BLOG PIECE: Modding as a hobby versus modding as a career, and the position of the Nexus

[jxsh]

Just don't start this until after all the nice GTA V mods are released (; Edited April 12, 2015 by jxsh

[axonis]

In response to post #24169664. #24258219 is also a reply to the same post.

I disagree. Some do.

Also, your premium membership is a form of donation to the Nexus.

[seden]

Ok, 473 comments/posts on this subject, yet no one to think to this, damn ? (Devil as the one who allowed human to ask question then become corupt because of that, hm).

So :

Crowfunding.

So far, quite some RPG (by far if not the first type (not sure, tabletop or plateform, not like it has this much importance, yet :

Pillar of Eternity (26.03.2015) RLD
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity
Witcher 3 (19.05.2015)
Limit Theory (06.15 > @suivre)
Torment Tides of Numerama – backed (2015 ?)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inxile/torment-tides-of-numenera
Sui Generis (!Avril 2015+ ?)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1473965863/sui-generis
Kingdom Come: Deliverance (12.2015 ?)
Insomnia (!12.2015?)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1892480689/insomnia-an-rpg-set-in-a-brutal-dieselpunk-univers
Graywalker : Purgatory (01.2016) graywalkers.com
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dreamlordsdigital/graywalkers-purgatory-turn-based-post-apocalyptic
Age of Decadence (2015 ?) http://www.irontowerstudio.com
Underworld Ascendant (11.2016) http://www.othersideentertainment.com/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/othersidegames/underworld-ascendant
Windwalkers, the game (12.2016) http://www.forge-animation.com/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/forgeanimation/windwalkers-the-game
Icy (TBS @2016 ?)
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/icy-a-post-apocalyptic-rpg
Seven Dragon Saga (TBS @2016-17) http://www.tsi-games.com/seven-dragon-saga-tsi-games/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/537511454/seven-dragon-saga-by-tactical-simulations-interact

From theses, 4/5 are crowfunded, published out of anyone command / rule / obligation.

That said, it is early as to modding, still, if people ask for, it could be possible ?

In all case, if the community get on board and support crowfunded RPG, having them go for the release of a CK would not be that of a worry/lock point.

Then, Steam ?
If anything, a very bad news, facility & lesser results (search + access to mods (category ?) ..), the only (it is ?) good point would be the "new" peoples it allowed to open to RPG.

To be seen, but if all go dark, OpenMW & others community created games will be what I will be following upon.

[iceburg]

I've been gone for over a year and am re-installing Skyrim on my new computer.

 

I come back, find a classic article by Dark0ne, and a comment from MannyGT referencing his new DLC sized mod that was just released. (For free).

 

Man do I love this place.

[opal407]

In response to post #24169664. #24258219, #24272619 are all replies on the same post.

Advertisement would be the perfect word for what most modders are looking for manny. Exposure to the community without having to pay? Even bad mods can become popular at that point. (sadly, some have) But even then, the donations that modders ask for must be sparse. Downfall? No. If you have the ambition to make modding your living, you can do that. You can reference anything and everything you've done here in a job. Only an idiot would say no to 13 months + however many other mods you've done. Sure, it might not be 100% coding, but how do you think the devs put the world together? They sure as hell don't code it 100% anymore! Code in the assets and let the level designers do the rest (kind of like Halo's Forge, but y'know...harder...).

[dewguru]

In response to post #24169664. #24258219, #24272619, #24290784 are all replies on the same post.

You're incorrect. I've donated to mod authors who's work I've appreciated. Just because you may not be experiencing it, doesn't mean it isn't happening.

[soupdragon1234]

I'm not wholly convinced that this is likely to happen at all. From a statistic I read that I can't find just now (convenient huh?) I read that Skyrim's PC sales accounted for just 13% of total sales, the rest being console versions. I'm not sure that Bethesda or any other major studio is all that interested in PC gaming to be honest it being such a small percentage of their sales. I don't buy the argument that it will help console modding either as Microsoft and Sony have no affiliation with Steam and even less interest, indeed Microsoft's great commitment to PC gaming appears to consist of allowing Windows 10 to record gameplay... of the Xbox. Sony has even less affiliation.

 

I sometimes think that we're lucky if the game ever comes to PC at all and as for mods, luckier still if the devs permit such things to exist. I sometime wonder if Bethesda's commitments to such tools is a legacy hangover of the days when their titles were PC only and offered as such, a courtesy, if you like and any pressure they have from Steam to monetize may make them decide to drop the platform altogether.

[FishBiter]

In response to post #24169664. #24258219, #24272619, #24290784, #24293824 are all replies on the same post.

@far32l: I've donated, and quite some large amounts as well. If a mod author has put in so much work that their mod fundamentally changes the game the way an expansion would (in this case, a "gameplay expansion" which is a phrase that makes me tingle all over), I've donated up to 50 dollars in one click.

A mod author does have to put some time and work in to get me to click that button, and their mod has to be the kind of thing I can't live without, the type of mod I'm truly grateful for and that I just can't go back to not using.

Donations do happen.

[Faelarie]

I've been saying for months that payed for mods are a bad thing for the community, but both crowd funded mods and commissioned mods would be a HUGE benefit to the modding community.

 

It's always been that way, if you look into many other communities that use similar concepts it's been hugely successful. One of the largest communities would be the art community in general.

 

Commissions for artists have been WILDLY successful and not only do the commissioners get to enjoy the artwork but everyone does, on top of that the artists can make decent livings off of it. So it's litterally a complete win for everyone.

 

Meanwhile payed-access art websites have been failing to the point that they are almost non-existent at this point, I would be hard pressed to find a successful website that still runs purely off of this method.

 

Crowdfunded commissions could be even more successful, because it essentially allows anyone to donate to a cause, and then once the mod is created it would be free to anyone.

[mikeloeven]

The thing that scares me most about the curated workshops is the obvious issue of DRM. As a long time user of Bethesda games we all know that there are times when in order to make a Load Order work you have to merge mods, edit them to remove conflicts, or simply tweak a spell or mechanic to fix a balance issue. With curated workshops you now end up paying money for a file that has no guarantee that it will function with your specific load out. So the main concern for the skyrim workshop is will you be able to edit the paid mod?? If you cannot edit the paid mod or can edit the paid mod but your editing cannot resolve the conflict in your load order will you be able to get your money back??

 

Version control is another issue we also know how badly mod updates can go now with curated workshops will mods be updated manually or forced?? will previous versions be available in a curated workshop like they are on nexus???

 

which again brings me back to edit ability. there have been many times updates to mods have brought with them unwanted changes such as nerfs or re balances. Often times i just open the mods in tesvedit or the creation kit and revert the unwanted change myself.

 

again i think the curated workshops will signal the death of modding for Bethesda games unless there are strict controls put in place to preserve the users ability to edit the files for nothing more than compatibilities sake

 

 

Edited April 13, 2015 by mikeloeven