History of Video Game Modding
11Today I wanted to explore the history of video game modding and tell you how it all started, very fitting since this channel is mostly known for the mods load orders I showcase for Fallout 4 and Skyrim on Xbox!
Video game modding is the process of alteration by players or fans of one or more aspects of a video game, such as how it looks or behaves. Mods may range from small changes and tweaks to complete overhauls, and can extend the replay value and interest of a game. Video game modding starts as early as in the 80s, specifically, one of the first games that actively supported mods was Lode Runner, a 2D puzzle-platform game from 1983. In 1992, id Software released Wolfenstein 3D, the father of all first person shooters. The game was not intended to support user generated content, however, people were still able to reverse engineer the game and manipulate the game's files to include new levels and different graphics. Seeing this, in exchange for the technical foundation to mod the original DOOM in 1993, or “mod tools” as we call them today, id Software insisted that mods should only work with the retail version of the game, and not its demo, this was respected by the modders, who created so much content, that in the end it boosted the sales of DOOM.
In 1996, id Software released Quake, another classic title in the first person shooter genre. Just like for DOOM, Quake had a very active and large modding community, and mods such as “Capture the Flag” became standard features in the shooter genre. On top of this, a mod named “Team Fortress” also became very popular, so much that as we know today, it was ported into the Half Life engine by Valve, to be released as its own game named “Team Fortress Classic”, and then of course it also had a sequel in 2007 that is still quite popular in 2021. But wait, there's more! With a modified version of the Quake Engine, Valve created the first Half-Life game in 1998. Then, the mods people made for Half-Life not only extended the sales of the game, but among them there was also Counter Strike, which Valve then published as a full fledged game with Counter Strike Source, and then remade into Counter Strike Global Offensive, a game that has a very active population still today, and also inspires new games as well! [VALORANT] Video game modding was crucial to evolve the entire shooter genre, and also to make already existing games, even old ones, more popular than what they would have been without mods! Another example is the DayZ mod for Arma 2, released in 2012, 3 years after the game's launch, DayZ increased the sales of Arma 2 by 300,000 units!
It goes without saying that, of course, modding also applies to many other genres of games, in 2003 was released a game called “Second Life”, this title allowed the player to have a second life into a virtual world, and in 2006 it generated a lot of interest thanks to modding, specifically because the intellectual property rights for a mod of Second Life remained with the creator-player. Some of the most popular games to be modded and enjoyed with mods today are:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, released in 2011
Minecraft: also released 2011
Garry's mod, a modded version of Valve's source engine, which was initially released in 2004, but then re-released as a stand-alone title in 2006
Grand Theft Auto V: released in 2013, still receives mods despite their parent company actively takes them down
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, released in 2015
Half-Life: released in 1998 still receives mods
but not as impressive as DOOM receiving mods today since 1993
and also Fallout: New Vegas from 2009, and Fallout 4 from 2015
As you noticed from this list, none of these titles are very recent, with the most new games being 6 years old, the communities of the most modded video games are a proof that the enjoyment and market appeal of a game can be expanded well beyond the initial goals of the developers. My personal experience with playing modded games goes back to the first Dawn of War and its stand-alone expansions, I always had a ton of fun with those, as I could play with bigger armies, new units, vehicles and weapons from the Warhammer 40k universe with each and every new mod I installed into the game... great times!
Mods are really a big part of the gaming industry and I really like to showcase what I can through Fallout 4 and Skyrim!
#VideoGame #Mods #History
Intro 00:00
Origins of Video Game Mods 00:23
Evolution of Mods 01:49
Best games to play with Mods 03:07
Bye bye 05:12
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