2013-06-22, 12:53 AM
There was no room for a question mark in the subject.
I get some very different impressions from people talking about "mods" and I wonder what they are. Could any game with mod tools be called a game development platform? Are mods somehow illegitimate? What makes something a mod and not a game?
Obviously not all games are super mod friendly. And probably mod enthusiasts circumvent official tools provided by developers.
There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for modding games. I wonder if it detracts from what could be a vibrant scene of DIY game makers. Or if there is no real distinction to be made there. Maybe at the end of the day the only stigma for modders is their attachment to a commercial product with a limited window for support. At least until it is made opensource (which has happened with a number of games, Id always releases its sources.)
Disclaimer: I pose the question because its something I know nothing about. It's probably been ~20yrs since I've messed with anything that looks like modding. Which is probably the last time I really played a PC game for that matter. GoG.com has been having a sell this week. I've purchased a few games, Deus Ex, Witcher 2, and ArmaII (DayZ) with the intention of getting around to playing them. The Witcher team seems like a good group. When the game was on sell for less than 10$ I thought I'd get it just because their press is so good. I think their mod tools are almost a free development platform to boot.
Just yesterday (the next day) this (https://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/vi...cher-2-Mod) came out. It seems like an awfully varied list of features for a "mod". I'd characterize that as a remix. And DayZ is just one big mod. I assume my computers can play these games, but I guess I'll find out sooner or later. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up buying a new computer before I can make time in my schedule to try to play these. Deus Ex recently got a fan expansion too, and I think there are mods to pretty up its graphics. Probably the same way Ex cleans up SOM's.
I get some very different impressions from people talking about "mods" and I wonder what they are. Could any game with mod tools be called a game development platform? Are mods somehow illegitimate? What makes something a mod and not a game?
Obviously not all games are super mod friendly. And probably mod enthusiasts circumvent official tools provided by developers.
There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for modding games. I wonder if it detracts from what could be a vibrant scene of DIY game makers. Or if there is no real distinction to be made there. Maybe at the end of the day the only stigma for modders is their attachment to a commercial product with a limited window for support. At least until it is made opensource (which has happened with a number of games, Id always releases its sources.)
Disclaimer: I pose the question because its something I know nothing about. It's probably been ~20yrs since I've messed with anything that looks like modding. Which is probably the last time I really played a PC game for that matter. GoG.com has been having a sell this week. I've purchased a few games, Deus Ex, Witcher 2, and ArmaII (DayZ) with the intention of getting around to playing them. The Witcher team seems like a good group. When the game was on sell for less than 10$ I thought I'd get it just because their press is so good. I think their mod tools are almost a free development platform to boot.
Just yesterday (the next day) this (https://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/vi...cher-2-Mod) came out. It seems like an awfully varied list of features for a "mod". I'd characterize that as a remix. And DayZ is just one big mod. I assume my computers can play these games, but I guess I'll find out sooner or later. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up buying a new computer before I can make time in my schedule to try to play these. Deus Ex recently got a fan expansion too, and I think there are mods to pretty up its graphics. Probably the same way Ex cleans up SOM's.