This week for Video Game Tuesday I’m taking a look at something I wish Console gamers had more access to. It’s Modding!
What is Modding?: Editing the game software to add or change certain parts of a game. For instance tweaking the game to include higher resolution textures and models is a pretty standard mod for just about any game.
What Else can Mods do?: They can add fun game mods to a game to increase the games longevity. For years after the last Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne patch went out people were still playing because of the ability to create custom game modes. This lead to the popularization of the MOBA genre through the map DOTA Allstars. League of Legends, DOTA 2 and Heroes of the Storm wouldn’t exist without that original mod.
Is there anything else?: Well they can be used to for more explicit purposes like nudity mods in Skyrim, which while juvenile are still some of the most popular mod types in the community. They can also be used to include musical soundtracks and custom models. Which leads to fun things like the recent Star Wars mod in Grand Theft Auto V.
Why Do I want it on Consoles?: Because it’s a pity that console players can’t get access to fun mods to increase the game’s longevity. Granted certain mods like cheat modes would be problematic with online multiplayer, but it can still be fun. I once played a Halo: CE game on my Mac Pro where the creator of a map modified the guns to increase the physics modifier. It lead to fun times where a single pistol shot sent vehicles flying through the air to crash into the other team to score kills. You weren’t able to shoot the other team, but if you shot the vehicles in the middle of the map correctly you could score a kill by crushing them with a flying vehicle. That was endlessly fun and pretty clever, and it’s a pity that game mode hasn’t appeared in future Halo games. Did you shoot the easy to control smaller vehicles like the ghost and have a tough time hitting the enemy or did you try to control the larger and tougher to control vehicles like the Scorpion to get an easy kill.
That’s it for this week’s Video Game Tuesday? What are some of your favorite mods in games and would you like to see it on console versions?