Six years ago, Lucasarts and Bioware came together to bring us Knights of the Old Republic, a Star Wars game that shined light on events that happened millennia before the movies took place. Through a rich story and stunning details, KotOR earned its way into the hearts of Star Wars fans everywhere, spawned a less successful sequel and now a highly-anticipated MMO. Much of the game’s success can be attributed to Drew Karpyshyn, the man who wrote its scenario and dialogue.
Karpyshyn, who got his start writing for Wizards of the Coast, went on from KotOR to do writing for Mass Effect, a new sci-fi universe, to write several novels in both universes (as well as some original concepts), and is now hard at work on the new MMO, The Old Republic. I recently got the chance to send Drew a few questions about his past and current projects. While he (like Lucasarts) remains very tight lipped about the new project, his answers help shine some light on the insight of one of the most creative minds the sci-fi genre has seen in recent memory.
Frank Hunter: You have become a big name in not only Star Wars, but science fiction writing as a whole. What were the early influences which shaped your tone and style?
Drew Karpyshyn: I read a lot of Stephen King as a kid, along with Asimov, F. Paul Wilson, David Eddings and Terry Brooks.
FH: How long have you been a Star Wars fan?
DK: I saw the first movie when it ran originally in theaters, back when I was
seven years old. For the next 3 years I went out for Halloween as a jawa,
so I guess I was hooked.
FH: What do you like to do in your spare time, when you are not bending science-fiction universes to your whims?
DK: I golf, watch sports and play Magic the Gathering whenever I want to unwind.
FH: What does it take to come up with a good science-fiction or fantasy character name? Do you just roll a 20-sided die, or does a lot of thought go into it?
DK: I’m terrible at names. Darth Bane was a pre-existing character, and
Commander Shepard was a name created by the entire creative team at
BioWare, so I can’t even take credit for them. Basically I just jumble
letters around until I get something I like.
FH: What are you currently reading?
DK: Back issues of Golf Digest. I’m also about to start a novel called “Go Go
Girls of the Apocalypse”, but I haven’t cracked the cover yet.
FH: Were you the person who chose to set the *Knights of the Old Republic*series in the time it was set?
DK: The main creative force behind KOTOR was a man named James Ohlen – the same man behind the upcoming Star Wars MMO. The time period was mostly his idea.
FH: In writing the plot for this game, you have been pivotal in creating much early Star Wars history. How does it feel to be responsible for so much in a universe so large?
DK: I’m honored that the backstory we created has been incorporated into the
greater Star Wars universe. It’s almost like we’ve snagged our little
piece of immortality.
FH: KotOR 2 received disappointing reviews at best. What are your comments on the game, if you played it at all? If you were involved in that project, what might you have done differently?
DK: I really felt KOTOR 2 suffered from a lack of development time. It took
several years to make the original, but the sequel was demanded in only 1
year. Games are so complicated now that a 12 month development schedule
just isn’t realistic.
FH: Do you feel any deep association with Sith culture? You choose to write on main characters like Darth Revan and Darth Bane, so one can only wonder if you sympathize with the dark side.
DK: I wouldn’t say I sympathize with them, but I do like to think I’ve given
them a fresh perspective. Remember, in most good stories the villain has
to believe that he’s the hero.
FH: Who would win in a fight: Darth Bane or MacGyver with a cortosis-laced tire iron and 2kg of sulfur?
DK: I think Richard Dean Anderson is getting up there in years, so I’ll take
Bane.
FH: The universe of Mass Effect feels very much like that of Star Wars. Was this deliberate, a result of being so involved with Star Wars projects, or unintentional?
DK: I think both Star Wars and Mass Effect evoke primal archetypes in the
sci-fi genre. It’s easy to see similarities, but on a high level you can
tell Mass Effect was influenced by movies like Blade Runner, Alien, Aliens
and Terminator more so than Star Wars.
FH: Was the project significantly more work because you created the universe, or would you compare it to KotOR?
DK: The work is different. In Star Wars, much of what we did was try to work
our own ideas into the existing universe. It required us to be flexible
and adaptable. With Mass Effect, we literally started with a blank page,
so we had to do everything from scratch.
FH: The Mass Effect universe has a number of unique species in it. Is there any race you are particularly fond of?
DK: As anyone who’s read Ascension can probably tell, I like the quarians.
FH: One of the game’s few criticisms was its underdeveloped side quests. Are you planning to address this criticism for the sequel?
DK: BioWare has a well earned reputation for both quality and listening to our fans. Rest assured: Mass Effect 2 will be better in almost every
conceivable aspect of the game.
FH: Can you talk in any detail about the work done to extend the Mass Effect universe outside the original game?
DK: I can’t say much beyond mentioning my novels, Mass Effect: Revelation and Mass Effect: Ascension. If you’re a fan of the game you should read these
novels – they really help to flesh out the universe.
FH: MMOs are notorious for not being story-driven. Plots are paper-thin and characters are rarely memorable. What are you and Bioware doing to right this for The Old Republic?
DK: BioWare has always been an industry leader when it comes to story driven games, and we’re taking all our experience and applying it to the MMO
genre. I can’t get into details (wouldn’t want to give away our secrets),
but fans are going to be blown away.
FH: What else is being done to set TOR apart from industry norms? There is a lot of hope that this game will be the something new we’ve all been waiting for.
DK: Unfortunately I’m not at liberty to discuss details of TOR. You’ll have to
wait for official press releases.
FH: The devs have recently come out about how much dialogue will be involved in this game. How much help do you get when writing dialogue for a project of this scope?
DK: The writing team for most BioWare games ranges from 4-6 people. For TOR we’re already over a dozen writers, and we’re still growing. The scope of
this game is beyond epic.
FH: How much control can you manage to keep over such a script?
DK: BioWare’s been working with large writing teams for quite a while, so
we’ve figured out how to keep everyone on the same shared vision.
FH: Have you played any MMORPG games in the past? What classes do you tend to enjoy playing? What class will you be playing in TOR?
DK: I can’t really talk about the classes in TOR. As for other MMO’s, I’ve
been so busy developing games over the past decade that I rarely get to
invest any serious time in playing them.
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