Bethesda Modding

[grizzlyatoms]

So i'm curious, learning and getting proficient at modding bethesda games (Tes, Fallout) using thier creation kit and the geck; can those skills be used anywhere else? i havnt dove into it yet, but just curious because i know you can get pretty technical with mods which is a lot of work, but like i said, could the skill be used anywhere else? Modding other games, anything desirable for actually working for a game company? Just would like to know, i might actually be going on short term disability and hopfully being retrained and going to school for computers would be my first choice, but if learning to mod would help in anyway then i'll definatly go full on with learning it. Thanks for any info. Stay safe in the wastelands!

Grizzly

[Cipscis]

Different modding skills are transferable to different degrees. For example, creating new assets is likely be very transferable, whereas familiarity with the Creation Kit/GECK and the scripting languages used by the games is likely to be less transferable, although the familiarity they give with the back-end of the games will likely be helpful elsewhere.

 

Cipscis

 

EDIT:

 

Of course, familiarity with one Bethesda game is likely to be quite transferable to another Bethesda game, like Oblivion to Fallout 3. Just not so much with other games that use completely different engines.

 

Cipscis

[Rebelicious]

In the end, any kind of modding familiarizes you with the usage and application of tools and various software.

 

So to answer your question; No, it's not directly applicable as such. However, as a general training of your own proficiencies, it is definitely helpful to have a general understanding of how things usually work, in order to extrapolate or draw conclusions on future projects within other games or modding mechanics.

 

Being a full-on modder is unlikely to land you a software job. In the context of actual game-development and programming, modding is (generally) barely scratching the surface, toying with those things that the developers deliberately have left rather open - especially when it comes to games like the recent Bethesda games, which are made specifically to be moddable. If you want to mod, I really do encourage you to learn to mod, but as a learning tool, you will cover the basics fairly quickly; you will need an actual purpose with what you are doing, aside from merely learning.

 

From the situation you're describing, I'd encourage you to take those computer classes, while considering taking up modding for something that you're actually interested in, as a hobby, to complement your studies. Some of the best mods have been created by men (and women) with concrete programming or development backgrounds. Modding for the sake of modding is not something I'd recommend, since the actual mileage you'll get out of it is rather small, unless you're actually interested in the modding and creative process itself - not just the technicals.

 

Edit: And as Cipscis said, familiarity with one Bethesda game is likely to be quite transferable to another Bethesda game. This goes again and again amongst various studios. For example, when I look at the files and structures of modern Bioware games, I instantly recognize most of it from all the way back to Baldur's Gate and onward. It's actually sorta amusing sometimes to see structures remain for so long.

Edited November 20, 2011 by Rebelicious

[kuro1n]

Well while it most likely wont land you a job alone it definitely is good to have on your CV and you will have good use of what you learn while working with other games, its a good way to get familiar with creating assets or games. Obviously you would have to go for a project heavy in the field you are interested to get a job in, making a weapon pack mod obviously wouldnt help you when trying to get a programming job for example.

 

And i agree to a certain point with the two posts above however a point they are missing out is that you learn the general workflow which can aid you in other projects and games.

[grizzlyatoms]

Thanks, definitely helpful in a lot of ways. As far as modding in general i think i would really enjoy it as a hobby. For example, since Skyrim came out every couple hours or so i alt tab out and scan the latest files to see whats new and it drives me nuts because nothing good is out yet because the kit hasn't been released yet. But throughout my whole play time i''m constantly thinking about mods and what i would like to change or add, but with me its like preaching to the quire.

It may actually be a good thing that modding isn't directly affected with programming and development, if i did go that route, or maybe cyber forensics, i could always go home to mod to change it up a bit.

 

Now we just need Bethesda to release the creation kit so i can get to it. I thought about getting the Oblivion kit, but its old and as far as learning goes, i wanted to be with the latest.

 

Thanks again for all the responses, very good advice.

Grizzly