How PC Game Modders Are Evolving

Lanxon writes "Wired has a lengthy investigation into the state of PC game mods, and the amateurs keeping the scene exciting in the wake of draconian DRM placed on many PC titles by major studios. It highlights a number of creative modders, such as Scott Reismanis, founder and editor of Mod DB, and his community-driven alternative to Valve's Steam — Desura — which is 'a distribution system, and, like Steam, will sell games and champion indie titles. But the way it handles mods makes it even more exciting.'"

Comments

Complicated install process?

[Shadow of Eternity]

I never knew doubleclicking an icon and clicking "Next" a few times was a complicated and difficult install process.

Re:Complicated install process?

[Anonymous Coward]

To the console player, it's incomprehensible!

Re:Open Source Anyone?

[VGPowerlord]

f all of these "modders" would contribute to creating an open source game instead of nipping at the scraps left by commercial games we would have even better open source games in the control of the community instead of unrewarding idea mills for the corps. Not to say that commercial games should not exist. Just that it would be nice if these very talented people would be more farsighted in their efforts.

Well, that's just it: Mods are usually not completely new games. Specifically, they rely on an existing game engine that is, more likely than not, a commercial engine.

They may also rely on assets from the game they are modding (HL2's default textures, sounds, etc... for Source games).

Unless you can give them a reason to use open source game engine X over, say, the Unreal 3 engine or the Source engine, why would they use it?

Re:How we've fallen!

[Hurricane78]

It's a pity this franchise died.

Maybe because it’s mind-numbingly boring?