I'm sure many know the wonderful being that is Steam. For those that don't, gaming company Valve created a program called Steam that would keep track of all the games you own while at the same time allows you to purchase digital copies of new ones. What this does is allow a simple platform from which to launch all games tied to your account as well as create a community where friends can see what other friends are doing etc.
However, Steam released a project called Steam Workshop that allowed users to create their own content for games, aka mods. Mods are what PC gaming is most well known for. It allows users to change games to become exactly what they want. In addition, it also allows for games to be played for much longer by giving them added replayability and therefore can extend the life of a game. The biggest example of the modding community is the Elder Scrolls titles. The latest one, Skyrim, has been a modder's paradise for many years. There are photorealistic mods, mods that add more quest lines and enemies to the game, mods that give you new items, armor, and weapons, and even some more interesting mods like adding characters from different games as NPCs. And the best part was that these mods were all FREE.
Steam Workshop worked extremely well and there was no ill-will from developers or the community. This all changed several days ago when Valve announced modders could now charge for their mods. This created an uproar in the community for several reasons. One reason being that they were afraid that people looking to make a quick buck would swoop in and make mods of questionable quality. Another reason that this was an issue was the way the payment was cut. Only 25% of the money was going to the mod creator. With Valve taking 30% and the developer taking 45%, the person actually creating and putting time into the mod was actually getting the smallest cut. In addition, to even receive the 25%, a mod would need to accumulate a total of $400 in sales before the person releasing the mod would even see any of the money.
Valve has since turned around and stated that they would no longer use the mod sales feature. However, many people have already turned against Steam. Other rival clients have been using this as free advertisement and people have been looking mainly into gog.com's Galaxy project which would work in a similar manner. This can be seen by looking that Skyrim's positivity rating has dropped 10% in 2 days since the announcement. Though it is nice that Valve has realized their mistakes, it is uncertain how long before they make their next questionable move and how much damage have they already done to themselves?
I also recall that in certain situations, the person creating the modded content would end up receiving more money than the people who actually developed the game - ie, the mod profits would go to the developer cumulative, but not the developers, the individuals. Which is kinda messed up.
ReplyDeleteLots of mods are also less for additional features and more as bugfixes, so again you have the parent company receiving payment for work that it didn't actually do.
++++I'm also not sure on the logistics of like. Including other mods within a mod? Ie a lot of mods require other mods to function properly, if a paid mod required a free mod would the free mod dev get money??? Or if a free mod required a paid mod, then the user would have to purchase that paid mod
Paid mods can work, off the top of my head I know that some sites sell paid Sims mods, but I'm not sure it was the best decision for Steam at this time.
In addition to Jack's concerns, what about validating the mod developers? Not all mods are submitted through the Steam Workshop.
ReplyDeleteI also question this sales tactic as a reliable means to make money. I refuse to buy apps on my phone, despite their usual $1.00 fee, and I hardly know anyone who does buy apps or even music now. If mods charge $1.00, this may create a lack of interest in the modding community (something that makes PC gaming so fun!).
My last point is about the quality of the mods. Many mods are very well done, however, there are more that are not. Just because a mod is not perfect, this does not stop people from downloading and enjoying them. If mods were to start charging for access, it would create a top tier mod list for what is worth its money and constrict downloads of other "non-mainstream" mods.