Video game modding: Difference between revisions

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{{Video game industry}}'''Video game modding''' (short for "modifying") is the process of player and fan-authored alteration of a [[video game]]<ref name=Poor>{{cite journal |last1=Poor |first1=Nathaniel |title=Computer game modders' motivations and sense of community: A mixed-methods approach |journal=[[New Media & Society]] |date=24 September 2013 |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=1249–1267 |doi=10.1177/1461444813504266|s2cid=39280896}}</ref> and is a sub-discipline of general ''[[modding]]''. A set of modifications, called a '''''mod''''', changes an existing game or adds new content.<ref name=":15">{{cite book |last1=Thiel |first1=Sarah-Kristin |title=Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Communities & Technologies - Transforming Communities |last2=Lyle |first2=Peter |date=3 June 2019 |isbn=978-1-4503-7162-9 |pages=198–209 |chapter=Malleable Games - A Literature Review on Communities of Game Modders |doi=10.1145/3328320.3328393 |chapter-url=https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/177771828/C_T19_IdentifyingGameModdingCommunities_cr.pdf |s2cid=150367691}}</ref> '''''Modders''','' people who mod video games,<ref name="auto" /> can introduce a variety of changes to games, including altering graphics, fixing [[Software bug|bugs]], and adding unique gameplay elements, all extending the replay value and interest of the game.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":12" /> Modding uses third-party software, distinguishing it from in-game creations.<ref name="Poor" /> Modding a game can also be understood as the act of seeking and installing mods to the player's game.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Olson|first1=Cheryl K.|last2=Kutner|first2=Lawrence A.|last3=Warner|first3=Dorothy E.|last4=Almerigi|first4=Jason B.|last5=Baer|first5=Lee|last6=Nicholi|first6=Armand M.|last7=Beresin|first7=Eugene V.|title=Factors Correlated with Violent Video Game Use by Adolescent Boys and Girls|journal=[[Journal of Adolescent Health]]|date=July 2007|volume=41|issue=1|pages=77–83|doi=10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.01.001|pmid=17577537}}</ref> Modding uses third-party software, distinguishing it from changing existing game settings and in-game creations.<ref name="Poor" />

People can become fans of specific mods and can involve themselves in the process of mod development and discourse.<ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |last=Sotamaa |first=Olli |date=2010-07-01 |title=When the Game Is Not Enough: Motivations and Practices Among Computer Game Modding Culture |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412009359765 |journal=Games and Culture |language=EN |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=239–255 |doi=10.1177/1555412009359765 |issn=1555-4120|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In cases where modding is popular, players use the term ''[[Vanilla software|vanilla]]'' to describe the unmodified game (e.g. "Vanilla ''[[Minecraft]]''").<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gould |first=Elie |date=2025-01-09 |title=After 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/after-15-years-minecraft-has-finally-added-two-new-pig-variations-the-warm-pig-and-the-cold-pig-meaning-i-can-delete-one-mod-off-my-list/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref>

Mods that extensively transform gameplay are known as total conversions, [[List of video games derived from mods|with some developing into distinct games]]. These releases can be stand-alone titles that do not require the original game to play, or they may be dependent on the user owning the game they are modded onto.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2016 |title=An Australian Skyrim Mod Has Won A Screenwriting Award |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/10/an-australian-skyrim-mod-has-won-a-screenwriting-award/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114023556/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/10/an-australian-skyrim-mod-has-won-a-screenwriting-award/ |archive-date=November 14, 2021 |access-date=August 17, 2021 |website=Kotaku Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-27 |title=The making of: Garry's Mod |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/garrys-mod/the-making-of-garrys-mod |access-date=2025-07-29 |website=PCGamesN |language=en-US}}</ref> As early as the 1980s, video game mods have also been used for the sole purpose of creating art, as opposed to a playable game, leading to the rise of [[Video game art|artistic video game modification]], as well as [[machinima]] and the [[demoscene]].<ref name=":15" />

With tens of thousands of mods created for popular games,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dey |first1=Tapajit |last2=Massengill |first2=Jacob Logan |last3=Mockus |first3=Audris |title=Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Companion Extended Abstracts |chapter=Analysis of Popularity of Game Mods |date=16 October 2016 |pages=133–139 |doi=10.1145/2968120.2987724 |isbn=978-1-4503-4458-6 |s2cid=12003615}}</ref> the proliferation of video game modding has made it an increasingly important factor in the success of many games.<ref name="auto3">{{cite journal |last1=Postigo |first1=Hector |date=October 2007 |title=Of Mods and Modders |journal=[[Games and Culture]] |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=300–313 |doi=10.1177/1555412007307955 |s2cid=143727901}}</ref><ref name=":16" />