RIP spirit of modding...

[Vouivre]

Emma I love your work and dedication to all of this. We do this out of the love for the games and want to contribute to the community.

[garnet18]

Bravo Emma, you are one of the most respected and honest modder that I know.

[dovahklon]

Hello all, I never been around here much, usually on some other modding sites. Per Emma's suggestion, I am just re-posting a little something that I wrote. 

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," and Now is such a time for the modding community.

As we all have a few days to absorb the facts and think about the situation, it should already become crystal clear that the Skyrim community is the guinea pig to test the waters for the paid-for-mod scheme in future games. What this also means is, the future generation of games and modding depends on us, US right here right now, to defend the art of modding.

The art of modding. Regardless of what belief we are supporting, we all love modding. Whether you are a modder or a mod user, there was someone, somewhere along the way, who taught you how to install a mod, how to optimize the game, how to sort load order, how to script, model, texture, animate, etc., and give you the satisfaction on expanding the gameplay, or feeling accomplished because you made a change.

Yes, making changes, isn't that what we are all about? Recall that ultimate satisfaction and joy that overcome us when something is working, so powerful that it just let us forgive and forget the hours of frustration we've put in. And don't forget the mentors and friends we've made along the way. That, my friends, is the beauty of modding, the willingness to learn and selflessness to teach. And we all know too well that this will cease to exist when monetary profit is involved in the wrong way. Whether or not you want to support modders with money, we should see by now that this isn't heading in the right direction.

When the paywall was implemented, we know it was coming, we just never knew it was this soon. And that, is not a poor planning on Valve/Bethesda's part, it was exactly how they wanted it. We expected a backlash, and so has they. In the mix of the backlash, there was lots of hate and anger, and with the purposefully poor communication by Valve/Bethesda, the strong emotions were directed everywhere, dividing us and wearing us out. Yes, we have recovered and regrouped a little since. We have a petition, we have spoken why, some has uploaded some very amusing mods to both Nexus and steam, both free and paid. But is that enough? No, I don't think so. Because this was never the experiment for profit or trying to smooth out the system to begin with.

Let's think forward for a little bit. Here are some of the spotlight issues we have focused on: permission on using others' assets, legality of using 3rd party developer softwares/tools, how to address mod compatibilities, the refund system, the DRMification of mods and modding tools, and ultimately our rights to "our" content. Yes, to each of their own, they are all very valid issues, and there have been already many posts explaining them much better than I will ever can. But that's besides the point. The point is, these are our issues, never are they Valve/Bethesda's.

Being a major games DRM platform and game studio, it's suffice to say they know how to deal with all these issues much better than we will ever equip to be. Yet, they choose to not address them, they choose to make themselves appear ignorant and led us to think that straightening out the kinks is what the experiment about. Perhaps they might not know it all, but anyone would be a fool to say that they didn't really think it through.

So what exactly is the experiment about then? You might ask. I think the better question is, WHO is the experiment about? We'd like to think the presumed target audience is us, and Valve/Bethesda like our presumption as well. But the truth is, the target audience aren't us, but instead, this is targeted to all other game studios/companies in the market. But aren't we the gamers, the loyal customers? Of course, but they aren't trying to keep us. So if there's a few of us who like the idea of the paywall, great! If there are a few legal issues against them that was brought up and they can figure out it along the way, even better. But in the end, they aren't trying to appeal to us. We might be a sizeable community, but we are only a small fraction of all the gamers in the world. All they really have to do is to wait, wait for us to wear ourselves out (hence the community "policing" and nothing more), because all the issues we have brought up, they will all shrink to nothing when we get tired trying. And no, they don't need to prove how much the profit margin is and they don't need to retain any of us. It's a bonus if they actually do. Keep in mind the world we are living in today, there will always be people who are willing to spend money on their digital avatars, and there are already billions of dollars of profit made by in game purchases everywhere else, especially in the mobile platforms, willingly or naively.

So what's the goal of opening this can of worms? It is exactly for the sake of opening a can of worms, to let the worms crawl out to all sorts of directions and let us die off in our own. Once we are tired and out of the picture, we also take away all the nasty issues with us. And then comes the new games, and the new players who know nothing about any of these, happily buying the games and getting the opportunity to make money by creating their own content in the restricted platform with tools they have to pay for. Once they commercialize some comprehensive game editing tools along with tutorials (charged separately or having the cost incurred with the game's price), gone are those innovative/creative days when we try to figure out something on our own, and there will be no more legal issues that they have to worry about (just as how helpless we are with anything created from CK). The scary part? This isn't FO 4 or TES 6 we are talking about, we are talking about most if not all games by all sorts of companies, because they are all watching this event unfolds with us right now. Conspiracy theory, perhaps, but it's certainly possible. And I would think this is the kind of strategic foresight someone spearheading a large company would have.

Those of us who will remain, will remain. Those of us who like to move on, will as well. We will be able to continue to make mods and play with mods, but never to the extend or the freedom of creativity that we have today. Yes, there will be money that can sustain certain modders, and the optimistic opinion of making money allow modders to produce better mods. Could be, but I think not, with the very forseeable future of restricted modding and EULA agreements, there leaves little room for adventure and passion.

There's no absolute right or wrong with the stance each of us take in this and it really doesn't matter, the bottom line is, we all love making mods and playing with mods. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with trying to make a career out of what you love, and quite frankly, that's what we all would like. My goal here isn't to take sides, but to simply point out what I think will likely to happen in the future. I admire those who are optimistic and want to make a career out of this, whether as a full-time modder or as a stepping stone to a full-time game developer job. But the sad truth is, I don't think modding will ever be as enjoyable as it does now if we just keep watching and eventually allow ourselves to pack up and leave. And for those who are prospecting, keep to your endeavors and thank you for what you have contributed before, but don't take our hobby out of our hands, your hands.

How can we keep modding alive? We should return to the roots of modding, and once again come together as a community, one that shares files, knowledge, skills, and methods openly and selflessly with the sole intention of improving modding as a hobby without violating anyone's intellectual properties. We don't have to compete against each other, we don't have to downvote anyone. And no, this does not equate to stopping someone from having a career, but an effort to remain true to our passion, and to remind ourselves that many, if not all, of the skills and knowledge each of us possess came from the community. And we should give back to the community via acts of passion instead of buying something off. We should be braver than before and keep producing quality mods and sharing ideas for free and openly, even post them on Steam and announce that they will remain free. Yes, there will be conflicts of interest, but if there are many quality mods remaining free, less there is the prospect of stealing ideas and assets. The robust community will speak for itself and will continue to inspire us and the new gamers who follow, and allow us to showcase our passion and advance our skills, which I think in itself is already one of the best portfolio opportunities to pave way for future careers.

Hey, don't forget, we are a tenacious bunch. Now is exactly the time to show everyone that we are the game changers!

-- Originally written in Vilja's WIP forum, 4/26/2015

This is certainly a big talk coming from someone who doesn't release mods, but I hope you will find something I have said agreeable. My only goal is to spark new trends of critical thinking, and let the ideas circulate the community before the situation gets worse. I am pasting this into several places: here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Edited April 27, 2015 by dovahklon

[oldladyonthemoon]

Bethesda's explaination on their blog: http://www.bethblog.com/2015/04/27/why-were-trying-paid-skyrim-mods-on-steam/

[Hanaisse]

And ... here you go. Pat yourselves on the back.

 

http://steamcommunity.com/games/SteamWorkshop/announcements/detail/208632365253244218

[mellowtraumatic]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. This has been a roller coaster.

[Vouivre]

The rollercoaster continues, what this comes down to is, we still must remain vigilent. But the damage has been done and we now know who wants the money and who's doing this out of love for the community and wish to share great things. Didn't last a week, but good to know that the voice was made very clear.

[DarkRider]

Looks like this thread can be closed. Thanks to everyone for maintaining a civilized discussion on this here on TESA.