Mods have an important role in gaming. In many ways it is how many developers get their start in the industry. Mods, along with indie games, are the grassroots of gaming. Throughout gaming’s history, mods have spawned new games and genres with the full backing of the community. Large mod groups and volunteers have come together to create huge ambitious projects including game-sized additions and complete remasters. This article is to highlight the three different effects modding has left on the gaming industry: enhancing beloved titles, creating new games and genres, and ambitious remasters and projects.

Mods originally started as simple modifications to a game design and structure, be it adding a weapon, a small quest or texture upgrades. That is where the term mod comes from. Over time many development studios have added tools to allow player additions or even lengths to add them to the game through a store. Halo’s Forge mode and Bethesda’s Creation Club are the main examples from the triple A developers. But for a deeper analysis I’ll use Steam’s Workshop and Paradox Interactive games. For those unaware, Paradox is famous for making grand strategy and 4x games. Their titles include the likes of Stellaris, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, and Victoria. Why highlight these games? Through the Steam Workshop and their own website, Paradox promotes and invites players to enhance their experience. Modders have brought the strategy experience of Paradox to other universes. Want to play as a lord or lady of Westeros? Crusader Kings 3 AGOT. Want to lead a faction of the wasteland like the NCR or the Brotherhood of Steel? There is Old World Blues for Hearts of Iron. Or how about re-enact the War of the Ring? Realms in Exile for Crusader Kings can fill that need. There are many more mods that offer alternate histories and even more universes out there for players to explore. In many ways, mods allow independent and nonaligned agents to create what they want. Crossover events or additions to games from different IPs require licenses and agreements between the two groups with some allocations of funds. Normally an agreement can’t be reached. However, modders often can get around this obstacle. Though there are occasions where a cease-and-desist order can be placed on the project; mod projects are overlooked due to the fact that these are passion projects and see no earnings. On top of bringing new universes to games, some modders go the extra mile and change the mechanics of a game. Elder Scrolls V Skyrim is one of the most modded games of all time and we will talk Skyrim throughout the article. For this part of the discussion, Skyrim has seen numerous modders and teams add new mechanics. Did you enjoy the combat style of Witcher 3, well True Directional Movement accomplishments this goal. Ever feel like there aren’t enough spells? Arcanum A New Age of Magic adds new effects and more versatility to the game. A gamer can find anything that they want to add to a game through Nexxus mods. Mods enhance games to a point where replayability of all games is drastically increased. This gives games new life and in the long run save money in gamers’ wallets.

The next impact that mods have on games is that if the changes are drastic and revolutionary, they might spur new genres and games. I am of course talking about DOTA 2 and Team Fortress. DOTA 2 started as a mod called Defense of the Ancients for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Warcraft III is a top down RTS where the player controls an army in a race to build a base and destroy the other player’s base. Defense of the Ancients was a community driven mod where instead of an army, players control one character called a hero while competing in two teams of five. The goal of the game is to destroy the opposing team’s structure known as the Ancient. Through the course of the game players level up their character through grinding mobs and killing other players. If these mechanics sound familiar that is because the original Defense of the Ancients spawned the MOBA genre. This community driven mod would inspire the creation of SMITE and League of Legends. League of Legends would go on to become one of the biggest games and esports of all time. Team Fortress 2 also started as a mod. The origins of this FPS classic are that it started as a freeware mod for Quake. From this humble origin, Robin Walker and John Cook led the development team of Team Fortress Software after switching to the GoldSrc engine in 1998. Team Fortress 2 would be the game that popularized the arena character shooter where Valorant and Overwatch would also be designed in the wake of this mod. Both of these mods would be picked up by developer Valve who brought in these creative teams and brought them into the fold. Not only did Valve’s acquisitions benefit them as they purchased strong IPs that developed into strong products for their library, but also the funding that Valve provided a new career path for these developers. If more developers would bring on modding teams they would gather an experienced and passionate work force that would make their games better. Both Defense of the Ancients and Team Fortress both signify the vast potential of mods. Transforming a game and its engine to create something new. They also showed that the gaming community supports and plays modding creations. Even though it has been a while since a mod has transformed the gaming industry as these two have, as long as companies continue to allow fair use of their products, create modding tools for their players and promote and support their community, the next transformative mod will be around the corner.

The last major contribution that mods bring to gaming is the creation of vast community projects to remaster whole games or to create massive additions that match the scale of the games they are modding. For this example, we return to Bethesda games for their open world RPGs are the perfect environment for modders to dive in. As previously stated, Skyrim is one of the most modded games on the market and has vast support from the community and modders alike. Bethesda supports its modders through community initiatives and the Creation Club where mods are showcased to the wider player base. Bethesda even added community mods to the anniversary addition to Skyrim, along with official DLC. Skyrim presently has two massive mod projects underway: Skyblivion and Beyond Skyrim. Skyblivion is a total conversion mod and a fan made remake of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Beyond Skyrim is a mod that seeks to add the remaining regions of Tamriel during the same time period as Skyrim. Essentially giving players the option to see the rest of the continent. This is the mod I’m most excited about because of the increased immersion it will bring to Skyrim along with brand new questlines. And unlike Skyblivion, Beyond Skyrim is adding stories and characters that are completely original. The best part about these projects is that the teams are always looking for new talent and volunteers. These projects embody the modding community by coming together to create something new and fantastic. In addition, both of these projects are members of the Creation Mod Con, a group of content creators who all make mods under the Creation Engine. Fallout 4 also has a mod that matches the scale and ambition and that is a conversion mod to remake the fan favorite Fallout New Vegas to give the game a drastically needed graphically update. So why do these ambitious mods come to be? Simple, modders create products that both they and the community think are needed. Skyrim is nearing twelve years old now and the fans of the franchise crave new content. Enter modders to fill that niche and provide new content for fans. The New Vegas mod conversion? Bethesda and New Vegas developers Obsidian Entertainment have not yet come to an agreement to give the game its much needed face lift, so modders took the job. Mod teams and communities come together to support each other, through feedback and playing their content, and deliver tise type of products and improvements to the games players love.

Now there is plenty of valid criticism against mods. The most common belief is that their work shouldn’t be necessary; it should be covered by developers in the original release. I agree with this argument where technical fixes are concerned, but disagree with all other classifications of mods. Yes, games should be released in a complete state and technical mods shouldn’t be necessary. But content mods are a different animal, they contribute to the lore or even make some of their own. Mods in many ways are like indie art. They often take large teams or long periods of time to develop for these are projects of passion. Voice actors, concept artists and coders all practice their hobbies through mods. In some cases, these passion projects get noticed and modders get an opportunity to be employment and work on something that they love to do. That is the power of mods, a grassroots movement that provides content, makes improvements to games, and offers an opportunity to work in the video game industry.