Motivations of people that play with mods

[HeyYou]

 

I use mods to change gameplay to something more along the lines of what I want, not what Beth seems to think I want.

 

If a mod does what it says it does, and doesn't cause problems elsewhere, then its a "good" mod.

 

Being able to mod the game extends the playability of the game. Without mods, I likely would have stopped playing years ago.

 

I just want to point out that, while you may think Bethesda is trying to make something for you specifically, that's untrue, obviously. They offer an experience, they offer a game, and in their wisdom and grace they also say, if you don't like what we offer, we also offer the tool to help you tailor your experience as well.

 

Just be sure you remember that tidbit. Bethesda is the only company that does this. Not even CDPR developed their devtools for Witcher 3, they're barebones.

 

That's why I mod by the way.

 

I mod at any chance given to me. If a game is gracious enough to allow me into the files and let me tweak, I instantly do so. I am not one of these puritans who wants or even has the time anymore to experience a game at it's own pace.

 

Once I find the games systems, loops and mechanics, I understand overall what the game will be 1 hour in and 100 hours in. So I play as much as I can, as much as I want, and drop it. Lots of games to play, lots of life to live, but at the end of the day, Fallout 4/Skyrim/Bethesda Games have always drawn me back in with the constant tinkering I can do inside of them.

 

I work in CG, and trouble shooting issues on a daily basis is a fun thing to do. Some other people work as Generalists, who just kind of shift between departments, from modeling, surfacing, animation, rigging, etc, usually bug fixing. I kind of like that work ethic, just kind of looking at a list of what needs doing, and doing what you feel like that day, modding is similar. It's satisfying when you solve a problem.

 

I am well aware that beth isn't making the games for me specifically, that's why I find it necessary to mod the games.....

[minime453]

 

Even though people that just download mods and play with them aren't "game developers" or "mod developers" persay, they start to take an active role in the design process of a game. If the mods you download change the design of the game in some way, you've become a game designer.

 

If you are preparing a formal or graded paper it would be best if you check the basic definitions and common terms.

 

Game designer is a high level creative role defining core concepts and mechanisms.

 

Very few mod authors redefine game platforms to those depths.

 

Modifying existing systems is not design.

 

For example I have published over 50 complex scripted mods that change Fallout 4 game mechanics and/or user experience.

 

Whilst I may design software solutions professionally, my mod authoring hobby does not make me a "game designer".

 

At best a user experience developer.

 

TL;DR research what "game designer" means and if you want to depart from common or accepted usage standby for incomprehension or challenges and less good grades.

 

yes and no. I'm not specifically tackling this element of it, but i'd still argue that people downloading mods to change the design of the game are game designers in a sense. you don't have to necessarily have to be a professional to be a game designer. If someone creates a quest mod and figures out paths for the players, decisions, etc, that's game design. it is modding yes, but it's also doing the exact same things quest designers did during production of the game and if you were to do the exact same thing in a game you'd designed yourself, that would be game design. even in modding, alot of the practices in game development can be useful to create a good experience for players. i constantly use things i've learned developing games when i'm working on mods.

 

and i'd argue that modifying existing systems is design. not at extensive as a developer, but it's design nontheless because you have to consider how it's going to be used. in my opinion, there can be alot of overlap between what a game designer and and a user experience designer does. the "user" for a game designer is the player and they have to try to figure out how the systems are going to be used to design them effectively and enjoyably.

maybe it's a stretch to call them "game designers" specifically, but i think it's hard to ignore the fact that people are doing many of the same things a game designer does when creating mods or modding a game, albiet in a much smaller way.

 

do you have any links to somewhere that could give more information on what your definition of a game designer is? I think mine is slightly different from what you've got.

Edited August 10, 2020 by minime453

[SKKmods]

So I'm an architect because I changed some bricks in the wall of my house now ? Madness.

 

From now on I will only respond to my full title of "SKK the maximum lead architect and supreme lifetime design boss director of fear and uncertainty inducing random spawning combat experiences that don't CTD for aged RPG game platforms."

[Stronglav]

Mods add content.Also they finally allow me to kill Preston :D

[TreshMek]

In general, I use mods because I inevitably reach a point when playing the vanilla game where I simply want more (outside of DLC's).

 

I have the same mindset when playing Skyrim and FO4: there is too little for me in the base game so I want to get more. A lot more. My mod list in both games are saturated with weapon and armor mods alongside several "New Lands" genre mods that will definitely keep me busy for a few days worth of play time.

 

I also use mods for QoL purposes. Weightless junk and consumables, for example.

 

And of course, I use mods to look at Daedra ass. Look, if I'm gonna be looking at my player character for hours on end, they better be nice to look at.

[geala]

1. Why?

Similar to most who answered I use mods a) to shape a game more to my taste and b) to add visuals and content, both making a game more immersive, well looking, interesting, or acceptable at all.

 

Examples for a), quite often some game mechanics or settings are annoying. Sometimes they add artificial difficulty I don't like, quite often they make enemies too weak, sometimes they are just too "unrealistic" (in the world of the game). Like in FO4 the molerats warping trough the soil with light speed, that's just stupid, so I use a mod to get rid of this behaviour. Or deathclaws being too slow and too weak, so I use a mod which makes them a nightmare. FO4 human NPCs are acting like total morons in combat, so I use a mod which makes them a little less stupid, making the combat more dangerous and the world a bit more frightening and intense. FO4 damage - health relation is not to my pleasure, so I use a damage + health overhaul which makes combat more reasonable for me. And so on.

 

Examples for b) are armor, clothes, weapons, bodies, hair, better landscapes, better grass, etc., on one hand and quest mods on the other hand. FO4 is my favorite game but I would not be playing it still if some nice people had not created better male and female bodies (Bethesda, listen, humans have toes!) and lots of clothes (f.e. thank you, Crimsonrider) which fit better to my view of a post-apo world. Or, I like a green world, so I use landscape mods. The FO4 main story for me is awkward and unrewarding, I never ended it. Quest mods here are a help for me to use FO4 as a survival shooter; quite often their presence and potential alone is enough to play the game even if I don't do the quests at all.

 

I don't hesitate to make small mods of my own if I'm capable of (which is only for the most basic things).

 

 

2. Quality?

A good documentation and a polite conversation in the Nexus posts section are important. I always read any information available to scan for bugs and compatibility. I'm very hesitant to use mods from other sides than Nexus. I'm not very skilled in modding or judging the way mods are made, and scripting is like magic to me, but I always check mods I'm going to use with xEdit.

 

 

3. Experience?

I usually don't play games which are not entirely to my taste, instead I skip such games. My rules here are quite personal and have nothing to do with review ratings or such. I skipped many of the most beloved games because they did not fit me. I don't care wether I can accept a game in vanilla state (extremely rare event) or in modded state. My most favorite games, FO4, Skyrim, Total War Empire/Rome2/Attila, Mount + Blade xxx I could and would never play without mods. So mods are essential for me because without I would rarely play (and of course buy) video games at all. Also essential for me are tools like xEdit without which I could not manage playing FO4 and Skyrim.