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

[philbydorro]

Yeah, i'm not sure "professional" mods is what most people are looking for, most of the time.

Fair enough, we all want them to work well & not encounter many/any compatibility issues with them, but i think simple, fun mods can provide quite a lot of enjoyment & extend a game's lifespan, without modders having to worry about their reputation / rating & large corporations breathing down their neck. Imagine a user rating system in effect for these mods, modders would have to make fairly mainstream / generic / acceptable mods, which would pretty much kill the idea / concept of mods for me & quite a few others i'd think. I think modders are likely to produce something more unique / different without a load of pressure to be "professional"

[sesom]

In response to post #23836199. #23839154, #23845829, #23853369, #23858174, #23858619, #23868714, #23869794, #23870749, #23874494, #23889664, #23897239, #23907889, #23916764 are all replies on the same post.

Do you take the same responsibility as a commercial company Arthmoor if you are paid for making mods?

If the answer is no, it's greedy.

[Arthmoor]

In response to post #23836199. #23839154, #23845829, #23853369, #23858174, #23858619, #23868714, #23869794, #23870749, #23874494, #23889664, #23897239, #23907889, #23916764, #23947279 are all replies on the same post.

Then I guess all Indie Dev studios are greedy too since they don't take on the same level of responsibility as AAA developers.

You realize this logic fails hard, yes?

[Matthias93]

In response to post #23602849. #23748509, #23749129, #23750109, #23835629 are all replies on the same post.

You have my complete agreement sir.

[Asgardii]

In response to post #23937744.

I too see lots of issues here. I don't expect mods to work and lots of mods here are incompatible with each other or even alone can cause crashes or make people loose their save files. This happens all the time if you have 100+ mods in Skyrim and its quite understandable if its free content. If I paid for those, I would at least expect to have my money back on such events. There is also legislation that protects consumers in these kinds of situations, taxes need to be paid and so on.

But even bigger issue is - and I agree with the writer - Valve is getting too much control over PC gaming. And I don't like it a bit, because they are at the same time converting their fans to console players. New hardware and software platform which is not Windows, and would be solely controlled by Valve. There is no competition there and this 25/75 share is a proof enough. It should be the other way around.

[sesom]

In response to post #23836199. #23839154, #23845829, #23853369, #23858174, #23858619, #23868714, #23869794, #23870749, #23874494, #23889664, #23897239, #23907889, #23916764, #23947279, #23954734 are all replies on the same post.

Nope it doesn't fail. Because that's actually how the indie studios struggle atm. professionalism (who sold out shortly to MS?). It's the same with youtube where the "big" youtubers suddenly have to realize what business and copyright law means. Responsibility.

All this wonderfull "Kickstarter" projects that promise the customer ...heaven... and can't even deliver a minimal of the promised functionality....

Yeah we need this for mods too ... urgently ... and in thousends. Best with it's own Steam Workshop....

But I am sure all of these "professional" modmakers who sell you their product have payed their licenses for Photoshop, 3DSMax, Substance Painter, .... Sure they have and don't use student licenses or worse.

The commercialisation of mods is a minefield for customer and modmakers. I wouldn't open up this can of worms.

Read about the SIMS 2 modscene and what happend as the "big business" started there. It should open up your eyes why it's a very bad thing and all about greed.

I am not talking about you as person. I am talking about what happpens as soon as this possibility is open.

(Btw. Yes I am working on my own game too and yes it will be a commercial project.) Edited April 1, 2015 by sesom

[Deleted82156User]

In response to post #23836199. #23839154, #23845829, #23853369, #23858174, #23858619, #23868714, #23869794, #23870749, #23874494, #23889664, #23897239, #23907889, #23916764, #23947279, #23954734, #23963714 are all replies on the same post.

But I am sure all of these "professional" modmakers who sell you their product have payed their licenses for Photoshop, 3DSMax, Substance Painter, .....

Why would they need to when they can use Blender, Gimp, Paint.NET, Nifscope, Audacity etc etc.... Edited April 1, 2015 by Guest

[Arthmoor]

In response to post #23836199. #23839154, #23845829, #23853369, #23858174, #23858619, #23868714, #23869794, #23870749, #23874494, #23889664, #23897239, #23907889, #23916764, #23947279, #23954734, #23963714, #23965734 are all replies on the same post.

Nope it doesn't fail.

Except it does, because your argument is rooted in the assumption that all modders and Indie game devs are irresponsible children who are borderline software pirates. You may not have noticed, but there are plenty of us right now in the free modding scene who fight hard for proper attribution, permissions, and the rights of our fellow modders. Even when some of them despise us for doing so.

Read about the SIMS 2 modscene and what happend as the "big business" started there. It should open up your eyes why it's a very bad thing and all about greed.

I have. I think the rumors are entirely overblown and are rooted in jealously more than anything else. We don't all see things the same way :P

Shezrie covered the remainder. There are plenty of open source free alternatives to the expensive programs you mentioned. You'd also be surprised just how many modders have donated hard earned money to those projects to keep them alive.

[sesom]

@Arthmoor

Except it does, because your argument is rooted in the assumption that all modders and Indie game devs are irresponsible children who are borderline software pirates. You may not have noticed, but there are plenty of us right now in the free modding scene who fight hard for proper attribution, permissions, and the rights of our fellow modders. Even when some of them despise us for doing so.

Quote

Read about the SIMS 2 modscene and what happend as the "big business" started there. It should open up your eyes why it's a very bad thing and all about greed.

I have. I think the rumors are entirely overblown and are rooted in jealously more than anything else. We don't all see things the same way :tongue:

Shezrie covered the remainder. There are plenty of open source free alternatives to the expensive programs you mentioned. You'd also be surprised just how many modders have donated hard earned money to those projects to keep them alive.

 

Am I an enemy you have to fight? Looks like it in your choice of words and that you insinuate things I didn't wrote.

 

Also you seem under the assumption that I never made a mod, don't know the tools and wasn't there as the Sims 2 modding scene went down.

You are wrong with all of this.

Edited April 1, 2015 by sesom

[Thaiauxn]

 

In response to post #23836199. #23839154, #23845829, #23853369, #23858174, #23858619, #23868714, #23869794, #23870749, #23874494, #23889664, #23897239, #23907889, #23916764, #23947279, #23954734, #23963714 are all replies on the same post.

But I am sure all of these "professional" modmakers who sell you their product have payed their licenses for Photoshop, 3DSMax, Substance Painter, .....

 

Why would they need to when they can use Blender, Gimp, Paint.NET, Nifscope, Audacity etc etc....

 

 

Exactly.

 

I like that most of the arguments against this are defeatist, facetious, or they just want things to remain free because they're free. It's like asking people if they'd like to pay for something they like or not.

 

Come on. For almost every professional software you can come back with a cheap or free hobbyist version. I don't see why mods should be any different. There will always be AAA multimillion dollar software, AAA DLC, and home grown software & DLC. The idea that the millionares are responsible and capable where indies are just lazy & incompetant is pure bullshit. Find a new argument.