The writer for Sharp-as-Night and Zerith-var was let go :(

BetweenMidgets · July 9

This person made, in my opinion, the best stories that this game has seen in years.
A huge loss for the team, Tamriel, and all of us.

Thank you for making the most compelling stories, with depth, nuance, and character, that this game has. I hope there is someone remaining who has a modicum of the talent this writer has.

Gingaroth · July 9

I agree, her work is excellent.

Besides on Sharp and Zerith-Var, she also worked on e.g. the Corelanya Manor location quest, and houseguests Skordo the Knife and Mizzik Thunderboots. (https://en.uesp.net/wiki/General:Julianna_Comstock)

I hope she finds a new job soon, and takes some comfort in knowing that her creations are still very much enjoyed by many, many players.

Malprave · July 9

Now that’s the worst thing about this I’ve heard yet. Because those characters were very cleverly written and super entertaining.

spartaxoxo · July 9

Darn. Her work is the some of the stuff I've enjoyed most in recent years. 😔

tsaescishoeshiner · July 9

Those two Companions and the Corelanya Manor are some of the best quests (including being better than zone main quests) because of the great, nuanced, dynamic characters and well-paced development.

If letting go of accomplished and irreplaceable staff is the new normal for Microslop, it really explains why their other services have degraded in quality.

Ashryn · July 9

You do your job with passion and skill and are rewarded for it by laying you off. It makes me angry to think that this is mostly due to AI. Personally, I don't think that Tech industries value or appreciate the artistic human element enough.

I hope that all the people that put their hearts and talents into this game (that I have enjoyed for over a decade) will survive these layoffs. For the greedy and short-sighted people that made this decision... I won't say more...

Syldras · July 9

tsaescishoeshiner wrote: »

Those two Companions and the Corelanya Manor are some of the best quests (including being better than zone main quests) because of the great, nuanced, dynamic characters and well-paced development.

They still had that certain TES feeling. Actually leaning into Tamriel's different cultures and their lore, multi-faceted characters, no blatant moralizing.

WerewolfMoonHunter · July 9

Well... I just got more depressed......

Psyphiman · July 9

Just adding my voice to the praise for your outstanding work. I haven't done Sharp-as-Night, but the Zerith-var storyline was simply amazing. I am sorry to hear the news that you lost your job, but best of luck in your future endeavors.

ellmarie · July 9

Oh wow, very depressing. I love them both so much. Definite praise to them indeed. Never appreciated enough.

duagloth · July 9

More tanlorin and the like too come, gross

Bo0137 · July 9

I love Zerith and Sharp a lot. Their writing was stellar. wow. This hurts a lot

Aliyavana · July 10

Zerith-var was easily the best companion. He was used as a vehicle to explore the early pre-ridda'tha lore of Khajiit, and was hoping that future companions would have as big of a cultural exploration for them. This is a huge loss indeed.

BetweenMidgets · July 10

duagloth wrote: »

More tanlorin and the like too come, gross

I believe that writer was let go as well.

In any case, I hope Julianna goes on to bigger and better things. What an amazing writer.

WhiteCoatSyndrome · July 10

+1, Zerith-Var was amazing and I hope someone snaps her up quickly!

NoticeMeArkay · July 10

I was hoping they'd remain to write us an orcish companion.
What a shame.

katanagirl1 · July 11

This is a great loss, both Sharp and Zerith-var were amazing. Zerith-var’s questline was better than most of the other sidequests and better than any dlc main quest.

Syldras · July 11

When I read her name on the list, I was sad as well. I usually don't even really know who wrote what, but I found the Corelanya Manor quest outstanding, so I looked it up on UESP last year, and found out she wrote Tel Dreloth, Zerith-var's and Sharp's story as well. She really was my big hope for ESO's writing, having written about the only quests in the later years which were comparable in quality to the writing in ESO's early years. Her specific style, or spirit, or whatever to call it, fit ESO so well and was the direction I had hoped to see more in ESO's future. I hope she finds a new project soon!

I'm wondering if there is any info about the writers who remained on the team? According to UESP, they are two senior writers and one writer, but sadly, they don't have their own UESP page yet, so there's no list yet about which quests they have written before. But maybe someone else knows?

redlink1979 · July 11

Sharp is cool as ice. I feel sad for this news.