He crumbled under the EA weight, or rather limitations to his work with Bioware.
If they don't want him to 'spread wings' he did the right thing. Actualy who knows what were the real reasons for this decisions. So, it's all assumptions, I just hope he made a good call, not to regret it later.
Anyway, I'll still read his books because I think he's a good writer.
If he quit to 'spread his wings', then I wish him the best, of course ;-)
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Another down, speaks volumes when two Bioware employees leave 3 months after SWTOR release.
I have no idea what has this got anything to do with the game itself? i think you are just trying hard to make connections here.
I agree. Folks in the games industry move around a lot. And considering the size of the team on SWTOR, odds are good folks will move around from there, too. Lastly, 12 years at one game studio is pretty much unheard of, so I'm thinking he liked it there for a very long time.
I make spreadsheets at work - I don't want to make them for the games I play.
Met the dude at BioWare Edmonton. Fellow Firefly fan he's a good guy -- not sure why anyone's making a big deal about this. Good for him for pursuing his own writing interests more aggressively. I wish him all the best.
".....can I has your old job?"
Why do I write, create, fantasize, dream and daydream about other worlds? Because I hate what humanity does with this one.
its like kojima would leave kojima productions...... the storys from bioware were quite good. I dont know if he also wrote DA , if yes then good luck in seeking a valid replacement bioware.
So they have started fire people because of swtor fail.hahaha
Soon more will follow and the game will go free to play as it was supposed to be.
The guy has been writing video games for 12 years and feels he's ready to write books full time - probably the dream of everyone who gets paid to write any kind of fiction anywhere - and you interpret that as he's been fired because SWTOR is failing?
I worry about what goes on in some people's heads.
This really. Sometimes people move on. Drew is in a position to try a different direction in his career. It's extremely rare that people stay in the same job for their whole adult life.
This really. Sometimes people move on. Drew is in a position to try a different direction in his career. It's extremely rare that people stay in the same job for their whole adult life.
Heck, our general manager has decided to leave his job and go back to school for architecture. As he said to me "I am essentially leaving a job that is paying me more money than I will ever make again in my life".
but he's doing it becasue he has been at the company for 10 years and wants to do something new.
"If I don't do it now I'll never do it".
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Another down, speaks volumes when two Bioware employees leave 3 months after SWTOR release.
What it speaks to is that he has spent an incredible amount of time writing for video games, for bioware and wants to move on and actually do his own work. Work that has great meaning to him.
Probably a lot of late hours, working hard on creating something that doesn't allow him to reach his full potential as an artist.
I say good for him.
What is he going to say? "EA asked me to leave" "EA wernt happy with the work I had done"?? get real would ruin his own reputation for good. Now he made a good deal and he can find a decent excuse. Saves both EA/BIOWARE, dosent look good if they are letting people go, becuase SWTOR is a fail. And it saves himself also. Never get the truth out of this before this dudes rights his memories.. when he is old and grey...
Another down, speaks volumes when two Bioware employees leave 3 months after SWTOR release.
What it speaks to is that he has spent an incredible amount of time writing for video games, for bioware and wants to move on and actually do his own work. Work that has great meaning to him.
Probably a lot of late hours, working hard on creating something that doesn't allow him to reach his full potential as an artist.
I say good for him.
What is he going to say? "EA asked me to leave" "EA wernt happy with the work I had done"?? get real would ruin his own reputation for good. Now he made a good deal and he can find a decent excuse. Saves both EA/BIOWARE, dosent look good if they are letting people go, becuase SWTOR is a fail. And it saves himself also. Never get the truth out of this before this dudes rights his memories.. when he is old and grey...
Or...he could have just left on his own to pursue his own goals and had no ill feelings at all.
Well the writing in SWTOR is not the issue...so him leaving doesnt mean anything. You are all really reaching on this one. Now if the person that designed the walled in zones retired at 41 have at it.
Actually, the writing is one of the biggest issues in swtor :
- There is a huge imbalance between Republic and Empire. Far less Republic.
- Faction balance is the key of PvP. In a 2012 killer budget MMO, it can break or make the game, as a large mmo playerbase are putting Pvp on a very high priority upon mmo choice.
- When asked on forums, a ton of people are finding the whole Republic storyline excessively boring and cheesy, to the point where they just can't bear leveling a Republic. I tried myself and I concurr, I personally couldn't go past lvl 10 for 3 classes of 4.
Story is one, if not the dominant reason of faction imbalance. So if Bioware doesn't want to completely lose all the PvP enthusiasts this year, they have to make radical decisions about incoming story writing. It would be a low budget mmo, I wouldn't say. But this one got to be the most expensive ever, so they have to recup some shares back.
I don't know Drew's exact work, so I won't jump to conclusions about him (and respect his work whatever it is), but at least I can see a pattern.
Enough to have some doubts, at least.
It's funny that everyone has ignored this post by k-damage considering it's the only one with a hint of validity.
Personally, I think Bioware and Karpyshyn were probably in mutual agreement about the whole thing. Bioware needed a change in writing and Karpyshyn just wasn't as into it anymore and wanted to follow his real passion. It's a win-win for both sides most likely.
It's becoming the norm these days for people to prefer to believe in conspiracies than clearly-presented information, always seeking some dark-connections & web of intrigue.
Have the lives of the general populace grown to be so boring that they need to invent this shit to amuse themselves?
Conspiracies do exist of course, they get uncovered every day & at such a remarkable rate it makes you wonder why the ones involved ever thought they could get away with it, but greed is a powerful temptress, honesty & transparency rob the corrupt of opportunities to exploit.
The biggest problem in the world is secrecy, where it exists, there is corruption.
Christ, the batch of doom&gloom naysayers are annoying in their broken record ranting >.<
After years of writing for other people's IP's and very likely a crunch time period of the past few years, the guy wants to spend more time on his own books. Now that has NEVER happened before, right, that people who're expert level in their field stop working directly under a company and go freelance or work for their own? So rare! Right.
The wishful thinking of doomsday prophets is strong in this one >.>
Wishful thinking ? Let's recall some propaganda ...
Some quotes from the (ex) Financial Director of EA Eric Brown made in 2011...
Eric Brown described the SW as the "largest ever development project, period, in the history of the company".
"That's lifetime [research and development] to actually ship it and obviously then there's maintenance subsequent to ship and expansion packs," Brown added.
and...
"These days, WOW makes around $100m a month from subscriptions. EA no doubt hopes SWTOR will recoup costs in a similar fashion."
"If we're successful in doing that, our addressable market is well beyond 12 million people, you know current MMO players and the western market expands into more of a general gamer population. Basically anyone that has certain minimum spec personal computer. That's a very large potential addressable market. We look at it as a tiered opportunity but starting with an addressable market of at least 12 million."
And this massive succes of the SW TOR MMO product would last "at least 10 years..." according to Brown
Conclusion: I don't think anyone over here even realizes what's going on at the moment at EA HQ's ...
Brown resigned, their lead writer of SW TOR retired...
But everything is just fine out there....
Sure. Didn't you hear ? They added another 100 new servers already ...
Why the hell they need another 100+ servers? what kind of logic is that? none of the quotes you posted have been disaproved yet. So neither you are wrong or the other guy. Game is still young and hit 2 months mark.
Head honcho of Anet also left the company during development of GW2, does that mean game is in trouble? 'hey the main guy left even before game is complete so surely it must be because he knows GW2 is goign to suck..duh'
Another down, speaks volumes when two Bioware employees leave 3 months after SWTOR release.
I have no idea what has this got anything to do with the game itself? i think you are just trying hard to make connections here.
Well to start with it means at best that Swtor won't have a talented writer for its next expansion.
At worst it means Swtor is going to cut down a lot on the story content in the next expansion which means that they deem the storytelling feature a bit of a fail, as they will focus more on the MMO aspect of the game from now on.
So it has lots to do with Swtor
Surely it could be just that Karpyshyn genuinely needs a break, but it looks strange that 2 key members of Swtor developing team leave the project so soon after the launch.
They all know that people leaving so soon might cause every sort of rumor mill, if they left on a friendly terms they would have never left so soon after launch...............just a logic thought
Another down, speaks volumes when two Bioware employees leave 3 months after SWTOR release.
I have no idea what has this got anything to do with the game itself? i think you are just trying hard to make connections here.
I also heard the gardener at Bioware quit, man things are out of control over there. Another SWTOR causualty, Maybe He went to trim NCSofts shrubs instead.
Looks to me the dude spent a great deal of time working his arse off and wants to persue a more laid back life style other then reading more TPS reports.
Another down, speaks volumes when two Bioware employees leave 3 months after SWTOR release.
I have no idea what has this got anything to do with the game itself? i think you are just trying hard to make connections here.
Well to start with it means at best that Swtor won't have a talented writer for its next expansion.
At worst it means Swtor is going to cut down a lot on the story content in the next expansion which means that they deem the storytelling feature a bit of a fail, as they will focus more on the MMO aspect of the game from now on.
So it has lots to do with Swtor
Surely it could be just that Karpyshyn genuinely needs a break, but it looks strange that 2 key members of Swtor developing team leave the project so soon after the launch.
They all know that people leaving so soon might cause every sort of rumor mill, if they left on a friendly terms they would have never left so soon after launch...............just a logic thought
MMOGamer71 - You realise that in the game industry how 2 people leaving the team is an enormous deal.
After all, every game ever made keeps the studio fully staffed after release right?
NO.
Even if SWTOR had let go of half of the development team it would be perfectly in line with how this industry operates.
I never heard about the guy before and judjing by the SWTOR dialogues some of which are widely criticised for being like "writen by a teenager" - I don't see any damage done to the team as a whole -)) lol
More than a few writers for gaming developers started out with dreams of writing novels or sceenplays, etc, etc... but difficulties breaking into those fields led to broadening thier scope and they found themselves writing game content for game developers.
It's a stressful environment with long hours, rewrites, ridiculous deadlines and more rewrites. More than a few find themselves gravitating back to wanting to persue thier original goals and as a result they leave the gaming industry.
I can say this with absolute certainty becuase I am very good friends with a writer at BW whose dream was to write scripts for movies and after years of tryingto get his foot in the door, finally started looking at other writing opportunities and the position at BW sort of fell into his lap.
I can tell you that he would not hesitate to leave the gaming industry in a heartbeat, if one of his previously sold scripts were made into a movie and suddenly his writing was in demand in Hollywood.
So read into this guy's retiring to pursue his original dream of writing novels, however you like. But he has explicitly stated his reasons for retiring, so the burden of proof falls to those saying his real reason was because SWTOR is tanking or that BW layed him off. While that is a possible scenario, it is in fact far more likely that his stated reasons are the actual reality.
So read into this guy's retiring to pursue his original dream of writing novels, however you like. But he has explicitly stated his reasons for retiring, so the burden of proof falls to those saying his real reason was because SWTOR is tanking or that BW layed him off. While that is a possible scenario, it is in fact far more likely that his stated reasons are the actual reality.
I'm not arguing your points - they're good ones....only adding that he is still writing novels for BW - which dumps the layoff theory
Comments
If he quit to 'spread his wings', then I wish him the best, of course ;-)
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Tha balloon is going up, or rather down...
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I agree. Folks in the games industry move around a lot. And considering the size of the team on SWTOR, odds are good folks will move around from there, too. Lastly, 12 years at one game studio is pretty much unheard of, so I'm thinking he liked it there for a very long time.
I make spreadsheets at work - I don't want to make them for the games I play.
I think it is a good sign , more employees leave means better game.
theres a lot of evidence about that ,megaboombang Daikatana for example.
its still running!
Let's internet
Met the dude at BioWare Edmonton. Fellow Firefly fan
he's a good guy -- not sure why anyone's making a big deal about this. Good for him for pursuing his own writing interests more aggressively. I wish him all the best.
".....can I has your old job?"
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
two people not really a train, if it becomes three? then i will definitely be suspicious...
its like kojima would leave kojima productions...... the storys from bioware were quite good. I dont know if he also wrote DA , if yes then good luck in seeking a valid replacement bioware.
This really. Sometimes people move on. Drew is in a position to try a different direction in his career. It's extremely rare that people stay in the same job for their whole adult life.
Heck, our general manager has decided to leave his job and go back to school for architecture. As he said to me "I am essentially leaving a job that is paying me more money than I will ever make again in my life".
but he's doing it becasue he has been at the company for 10 years and wants to do something new.
"If I don't do it now I'll never do it".
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
What is he going to say? "EA asked me to leave" "EA wernt happy with the work I had done"?? get real would ruin his own reputation for good. Now he made a good deal and he can find a decent excuse. Saves both EA/BIOWARE, dosent look good if they are letting people go, becuase SWTOR is a fail. And it saves himself also. Never get the truth out of this before this dudes rights his memories.. when he is old and grey...
Or...he could have just left on his own to pursue his own goals and had no ill feelings at all.
Gotta love these armchair anchormen...
It's funny that everyone has ignored this post by k-damage considering it's the only one with a hint of validity.
Personally, I think Bioware and Karpyshyn were probably in mutual agreement about the whole thing. Bioware needed a change in writing and Karpyshyn just wasn't as into it anymore and wanted to follow his real passion. It's a win-win for both sides most likely.
My god so many assumptions on a topic that NO ONE!!! has any real grasp of what happen..
Maybe HE REALLY did want to try something out on his own
OR
Maybe EA wanted to try something new writing wise, either way i will be looking forward for the updates..
How ever i do agree with the doomsayer's on one point. I also believe this will be last ultra big budget games
It's becoming the norm these days for people to prefer to believe in conspiracies than clearly-presented information, always seeking some dark-connections & web of intrigue.
Have the lives of the general populace grown to be so boring that they need to invent this shit to amuse themselves?
Conspiracies do exist of course, they get uncovered every day & at such a remarkable rate it makes you wonder why the ones involved ever thought they could get away with it, but greed is a powerful temptress, honesty & transparency rob the corrupt of opportunities to exploit.
The biggest problem in the world is secrecy, where it exists, there is corruption.
Why the hell they need another 100+ servers? what kind of logic is that? none of the quotes you posted have been disaproved yet. So neither you are wrong or the other guy. Game is still young and hit 2 months mark.
Head honcho of Anet also left the company during development of GW2, does that mean game is in trouble? 'hey the main guy left even before game is complete so surely it must be because he knows GW2 is goign to suck..duh'
Some of you guys make zero sense.
Well to start with it means at best that Swtor won't have a talented writer for its next expansion.
At worst it means Swtor is going to cut down a lot on the story content in the next expansion which means that they deem the storytelling feature a bit of a fail, as they will focus more on the MMO aspect of the game from now on.
So it has lots to do with Swtor
Surely it could be just that Karpyshyn genuinely needs a break, but it looks strange that 2 key members of Swtor developing team leave the project so soon after the launch.
They all know that people leaving so soon might cause every sort of rumor mill, if they left on a friendly terms they would have never left so soon after launch...............just a logic thought
I also heard the gardener at Bioware quit, man things are out of control over there. Another SWTOR causualty, Maybe He went to trim NCSofts shrubs instead.
Looks to me the dude spent a great deal of time working his arse off and wants to persue a more laid back life style other then reading more TPS reports.
MMOGamer71 - You realise that in the game industry how 2 people leaving the team is an enormous deal.
After all, every game ever made keeps the studio fully staffed after release right?
NO.
Even if SWTOR had let go of half of the development team it would be perfectly in line with how this industry operates.
[Mod Edit]
I never heard about the guy before and judjing by the SWTOR dialogues some of which are widely criticised for being like "writen by a teenager" - I don't see any damage done to the team as a whole -)) lol
More than a few writers for gaming developers started out with dreams of writing novels or sceenplays, etc, etc... but difficulties breaking into those fields led to broadening thier scope and they found themselves writing game content for game developers.
It's a stressful environment with long hours, rewrites, ridiculous deadlines and more rewrites. More than a few find themselves gravitating back to wanting to persue thier original goals and as a result they leave the gaming industry.
I can say this with absolute certainty becuase I am very good friends with a writer at BW whose dream was to write scripts for movies and after years of tryingto get his foot in the door, finally started looking at other writing opportunities and the position at BW sort of fell into his lap.
I can tell you that he would not hesitate to leave the gaming industry in a heartbeat, if one of his previously sold scripts were made into a movie and suddenly his writing was in demand in Hollywood.
So read into this guy's retiring to pursue his original dream of writing novels, however you like. But he has explicitly stated his reasons for retiring, so the burden of proof falls to those saying his real reason was because SWTOR is tanking or that BW layed him off. While that is a possible scenario, it is in fact far more likely that his stated reasons are the actual reality.
SWTOR writing is disappointing for the least.
Still at this point TOR needs much more than better writers. It needs a full reboot.
I'm not arguing your points - they're good ones....only adding that he is still writing novels for BW - which dumps the layoff theory