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A question about game development / modding etc. (hexbear.net)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2843304

So, I'm pretty much a layman when it comes to modding, game development, coding, etc. With that said, am I correct in thinking that creating a small to midsized mod for a game like Stellaris is a much smaller/easier undertaking than even a simple indie game?

If I want to get started in that direction, creating a small (functional) Stellaris mod might be a good idea?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

I have some experience with modding and game making - not paid company work type of stuff, but studied it in college, have made (small) games on my own or with others and have done extensive modding in one game that got a fair bit of attention.

I agree with cf saying it depends somewhat on the game. But also, overall modding is likely going to be easier for a number of reasons:

Scope. Modding forces you to work within heavy constraints due to being unable to directly edit the game engine, source code, etc. For creative control, this is a drawback, but when you're just trying to get something, anything made, it's a help. It means what could be an overwhelming pool of possibility and a vision gone out of control becomes more akin to, "Okay, let's see if I can change the color of this house." In other words, it forces you to approach tasks as a smaller set of steps and in so doing, makes it easier to make some kind of progress at all, rather than none.
Framework. Modding a game means there's already an existing framework there, a game that functions relatively well, presumably has a decent gameplay loop, etc. So you don't have to worry about, "Am I making something that will be utterly boring/unappealing/etc." because there's still the underlying game beneath it. So it's a lot harder to spend time on something that isn't enjoyable at all. And it means you have existing game design to mimic. In the game I heavily modded, some of the stuff I did was effectively repurposing features that were already there to use them slightly differently. I was still being creative and doing my own ideas, but much of the actual work of it was already done.

Does this mean modding will always be easier than making your own game? Not necessarily. For example, you could make a simple console-based (like command prompt, not game console) grid game with C++ that uses ASCII characters to simulate where stuff is and a player moving from a starting point to a goal. Something I've done before. But, will this fulfill your desire to enact a creative vision? Probably not. The more you have to learn to get started, the harder it's going to be to get to the creative part and that seems to be the part people usually crave as an entry point.

Hope that makes sense!