Thoughts on the influence of enthusiasts on games and the gaming industry.
The gaming industry is complex and multifaceted. We have big projects and big studios. We have small publishers and singleton developers. We have interesting universes and buggy projects. But there are those who, being in the dark, or save our favorite games, taking them out of the background, or simply helping them to open completely. I am talking, of course, about mods. Let’s see how exactly they affect the gaming industry and how they are treated by major gaming companies.
fun and convenience
The most banal and at the same time the most common jobs of modders are purely cosmetic and almost always dedicated to fun (fun). When a game comes out and is available, what’s the first thing we get? fun fashion Enthusiasts replace models, redraw animations and all that. I remember seeing a mod that replaces the mini-boss model in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice with a giant Shrek model. It’s incredibly fun and cool. In general, Shrek himself has already become a meme. He (like CJ from GTA San Andreas) is pushed whenever possible. When the Spider-Man PC port was announced, the memes featuring him immediately disappeared. And there are thousands, if not millions, of such examples. Hold on Neil Drakkman, fans are already waiting for TLOU 2 on PC. In general, it’s a shame, of course, that the mods are available for the most part only on PC. But still, such work helps maintain interest in a variety of projects.
In addition to the above, modders sometimes help games as well. They may redraw the interface, extend the functionality, fix some minor bugs, etc. Such things are not only pleasing to the eye of the player, but also make the game more convenient. This applies even to multiplayer games. For example, may the gods forgive me, World of Tanks. The game as a whole supports mods, and I myself installed them several times. Most of the time, tank mods just tweak the interface a bit and add more markers and information in combat. Although there are others. The same, for example, in Final Fantasy 14. There you can also change models of pets, equipment, etc. Such changes are visible only to you and do not affect the game in any way, but make the game itself more enjoyable and convenient.
Second Life
But aside from cosmetics, modders also do more important work. They help many live games. The most banal, but at the same time truest example here is the series The Elder Scrolls (The Elder Scrolls). Bethesda not only fully supports modders, but also parasites them. Enthusiastic work has always been, and always will be, what makes this series (and indeed all Bethesda games) great. From trivial interface changes to numerous bug fixes. From adding new mechanics to creating great story campaigns. This is how modders affect the games in this series. If you have never played Morrowind (the third part of the scrolls) or oblivion (the fourth part of the scrolls), then without a couple of modifications (at least the visual ones) there is simply no point in playing such old games now. Unless, of course, you’re not a fierce stalwart and an old believer.
With Skyrim (The Fifth of Scrolls), it’s even more fun. After the original game, the fifth scrolls saw several more reprints. And the main essence of each of them was that the developers simply took the assembly of the best mods and thus updated the game. For Skyrim, fans have created a couple of story DLCs, and other games have been made based on the game itself. For example, The Forgotten City project, which grew out of a mod for Skyrim. Development of a new fan-made version of Oblivion in the Fifth Scrolls engine is also ongoing.
But not just the Scrolls alone. Many other projects are also brought to life thanks to enthusiasts. Not long ago, for example, for the second Gothic, a great story campaign was launched, created exclusively by fans and for fans. And judging by the reviews, it turned out great. Many old games (and not just old ones) regularly receive new content created unofficially. And that’s great. Here you can add a complete rebalancing of the games themselves. I already mentioned Sekiro above. But there is a mod that replaces all opponents with full bosses. I don’t know who will play this (although there definitely are), but those who came up with this can only be praised.
do what they couldn’t
But it’s one thing when fans create something that the developers didn’t plan for. When they are simply inspired by this or that game and complement it with their creativity. And it’s a whole different thing when the fans fix what the developers couldn’t fix. There are many examples where a single enthusiast, or a small group, literally fixed the game, while the official devs from patch to patch couldn’t. This also applies to GTA Online, where a fan fixed the code to make the game much more productive. Or you can remember Cyberpunk 2077, where enthusiasts without any problems added to the game what the developers rejected because they could not or did not have time to implement it. The original edition of the first Dark Souls on PC was also unplayable until a fan-made fix appeared. And here the question arises, why do a few people in a short time easily do what a large company cannot do?
Attitude towards modders
And it’s fine if the developers, like the aforementioned Bethesda, appreciate the work of the fans. It’s good even if the work of enthusiasts is not noticed at all by the official developers. Well, they are. However, it also happens that for their work, modders specifically fly like this. Most of the time, Nintendo indulges in this. If after playing Mario or Zelda you want to create something based on them, then be prepared for a ban at best. And in the worst case, to a lawsuit. Paranoia Nintendo in general deserves a separate post.
But not only the cunning Japanese are addicted to this. From time to time there is news that the developers of this or that project require the removal of mods for their games from the Internet (as if they do not understand that this is impossible). This can usually mean that the company wants to release a re-release of their games and thus requires them to remove mods for them. And God, it would be better if they, like Todd Howard, only sold us assemblies of the best mods and didn’t try to make something themselves. Maybe then we wouldn’t have GTA Trilogy The Definitive Edition…
The attitude towards modders in the gaming industry varies a lot. Even within the same company. For example, the same Take-Two. Let’s go back to the previous examples. As I said, an enthusiast increased the performance of GTA Online with his patch. As a result, he was hired by Rockstar. In contrast to this, the people who modified the original GTA 3 trilogy paid for their work even after many years. And this is the dumbest thing in the world. Especially considering that the end result of such a remaster is several times worse than fan compilations.
conclusion
You need to understand that the gaming industry is not limited to developers only. The audience of each game is an integral part of it. Unlike, for example, movies, each new game after its release continues to live and develop. Either thanks to the developers themselves or thanks to the fans. Today, I have only scratched the surface of the enormous contribution enthusiasts make to the existence of the gaming industry. You will probably remember many more such examples. And that’s why it becomes a triple insult when big business, following the example of their greed and pride, refuses to appreciate the contribution of enthusiasts.
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Source: IXBT
