Ever heard of mods? Some games lets you create your own mod, which means you can change the source files in the game, increasing decreasing fire power, changing HP and so on.. But what’s really interesting is you can create your own new entities, which means new effects, new characters, new maps, new loading screen, whatever you want to change!
Why is this is so important? Let’s take a certain game and discuss: Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, also called SOASE: Rebellion. ( Considering how long the name is )
The game is like Command And Conquer Generals but more of the space version of it, you can conquer planets, stars, star systems, make allies, make enemies, hire pirates, makes researches, believe me, I play it and it’s addictive ! A game can take up to a day to finish with hard enemies and a huge star systems, it can come down to having to conquer over 200 planets, that’s crazy.
Now that I gave you an overview of the game, let’s talk about the mods you can do and how is this important. Let’s take a junior 3D designer who wants to make living out of making 3D models or working for a game company, of course he has no resources to work with yet and no company would even know him, now picture him with his own mod for SOASE, having all ships redesigned and textured by him, all the effects are also redesigned and have a great feedback on how “nice” his ships look. That would be something great to put on your CV when you first apply to the job.
Of course one single person will take forever to create a decent mod on his own, so he requires a team. Working with a team since early is something anyone must have for future jobs, leadership and co-working is a must in all Job applications, that’s another thing Mods can offer: Team Work!
For SOASE, the number 1 software for designing is XSI Softimage, which is used by many companies too, so guess what? That’s another thing to add on your CV!
Between hundreds of mods created, for example on www.moddb.com, a ranking is present, so imagine your mod being in top 50, or top 20, or top 10 ! That would give you a huge advantage.
When you go into an interview and the interviewer asks you: Have you worked on any project before? In your university for example? You can hold your head up high and just introduce him to your successful mod, believe me, that’s a huge deal for companies.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can open a donation for your mod, so you can actually make cash while creating your mod. And with downloads that can reach THOUSANDS, a great deal of cash can be made.
Talent, team work, cash, valuable experience are a great catch for any Designer/ Developer/ Game enthusiast. If you’re a designer or a 3D Modeler, it’s time to search for a game that catches your eyes and that allows you to create mods, and start modding ! Pick a team of your friends with same passion and let the brain storming and designing begin 😉
For a list of mod-supported games, Moddb.com offers a huge selection, check the mods out, check how other mods operate, and ASK ASK ASK, never let anything slip your hands without being understood, there are forums you can ask any question, people are friendly and willing to help you out.
