Time, Time Tickin', Tickin', Tickin' Away...
In the world of game modification, there's a sense of suspended time. There are always new projects being announced and updates on existing ones calling for attention. Flocks of gaming fans drift from one game to the next, seeking ever more stimulating experiences.
It all blends together into sensory bombardment that leaves us without a solid frame of reference for what's truly happening in each gaming universe. Numerous mod projects spring up in the wake of many games, in some cases giving the illusion of vitality to some games, but no amount of beckoning can keep the attention of the gaming public for long, if the original game cannot hold it.
However much we do or do not notice, time marches on.
Among the many factors that a would-be successful mod developer must juggle is determining what sort of audience will remain to experience their work when they finish, if they finish at all.
Most games release with a large splash of publicity, and good ones can gather a hefty player community. But over time, as new games get released and players become bored with existing content, that community eventually moves on to newer games. Good games with excellent replay value have the ability to retain their community for much longer, as replayability extends the duration for which the player base will stay in a community. What remains is a core of players with whom the game resonates strongly, but those players are often just a pale shadow of what the community once was.
The modding community works indirectly to shore up each fading player community. For the players who are aware of game modifications, the allure of new content can maintain their interest in a game long after they've become bored and jaded with the original game. As new mod content gets released, players can remain interested in the content, depending on the quality and replayability of the mods.
Sometimes, this works well. The modding community for The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, for instance, has largely kept pace with the minimal demands of it's laid-back player base, even as The Elder Scrolls IV releases. Starcraft's simplistic but easy to use map editor, combined with Battle.Net's content-on-demand delivery continues to fuel its player base, despite the extreme age of the game. In most cases, though, history has shown that most games are simply too difficult to produce independent content for at a pace that satisfies the underlying player base.
It's rare to see any mod developer recognize the fact that they're working against the clock. The art of game modification is a time-consuming activity, and there is a tendency to simply accept this fact and ignore the passage of time, as there are usually more immediate problems to address in the development cycle.
Nonetheless, the danger always exists of starting a project, following through, and finding that there is no one left who is interested in your work after you finish. This leads to a lot of unfortunate incidents of mod developers who wake up one day and realize that they've missed the boat. Most eventually abandon their projects and, if they have the will, start anew on a new project, but it's often a crippling blow to their confidence, and causes many to quit altogether after spending countless hours in development for no result. A rare few tough it out and release anyway as a labor of love, and those efforts deserve praise, especially if the final product is of good quality, but they remain in the very tiny minority.
I know it seems odd to argue in favor of practicality in an environment so heavily fueled by dreams and passion, but there is a time and place for ideas. At some point, we have to act on those ideas if we want to make them reality.
It all blends together into sensory bombardment that leaves us without a solid frame of reference for what's truly happening in each gaming universe. Numerous mod projects spring up in the wake of many games, in some cases giving the illusion of vitality to some games, but no amount of beckoning can keep the attention of the gaming public for long, if the original game cannot hold it.
However much we do or do not notice, time marches on.
Among the many factors that a would-be successful mod developer must juggle is determining what sort of audience will remain to experience their work when they finish, if they finish at all.
Most games release with a large splash of publicity, and good ones can gather a hefty player community. But over time, as new games get released and players become bored with existing content, that community eventually moves on to newer games. Good games with excellent replay value have the ability to retain their community for much longer, as replayability extends the duration for which the player base will stay in a community. What remains is a core of players with whom the game resonates strongly, but those players are often just a pale shadow of what the community once was.
The modding community works indirectly to shore up each fading player community. For the players who are aware of game modifications, the allure of new content can maintain their interest in a game long after they've become bored and jaded with the original game. As new mod content gets released, players can remain interested in the content, depending on the quality and replayability of the mods.
Sometimes, this works well. The modding community for The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, for instance, has largely kept pace with the minimal demands of it's laid-back player base, even as The Elder Scrolls IV releases. Starcraft's simplistic but easy to use map editor, combined with Battle.Net's content-on-demand delivery continues to fuel its player base, despite the extreme age of the game. In most cases, though, history has shown that most games are simply too difficult to produce independent content for at a pace that satisfies the underlying player base.
It's rare to see any mod developer recognize the fact that they're working against the clock. The art of game modification is a time-consuming activity, and there is a tendency to simply accept this fact and ignore the passage of time, as there are usually more immediate problems to address in the development cycle.
Nonetheless, the danger always exists of starting a project, following through, and finding that there is no one left who is interested in your work after you finish. This leads to a lot of unfortunate incidents of mod developers who wake up one day and realize that they've missed the boat. Most eventually abandon their projects and, if they have the will, start anew on a new project, but it's often a crippling blow to their confidence, and causes many to quit altogether after spending countless hours in development for no result. A rare few tough it out and release anyway as a labor of love, and those efforts deserve praise, especially if the final product is of good quality, but they remain in the very tiny minority.
I know it seems odd to argue in favor of practicality in an environment so heavily fueled by dreams and passion, but there is a time and place for ideas. At some point, we have to act on those ideas if we want to make them reality.
posted by Jim Tran at 9:35 PM
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