Architeuthis

Standardized files related to the mod and the game. I think in the case of Skyrim it would be .esp (or .esm?) files. Basically it refers to a specific sort of file which allows for relatively easy plug and play functionality. Master's thesis.

Thanks man! Appreciate the response!

Basically if you used the creation kit for skyrim atleast once and have made a mod, you can fill in the survey. Ideally you will be able to list a mod you created using those modding tools as well. The size or quality of the mod isn't that important. As said in the OP it's not just for Skyrim, but any game that was released with some form of official modding tools (no matter how comprehensive) is valid. So most of the TES games and Fallout games qualify, as do the Total War games for example.

Also, if you happen to know fellow modders who would fit the profile (modded for a game using an official modkit), please send them a link to the thread/survey. It would really help me out!

Also, if you happen to know fellow modders who would fit the profile (modded for a game using an official modkit), please send them a link to the thread/survey. It would really help me out!

Also, if you happen to know fellow modders who would fit the profile (modded for a game using an official modkit), please send them a link to the thread/survey. It would really help me out!

Please elaborate on what you mean by "official tools". I imagine that most people that 'code' for any mods use some other software to actually write the code. Does it then ONLY count as part of the 'official tools' if they plug these codes into the game via the interface of a 'official mod tool'? Also, please define what counts as a "mod", especially for games like ARMA. Yes, there were the actual mods, but you could also make custom playable missions (some of which could be simple, others could contain complex coding on top of the vanilla 'put stuff here, shoot it') - would those count as mods too? While the mods actually modified mechanics, objects and whatnot, the missions provided the way to interact with the changes introduced by the mods. Mods were nothing without missions to utilise them. Missions created to use mods were often dependant on said mods. Thank you for your interest in the survey. Yes, the definition of what actually constitutes a mod is a bit problematic as it can be quite large in scope. For the purpose of the study I tried to define it as 'the practice of creating custom content by modifying the base game through the use of a set of modding tools'. Ingame mission editors are a bit of a conundrum. While they certainly allow the user to create custom content, they are often separate from the more elaborate ‘external’ tools. In the case of Arma you have the ingame mission editor and external modding tools. Generally, mission based mods are smaller in size and scope than the mods that add new assets (models, textures, sounds etc.). Of course, this doesn’t always hold true, but the study is making this assumption (and has clearly listed it as a limitation to the research design). Arma 3 is particularly interesting because it so fittingly highlights this issue. My primary interest lies with the external (not ingame) official mod tools supplied by the developer or publisher (e.g. the creation kit for fallout, creation/construction set for TES games, Assembly kits for Total War and arma 3 tools for Arma 3) from the perspective of open innovation. From my understanding, sometimes third party (community developed) modding tools offer similar functionality to the official modding tools and in practice complete replace them. I tried to control for this fact by investigating the presence and usage of third party mod tools. But yes, as long as the official tools were used in some capacity during the mod process at least once it count (as I’m interested in how these official tools were perceived). I hope this clears some stuff up, but I’ll be happy to further elaborate on it.

Hi Fallout NV modders, I am a master student with the University of Groningen currently writing my thesis on PC modding. My goal is to investigate the effects of modding tools in mod making. In order to collect the necessary data, I have designed a survey that is being distributed among a variety of modders who were active for games that were released with a set of official modding tools. Fallout New Vegas thus qualifies I believe. Who am I looking for? I'm looking for anyone who has used the official mod tools to create a mod. The actual game and content of the mod is not important. Filling out the survey will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes of your time, depending on your answers. As a token of my gratitude I will randomly award a number of steam credit gift certificates among the respondents. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please feel free message me. I would really appreciate your help! -link to survey- (survey was created with google forms). PS The exact same survey was also placed on the Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 forums (as well all Elder Scrolls nexus forums). I apologize if this comes across as a bit 'spammy', but I figured this would be the best way to generate response from the entire Fallout modding community. You will be able to indicate whether you modded for more than one game (Fallout or otherwise).

Hi Fallout 3 modders, I am a master student with the University of Groningen currently writing my thesis on PC modding. My goal is to investigate the effects of modding tools in mod making. In order to collect the necessary data, I have designed a survey that is being distributed among a variety of modders who were active for games that were released with a set of official modding tools. Fallout 3 thus qualifies I believe. Who am I looking for? I'm looking for anyone who has used the official mod tools to create a mod. The actual game and content of the mod is not important. Filling out the survey will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes of your time, depending on your answers. As a token of my gratitude I will randomly award a number of steam credit gift certificates among the respondents. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please feel free message me. I would really appreciate your help! -link to survey- (survey was created with google forms). PS The exact same survey was also placed on the Fallout NV and Fallout 4 forums (as well all Elder Scrolls nexus forums). I apologize if this comes across as a bit 'spammy', but I figured this would be the best way to generate response from the entire Fallout modding community. You will be able to indicate whether you modded for more than one game (Fallout or otherwise).

Hi Fallout 4 modders, I am a master student with the University of Groningen currently writing my thesis on PC modding. My goal is to investigate the effects of modding tools in mod making. In order to collect the necessary data, I have designed a survey that is being distributed among a variety of modders who were active for games that were released with a set of official modding tools. Fallout 4 thus qualifies I believe. Who am I looking for? I'm looking for anyone who has used the official mod tools to create a mod. The actual game and content of the mod is not important. Filling out the survey will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes of your time, depending on your answers. As a token of my gratitude I will randomly award a number of steam credit gift certificates among the respondents. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please feel free message me. I would really appreciate your help! -link to survey- (survey was created with google forms). PS The exact same survey was also placed on the Fallout NV and Fallout 3 forums (as well all Elder Scrolls nexus forums). I apologize if this comes across as a bit 'spammy', but I figured this would be the best way to generate response from the entire Fallout modding community. You will be able to indicate whether you modded for more than one game (Fallout or otherwise).

Hi Morrowind modders, I am a master student with the University of Groningen currently writing my thesis on PC modding. My goal is to investigate the effects of modding tools in mod making. In order to collect the necessary data, I have designed a survey that is being distributed among a variety of modders who were active for games that were released with a set of official modding tools. Morrowind thus qualifies I believe. Who am I looking for? I'm looking for anyone who has used the official mod tools to create a mod. The actual game and content of the mod is not important. Filling out the survey will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes of your time, depending on your answers. As a token of my gratitude I will randomly award a number of steam credit gift certificates among the respondents. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please feel free message me. I would really appreciate your help! -link to survey- (survey was created with google forms). PS The exact same survey was also placed on the Skyrim and Oblivion forums (as well all Fallout nexus forums). I apologize if this comes across as a bit 'spammy', but I figured this would be the best way to generate response from the entire Elder Scrolls modding community. You will be able to indicate whether you modded for more than one game (TES or otherwise).

Hi Oblivion modders, I am a master student with the University of Groningen currently writing my thesis on PC modding. My goal is to investigate the effects of modding tools in mod making. In order to collect the necessary data, I have designed a survey that is being distributed among a variety of modders who were active for games that were released with a set of official modding tools. Oblivion thus qualifies I believe. Who am I looking for? I'm looking for anyone who has used the official mod tools to create a mod. The actual game and content of the mod is not important. Filling out the survey will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes of your time, depending on your answers. As a token of my gratitude I will randomly award a number of steam credit gift certificates among the respondents. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please feel free message me. I would really appreciate your help! -link to survey- (survey was created with google forms). PS The exact same survey was also placed on the Skyrim and Morrowind forums (as well all Fallout nexus forums). I apologize if this comes across as a bit 'spammy', but I figured this would be the best way to generate response from the entire Elder Scrolls modding community. You will be able to indicate whether you modded for more than one game (TES or otherwise).

Hi Skyrim modders, I am a master student with the University of Groningen currently writing my thesis on PC modding. My goal is to investigate the effects of modding tools in mod making. In order to collect the necessary data, I have designed a survey that is being distributed among a variety of modders who were active for games that were released with a set of official modding tools. Skyrim thus qualifies I believe. Who am I looking for? I'm looking for anyone who has used the official mod tools to create a mod. The actual game and content of the mod is not important. Filling out the survey will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes of your time, depending on your answers. As a token of my gratitude I will randomly award a number of steam credit gift certificates among the respondents. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please feel free message me. I would really appreciate your help! -link to survey- (survey was created with google forms). PS The exact same survey was also placed on the Oblivion and Morrowind forums (as well all Fallout nexus forums). I apologize if this comes across as a bit 'spammy', but I figured this would be the best way to generate response from the entire Elder Scrolls modding community. You will be able to indicate whether you modded for more than one game (TES or otherwise).