Drew-Karpyshyn
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Hyperspace Beacon: Eight quests you should play before SWTOR's Revan expansion
The next expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic is coming in December, and any BioWare fan already knows the primary antagonist: Revan. Revan has been BioWare's focal Star Wars character since its first Star Wars game, Knights of the Old Republic. SWTOR even features Revan in multiple questlines. I could recommend that you read Drew Karpyshyn's book Revan, but there are plenty of ways to get Revan's story in-game. In fact, there are eight different questlines that you should run if you want to get caught up, and more importantly, if you want to prepare yourself for the next expansion. If you have been living under a rock for the last three years, be forewarned that this article will contain spoilers for you.
Ex-BioWare writer reveals alternate endings to Mass Effect trilogy
Potential Spoiler Warning Mass Effect fans! Toronto's AM640 did a radio interview recently with former BioWare scribe Drew Karpyshyn, in which he chatted about some of the alternate story theories and endings that BioWare tossed around for the Mass Effect series. Eurogamer has the highlights, including the theory that the Reapers were trying to stop organic life because they were somehow making use of "Dark Energy" (an element only mentioned briefly throughout the series) to bring about the end of the universe. "It's very vague and not fleshed out," says Karpyshyn, adding that "it was something we considered but we ended up going in a different direction." BioWare also played with the idea that Shepard might be an alien at one point, though eventually deemed that too close to the story of Revan in Knights of the Old Republic. Karpyshyn also says BioWare thought about turning Shepard into some combination of organic and cybernetic, a theme that did eventually get generally included in the ending of Mass Effect 3. But in the end, says Karpyshyn, these ideas were just ideas, and should be judged as such. "It's like vaporware," he says. "Vaporware is always perfect, anytime someone talks about the new greatest game. It's perfect until it comes out." Karpyshyn says that even if fans are disappointed with the story as it is, a story that included these other considered ideas, "whatever we came up with, it probably wouldn't be what people want it to be."
SWTOR patch 1.3 bringing group finder, legacy perks
A long time ago on a server far, far away, the Imperial forces BioWare prepared a Star Wars: The Old Republic update to rule the online world: patch 1.3. Called Allies, patch 1.3 will usher in a group finder, character transfers, and legacy perks. The group finder will aid in banding together interested adventurers to tackle operations and flashpoints. Lead Designer Daniel Erickson said that the time is ripe for the feature, as players are spread out in levels and are rolling plenty of alts. Saying that BioWare wants to "respect the communities" that have formed, Erickson reports that the group finder will not be cross-server. He also revealed some of the other key features for patch 1.3. Additional perks to the Legacy system will allow players to customize their experience; we'll see new ports, earlier access to mounts, and bonus XP modifiers for PvP. The patch will also change social gear to fit the armor type of the class using it, server transfers, and the ability to add augments to any crafting items. Looking past 1.3, Erickson promises a "return to big content" with patch 1.4. If you're a fan of the SWTOR novels, you'll also be delighted to hear that Drew Karpyshyn announced that his next novel, Annihilation, is scheduled for November 13th. You can watch the patch 1.3 preview video after the jump!
Drew Karpyshyn set to pen another Star Wars: The Old Republic novel
Drew Karpyshyn, a lead writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic and the author of the tie-in novel Revan, is no longer with BioWare. That's old news. What might be somewhat more surprising news is that he is still penning novels for the game, with new information about the second novel having finally surfaced from a Facebook posting by Del Ray Books. If you've been eagerly awaiting more details about the bridge between Knights of the Old Republic and the MMO's setting, it's your lucky day. Titled Annihilation, the novel will focus on agent Theron Shan and his companion Teff'ith as they investigate an Imperial counterattack spearheaded by an apprentice of Darth Malgus. The posting goes on to confirm that the novel is currently on target for release on November 13th of this year. So if you can't get enough of your story in the game, it looks like it won't be too much longer until you can get even more story out of game as well.
BioWare lead writer Drew Karpyshyn leaves BioWare
Beyond his brief stint in 2000 as a Jeopardy contestant, BioWare lead writer Drew Karpyshyn has spent the last 12 years of his life serving as a story lead on various BioWare franchises. From heading up writing on Jade Empire to creating the world of Mass Effect, Karpyshyn has shaped arguably the most important aspect of BioWare's legacy in the game industry -- its stories. And now, after finishing up work on his latest project, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Karpyshyn is taking his leave."I'm leaving to focus more time and energy on my novels and other non-video game related projects," Karpyshyn wrote in a blog post on his personal site. Though he won't say where he's going just yet (if anywhere), he promised continued work on an upcoming SWTOR companion novel (like his work on the Mass Effect books).To help assuage concerns about BioWare's writing post-Karpyshyn, he points out that, "The story and dialog in any BioWare game is the result of an entire team of writers working together, and I often felt I received an excessive amount of the credit for the games we created." He cites Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 as proof that "BioWare can get along just fine without me." And though he apologizes to those who will miss his work in the gaming world, he promises that he'll finally put the finishing on his own "original fantasy series," should you wish to keep up with his fantastical worlds.
Fans find shiploads of errors in latest Mass Effect novel
Mass Effect: Deception is riddled with canonical errors, fans have found, and they're not content with letting them go under the guise of "artistic liberty." Some have started a shared Google document to chronicle every error, and have so far added more than 80 infringements, arranged by "Lore," "Timeline," "Characters" and "Oddities," complete with clarifying descriptions.Some of the most egregious errors include Nick and Gillian aging six years in the three years since Ascension, two volus wearing clothes that would cause their immediate deaths, and [spoiler] "Anderson thinking that the Citadel trap had been sprung 'so successfully' they were still reparing damage -- The entire point of the first game was that you prevented that particular Reaper plan from succeeding."There are plenty more on the list, which is available for public editing. The author of Mass Effect: Deception, William C. Dietz, is a video-game-novel veteran, having written Halo, Hitman and Resistance novels. He is not, however, the writer of the previous three Mass Effect novels (Drew Karpyshyn), nor is he J.K. Rowling, thus forbidding him this handy excuse whenever canonical inconsistencies spring up: "It's magic."
BioWare links SWTOR and KOTOR in a new novel
Just about everyone who has played Knights of the Old Republic wants to know what happened to Revan after the game was done. After all, he was the main character for 60-plus hours of gameplay. Who wouldn't be attached? BioWare announced today that those fans will get their wishes fulfilled. Drew Karpyshyn, a principal writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic and author of the Bane novels, has set his pen to another Star Wars book. This one simply titled after its primary protagonist: Revan. In an interview on the official SWTOR website, Karpyshyn gives us a tease as to how this novel will relate to the new MMORPG. I think the novel will give them a much better understanding of the Sith Emperor and the Empire, for one thing. The Old Republic Sith Empire is very different from what people know from the movies, or even from the Great Hyperspace War comics that focus on characters like Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh. The novel will also give them some very direct background and detailed information that ties in directly with key Flashpoints in the game. I can't say too much, of course, but like any great prequel the books will give you the details of what came before to add an extra layer of depth to the experiences in the game. Although he does not mention an exact date for the book's release, we do know that it will come later this year. This reporter hopes that it is before the release of SWTOR.
Hyperspace Beacon: Community guide to SWTOR
The Hyperspace Beacon is a weekly guide and discussion by Larry Everett about the yet-to-be-released game of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Welcome, Massively readers! You, too, must be itching like a freshly shaved Wookiee for the latest news about the greatest thing to hit the MMO world since Al Gore invented the internet: Star Wars: The Old Republic. This game hopes to be the pinnacle of modern storytelling and gameplay. Of course, you can count on me -- along with the rest of the Massively team -- to be on the lookout for the latest news and producer propaganda. But the Hyperspace Beacon will take you beyond the hype and hoopla and delve deeper into the story behind the story, the people behind the production, and the meaning behind the mechanics. (Is that enough alliteration for you?) So if you're ready, angle the deflector shield while I make the calculations for the jump to lightspeed. Hyperspace beacons are unmanned outposts in space which freighters and other starships use to traverse the reaches of the known galaxy in Star Wars. Just like one of those buoys in the black, this first installment will guide your Internet-class cruiser past the space debris to what I believe to be some of the best places to find the SWTOR information currently available for your consumption. Okay, Chewie, punch it.
Mass Effect 2 receiving prequel novel in July
The Mass Effect universe will gain a third novel when Retribution releases this July. Penned by Drew Karpyshyn, who also wrote the other two Mass Effect books and is the lead writer on the game, the novel features The Illusive Man attempting to outfit an ex-operative of his black-ops group, Cerberus, with Reaper technology. For those interested in having pictures with their words, Dark Horse's Redemption comic book series is currently available. [Via Big Download]
Star Wars: The Old Republic senior writer talks about writing the Jedi Knight
Drew Karpyshyn is the senior writer for the Star Wars: The Old Republic team with plenty of experience writing characters from the dark side, but now he's stepping out of his comfort zone to take a walk on the Jedi side. The fun he's having writing the Jedi Knight class comes through clearly in Friday's developer blog entry: "Nothing says Star Wars like a brown-robed figure brandishing a shimmering energy blade of righteous destruction." Exploring the Jedi Knight class meant delving the Jedi Code and how it works in theory vs. how it works in practice. What happens when you take that code and mix in a hefty dose of "what if?" is a recipe for all kinds of possibilities, and Karpyshyn is having a great time exploring them. His experience writing the dark side gives his version of "what if" a little edge, exploring thoughts of renegade Jedi Knights who are willing to bend the rules for the greater good. It's a fun read, with a great look into Karpyshyn's thoughts on the class -- you can take a look at the full entry on the official site.
Second Mass Effect book, Ascension, announced
Say what you will about Mass Effect, but you've got to admit that it was a great read. In fact, the game's copious amounts of text will be spilling into dead-tree form a second time with Del-Rey Books' just announced Mass Effect: Ascension, which will be penned by Mass Effect lead writer Drew Karpyshyn, as was the first prequel book in the game's universe. (A second book had previously been hinted at with the (apparently) temporary subtitle of "Revolution.")This second novel, Ascension, will span the events between the end of the first game (Spoiler: Rosebud is his space sled!) and the beginning of the second. There's no word on a date yet, but we're going to go out on a limb and guess "sometime before the second game is released."
