After 17 years, Dragon Age writer Gaider departs BioWare

Longtime BioWare writer and designer David Gaider took to Twitter today to mark it as his last with the company.

"I’m leaving BioWare to take on a new challenge elsewhere," Gaider tells Gamasutra. "It wasn’t an easy decision – after 17 years, you get very comfortable, but that’s also a reason to try something new. The parting is amicable, and I know my current (and as yet unannounced) project will carry on without me and be awesome."

Gaider's departure is chiefly notable because of both his public prominence and his enduring presence at BioWare. He joined the company in 2000 and is credited with contributing to everything from Baldur's Gate II through Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic and the Dragon Age games.

In recent years Gaider became best known for his work as lead writer on Dragon Age, speaking to his fellow developers and to the public about the challenges of writing interesting, diverse characters and storylines.

Highlights of Gaider's past appearances on Gamasutra include this excellent 2013 GDC talk about sexism and sexuality in games and his conversation with Gamasutra at GaymerX 2013 about how diversifying your team can help you create better games.