Drew Karpyshyn
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Drew Karpyshyn (born July 28, 1971) is a Canadian video game
scenario In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; ) is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally pi ...
writer, scriptwriter and novelist. He served as a senior writer for
BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...
's '' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic'' and lead writer for the first two ''
Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn and Preston Watamaniuk. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the known univers ...
'' video games. He left BioWare in 2012 to focus on his ''Chaos Born'' novels, and returned to it three years later in 2015. On March 9, 2018, he announced he was leaving BioWare once again to pursue his independent work.


Career

Karpyshyn was at one point employed as a loan officer. Following a car accident, he quit his job and returned to college, gaining a degree in English. He got his start as a game designer for
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
, and he also has written two novels for Wizards of the Coast, both published in 2001 and both set in the ''
Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...
'' setting: '' Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal'' and '' Temple Hill''. Karpyshyn joined the video game company
BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...
in 2000. He wrote the scenario and much of the dialogue for '' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic'', for which he would share the award for "Excellence in Writing" at the 2003
Game Developers Choice Awards The Game Developers Choice Awards are awards annually presented at the Game Developers Conference for outstanding game developers and games. Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by the Spotlight Awards, which were ...
. He was later one of the lead writers and planners on ''
Jade Empire ''Jade Empire'' is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare, originally published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2005 as an Xbox exclusive. It was later ported to Microsoft Windows personal computers (PC) and published by 2K Games in 2007. ...
'', and worked on several games in the ''
Baldur's Gate ''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms ''Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The game has spawned two series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostly ...
'' series. His next major project was the ''
Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn and Preston Watamaniuk. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the known univers ...
'' series of games. His third book, ''Darth Bane: Path of Destruction'' was published by Del Rey Ballantine Books in 2006. ''Mass Effect'' was named Game of the Year, in addition to receiving four other awards at the 2008 Elan Awards. Karpyshyn moved to
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, Texas to help with '' Star Wars: The Old Republic''. He left BioWare in February 2012 to focus more on his own projects. He returned to BioWare 3 years later in 2015 to focus on the post-release development of SWTOR. He later started working on ''
Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
'' in 2017. In March 2018, he announced that he would once again leave BioWare to work on other things, including more original novels, co-creating a sci-fi graphic novel, and freelance gaming work. Karphyshyn announced in February 2020 that he had joined
Archetype Entertainment Archetype Entertainment is an American video game development studio established as a division of game developer and publisher Wizards of the Coast, itself a subsidiary of Hasbro. The Austin, Texas-based studio was created by Wizards in April 2019 ...
, an internal studio of
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
with former BioWare staff
James Ohlen James Ohlen is a video game designer. He was Senior Creative Director of BioWare where he worked for 22 years prior to starting the publishing company Arcanum Worlds in 2018. In 2019, Ohlen became the lead of a new internal development studio Arc ...
and Chad Robertson as studio leads. Archetype had been revealed in January 2020 and that it was working on a new science fiction role-playing game. Karphyshyn said that while his interest in video game development waned as BioWare had changed over the years, "my passion has been rekindled. The feel in the studio reminds me of my early days at BioWare; I can feel the magic in the air."


Personal life

In March 2000, Karpyshyn appeared on an episode of ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'', finishing third. He is a fan of the NFL's
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
. He believes that in the NFL,
Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...
is most likely to follow the ways of the Sith, and
Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...
is the most likely to be a Jedi. Though his musical tastes lean more to what he calls "mainstream alternative", such as the
Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...
and
Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
, he also enjoys Sage Francis' song "The Best of Times". He prefers to write at night without any music playing. Karpyshyn was born on July 28, 1971 in
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta, Canada. He previously lived in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, with his wife Jennifer. In the spring of 2009, he moved with his family to
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.


Works


Games

* '' Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'' (2000) * '' Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal'' (2001) * ''
Neverwinter Nights ''Neverwinter Nights'' is a series of video games developed by BioWare and Obsidian Entertainment, based on the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Aside from also being set in the Dungeons & Dra ...
'' (2002) * '' Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark'' (2003) * '' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic'' (2003) * ''
Jade Empire ''Jade Empire'' is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare, originally published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2005 as an Xbox exclusive. It was later ported to Microsoft Windows personal computers (PC) and published by 2K Games in 2007. ...
'' (2005) * ''
Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn and Preston Watamaniuk. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the known univers ...
'' (2007) * ''
Mass Effect 2 ''Mass Effect 2'' is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in 2010 and PlayStation 3 in 2011. It is the second installment in the ''Mass Effect'' series and a ...
'' (2010) * '' Star Wars: The Old Republic'' (2011) * ''
Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
'' (2019)


Novels


''Forgotten Realms''

* '' Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal'' (novelization) (2001) * '' Temple Hill'' (2001)


''Star Wars''

* '' Star Wars - Darth Bane: Path of Destruction'' (2006) * '' Star Wars - Darth Bane: Rule of Two'' (2007) * '' Star Wars - Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil'' (2009) * '' Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan'' (2011) * '' Star Wars: The Old Republic: Annihilation'' (2012)


''Mass Effect''

* '' Mass Effect: Revelation'' (2007) (Prequel to the video game series) * '' Mass Effect: Ascension'' (2008) * '' Mass Effect: Retribution'' (2010)


''Chaos Born''

* ''Children of Fire'' (2013) * ''The Scorched Earth'' (2014) * ''Chaos Unleashed'' (2015)


References


External links

*
Drew Karpyshyn
at
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
* * Interviews *
Drew Karpyshyn on Ten Minute Interviews
(January 2015) *
Drew Karpyshyn Interview with RoqooDepot.com
(September 2008) *
Drew Karpyshyn Star Wars Celebration VI Interview with RoqooDepot.com
(August 2012) *
Drew Karpyshyn 'Annihilation' Interview with RoqooDepot.com
(November 2012) *
Drew Karpyshyn Interview with Game-Spectrum
at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
(June 2007) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karpyshyn, Drew 1971 births 21st-century Canadian novelists BioWare people Canadian fantasy writers Canadian male novelists Canadian science fiction writers Dungeons & Dragons video game designers Jeopardy! contestants Living people Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic developers Video game writers Writers from Edmonton