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How do you go about being a very successful mod author?


Akulakha

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Hello everyone!!

 

So I have been modding games for about a year now and I have to say that it is quite frankly amazing the kind of stuff that the authors come up with. I would like to design great open world medieval fantasy games one day with realistic combat and fun story lines just like the elder scrolls games. So I figured that in order to build a good profile for that I would think that making amazing mods for my number one favorite game of all time: Skyrim, would be a great start towards starting down that career path. So I was wanting to ask the mod authors: how do you go about becoming a mod author and what are some good places where one can get amazing tips on how to make some really great mods? I'm really passionate about this in the fact that ever since I opened up my first Dungeons and Dragons book when I was eight, I had loved and delved into the realm of fantasy ever since from reading the lord of the rings series, reading on Drizzt, and all the way to game of thrones. Fantasy, to me, is a realm of unlimited imagination and possibilities and that is something I would like to devote my life to bringing for everyone who enjoys that kind of stuff just like I do.

 

Thanks everyone and hope you all have a fantastic and wonderful day!! :)

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well , I'm not really a mod author myself , but I'll give you my 2 cents on the matter

 

first of all , best of luck with your mod making , and I do hope you get to eventually achieve your dream , and build your own game one day

as for making a mod , it really depends on what it is you're trying to make

a lot of the major mods are projects that involve a group of people , each doing their share for the project

so I would suggest you to try and find your field , and try to build on it

 

If you are very creative and imaginative , maybe you should try your hand at writing and story designing

if you can learn to script properly , you can end up writing some amazing quests for yourself and others to enjoy

maybe you have a great 3D vision , and can be a great modeler and texture artist , and make amazing item mods

It really depends on who and how you are as a person , and what are your stronger related skills

 

there are quite a few tutorials for beginners in most modding fields , so you should really start with finding a tutorial for the field you want , that you are comfortable with

after you learn a bit and improve your skill , maybe you can offer to help on an existing project (this way you can be a part of something large , and you'll have a very specific direction)

or you can just try to make your own mods alone , or even start a project yourself , and try to find a team to complement you

 

don't expect this to come easy , as some of the tools have some learning curve to conquer , but with perseverance and patience I'm sure you'll succeed , and it will feel wonderful to make something that is truly yours , that you can be proud of

so best of luck to you , and I hope to one day use something you'll make

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I can't tell from your post whether you actually have experience with making mods in Skyrim, or if you're just wanting advice on making mods that will be popular.

 

If you have no modding knowledge, a good place to start would be with Darkfox127's Creation Kit tutorial videos. There are some SSE videos, but the majority for Oldrim will apply to the 64-bit CK as well; making a house isn't going to be different from one CK to the next.

 

It also helps to just dissect a mod to see how it works. You can start with something simple, like a mod that makes horses essential, open it in the CK, and see the changes that were made. That is one of the best ways to learn in my experience.

 

 

As for the rest, it just depends on the kind of mods you make. It can be the most well done mod ever, but if there isn't a high demand for whatever it is, then it won't become popular. As an example, my most-endorsed mod on the Nexus (not for Skyrim) has a paltry 274 endorsements. Even though the colors of those uniforms are something people complained about, it's just not as popular as new hair and such.

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Find a niche or important need and be it's Savior. :tongue:

 

Or convince people that they need something that they didn't even think of. I don't even know how you do that though. The recent Bells of Skyrim mod comes to mind. It took years for someone to even come up with that, but now I consider it almost must-have.

Edited by kthompsen
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Finding mods that the community really wants and suppying that demand would help to solidify your popularity. One mod that could become really popular quickly would be a lock retexture mod. Only one I am aware of and that hasn't been updated since October. You'd have a lot of downloads quickly . I wish you nothing but success!

Edited by gaultjohn
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Finding mods that the community really wants and suppying that demand would help to solidify your popularity. One mod that could become really popular quickly would be a lock retexture mod. Only one I am aware of and that hasn't been updated since October. You'd have a lot of downloads quickly . I wish you nothing but success!

 

Lock retextures from Oldrim work perfectly fine in SSE. I'm using this Oldrim one, Gamwich (of Rustic fame) made one as well, and there are others. Once a texture is released, it doesn't really need to be "updated" in that sense, unless the author decided to add a new appearance. (This obviously doesn't apply to ongoing retexture projects.)

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Finding mods that the community really wants and suppying that demand would help to solidify your popularity. One mod that could become really popular quickly would be a lock retexture mod. Only one I am aware of and that hasn't been updated since October. You'd have a lot of downloads quickly . I wish you nothing but success!

 

Lock retextures from Oldrim work perfectly fine in SSE. I'm using this Oldrim one, Gamwich (of Rustic fame) made one as well, and there are others. Once a texture is released, it doesn't really need to be "updated" in that sense, unless the author decided to add a new appearance. (This obviously doesn't apply to ongoing retexture projects.)

 

Thank you. I use Gamwich mods. Had no idea he created a lock retexture. Have a nice day.

Edited by gaultjohn
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