mean, going by what happened when he was replaced as ME novelist...

...

Wait, there was a Mass Effect novel NOT written by him?

No. No, there wasn't.

Deception. I've never read any of the novels, but it was apparently so riddled with flagrant continuity errors Bio Ware officially apologized and said they'd fix the thing.

edited 17th Feb '12 11:42:39 AM by VutherA

Yeah, I picked that out when I read the summary. Last time I checked Gillian was still with the Migrant Fleet...

Gillian suddenly became four years older. Quarians wear no envirosuits. Batarians have an embassy on the citadel. Beryllium is named as galactic standard currency... argh!

WHAT.

edited 17th Feb '12 11:48:41 AM by theLibrarian

Really, he's going to write novels? I've read his Mass Effect books and while they aren't bad - they ain't all that great either.

edited 17th Feb '12 11:49:49 AM by Halkett

...Beryllium?

BERYLLIUM!?

Why!?

Let me guess, the novel's shocking twist is that Shepard is a Reaper.

Nope. Shepard flies an X-Wing and destroys Cyberton.

I only read the first Mass Effect novel. The one with Anderson and Saren's backstory.

So... he's actually a Decepticon?

edited 17th Feb '12 11:59:18 AM by VutherA

I found his writing style prioritizes action sequences over character development. I much preferred David Gaider's Dragon Age tie-in novels because they were the opposite. Still, he was a good writer (apparently, he wrote Canderous and HK-47) and I am sad to see him go.

Oh, and also Omega has hills. And Mitra Hendel, the only clearly gay person in the entire canon, has been turned straight. And there's a T'Loak family despite Aria's name only being a cover. Ah, in a way, Deception is almost a work of art

But yeah, it's not like Karpshyn is particularly good, especially as novel writer. However, there are many, many worse than him in the video game industry.

There is one good thing about Deception.

Finding out that Kai Leng will eat your god damn, motherfucking cereal.

Don't forget growing out of autism.

Which is totally a thing that happens.

I'm gonna be sad when ME 3 Kai Leng ends up nothing like Deception Kai Leng.

edited 17th Feb '12 12:54:44 PM by JotunofBoredom

Should've stuck with games, Drew, your prose is awful.

I maintain that can be handwaved by Cerberus' drugs having caused the autism. At the end of Ascension, Gillian was already getting better while on the Migrant Fleet. But there are enough other points which makes the novel really silly and makes it very obvious not a single look at ME lore at all was taken by the author.

edited 17th Feb '12 1:12:10 PM by Octo

I don't think he's that bad. Really the only beef I have with his writing is that he has a tendency to make characters that I like, then kill them.

So he's George RR Martin? Or Joss Whedon.

Ah, but I think one of the great accomplishments of GRRM is how there are basically no extras in the background (hyperbole, of course), nearly every character has a fleshed out personality and backstory. I think that's not quite true of Karpshyn, heh...

I'd prefer it if Jennifer Hepler was the one who left.