David Gaider Interview Part II�Creativity and the Novels

�Right before a game goes out we�re literally at a point where all we can see are the flaws and think �oh god, they�re going to hate this���

I think the first two novels I wrote just sort of whetted my appetite. It�s the same when you put out a game. When we put out a game, after we�ve done it there�s that whole legion of shoulda, woulda, coulda that you feel. Right before a game goes out we�re literally at a point where all we can see are the flaws and we think �oh god, they�re going to hate this,� and they never do, or most of them don�t. At that point we�ve built up this accumulation of flaws or mistakes or things that got cut or missed opportunities and it become a little overwhelming. You lose a little perspective.

Having put out those novels I feel the errors in them just like in the video games. Once they�re out it�s like uh, it�s terrible it�s horrible, how can anybody read this. There�s been a lot of positive feedback on it, but at the same time I see what I can do better. I�d like to keep developing that skill. It is a different skill. It�s very different from just writing dialogue or structuring quests to actually writing prose. My personal opinion is I did pretty well but I can do better and I�d like to do better. So given the opportunity, I�d like to do that.

One of my favorite parts of the books was Maric. Would we ever see him in a Dragon Age expansion, stand alone game or downloadable content? Is that something that could possibly happen?

Well, it�s a little bit problematic just because if I put a character from the novels in the game, it has to be presented in such a way that anybody who didn�t read the books, which is quite a different audience size between the video game and the books, it have to be in such a way that someone who didn't� read the books would understand who they were and in a way would that actually satisfy the person who did read the books? They don�t need a basic introduction to Maric for instance. The person who read the book already knows that, they�re looking from something extra. They would see that as a rehash of what they already know. So would that do anything for them? I don�t know. Does it do anything for the person who doesn�t know anything about the books? Again, hard to say, this is a new character for them. Is it better than any other new character? Hard to say. I really enjoyed playing Maric but there�d be limitations, maybe it might work as a cameo so someone who read the book would get that extra from it, but it really doesn't impact much on the person who didn�t read the book, so I don�t know. It�s tough because I really grow attached to these characters and I really want to use them, but I have to recognize that the two worlds aren�t necessarily going to mix that well, but if I ever had the opportunity to do it, yeah I would love to. Some of those characters I think aren�t done yet in my mind.

Tomorrow...Part III�Characters and Games as Art

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