Get Involved With Modding

          Resembling much similarity to fine art, modding is a gateway for pure creativity and self-expression. It is often misconceived that in order to alter features within games such as character sets, music, or level design, one must be a technical expert. The real beauty is that modding is practiced by individuals of all technical skill levels. As stated in Postigo’s article, “For those that don’t have coding or design skills learning to mod from veterans of the modding community is a way of entering a deeper world in gaming, a world where they get to decide how a game looks, what its narratives will be and how it will represent the world. Modding is empowering.” Modding is actually a widely accepted activity in the gaming community. There are several different means in which it can be done. Among the most popular are the uses of software development kits (SDKs) such as the Unreal Development Kit (UDK). These are typically a set of development tools that allow for the creation of applications for certain software platforms. Some involve more technical knowledge than others. For instance, developing a game with the UDK will involve much coding. However, most of the basic development of a game with RPG Maker XP will not. If one wants to add advanced functionality to the game, Ruby scripting will be necessary. Another common appearance for modding occurs in map-editors built into the game. These allow users to use the tool to express their creativity within certain limits. These certain limits may include a finite number of objects that could fit in a map, a selection of already predetermined tiles for creating rooms, or limited options of given background music to play in the level. Map-editors offer great replay value for the game. If one gets bored with the main campaign of the game, a seemingly endless number of new maps can be made. So no matter how familiar one is with modding, there is a way he or she to get involved.
          Personally, I have been working with RPG Maker XP for about 4 years now. My brother and I were in the process of creating a game called “Ring of Ruination”. The storyline follows one of the books in his 7-part series. He wrote the story and the dialog and aided in map design. I did everything else. It has been hard for us to synchronize our efforts effectively since last year. Thus, development has been on hiatus due to other responsibilities, but we hope to continue someday.


Links to SDKs:

Unreal Development Kit (UDK) – http://www.udk.com/

RPG Maker XP - http://www.rpgrevolution.com/engine/rpg-maker-xp.html