Damn. I just got back from Vegas last week and all I can say is "sweet mother of Jabba"!

In case you hadn't heard: the company I work for, video game developer BioWare - makers of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - has been bought out by mega-corp Electronic Arts.

But before everyone starts freaking out, let's keep things in perspective. There's a lot of speculation out there, and I'll admit EA doesn't have the greatest reputation among gamers. But some of that comes from just being the biggest kid on the playground; everyone hates Microsoft and everyone hates EA. It's like a badge of honor to bash them... but then most people still buy their stuff anyway.

Also, and this is critical, it's important to remember that this is a new regime at EA. (Regime? Is that the right word? Close enough.) The man in charge of EA now is John Riccitiello, and he's actually worked with BioWare before in his role with Elevation partners. I was in meetings about Mass Effect with him, and this guy knows games. And I know for a fact he actually cares about quality in games. So before everyone starts crying about the death of BioWare, let's give John (Mr. Riccitiello?) a chance to walk the walk and see what happens. Personally, I think it'll be pretty much business as usual for us down in the trenches, but with a bigger stick to swing around when we need to make an impact in the marketplace. (Did that make sense? Whatever... it's late.)

But you didn't come here just to listen to me talk about the EA buyout. (And half of you probably just think I'm a corporate shill now anyway.) So, how about a Rule of Two update?

I got back the first comments on the manuscript from my editors, and they seemed to really like it. Now, obviously they would never be so unprofessional as to tell me it sucked, but if there were issues they would have a lot of suggested rewrites or changes. But they only had a few minor tweaks. In fact, I was able to make all their suggested edits in about 4 hours over the weekend. So, based on my experience, that means they must have liked it for realsies. So, 4 out of 4 readers (me, my wife and both my editors) give it the thumbs up.

But don't take my word for it! See Sue Rostoni's comments about it on the message boards here. Check out the bottom of the page to see what she had to say.

Obviously if the author and an editor both tell you it's worth spending your money on, the book must be awesome, right? I mean, it's not like we're biased or anything.

Also, it looks more and more like "Rule of Two" is going to stick as the title. I haven't heard an official "yes" yet, but more importantly I'm not hearing a "no" anywhere.

Okay, let's end this with a bit of shameless self-promotion. (Can I copyright that phrase? No? Oh, well.)

Drew Karpyshyn Author Event
Saturday, October 20th
11am-5pm at Chapters Bookstore
9952-170 Street, Edmonton, Alberta

Okay, I'll be honest... it's not a "Drew Karpyshyn" exclusive event. I'm just one of a number of local authors being featured at the event, so there should be plenty of literary types on hand. Come on down if you're in town and I'll gladly sign copies of Mass Effect: Revelation; Path of Destruction; Temple Hill; Throne of Bhaal; any BioWare game or anything else you want me to put my name on. (And I do mean anything...)

If you visit my website regularly you might be thinking - hey! You just ripped that last paragraph off from your news update page! Yes, I did. So what? I figure I've written enough words in the past couple months to cut a corner or two. Deal with it. (Or don't.)

For all those people who don't live in or around Edmonton but still want something signed... sorry. Maybe Del Rey will send me on another book tour after Rule of Two comes out. (Hint, hint, Del Rey... I love me some free food and hotel rooms!)

Okay, that's it. Back to building my new Magic the Gathering deck for Provincials in a couple weeks.

Embrace the dark side.
Drew K