Advice on starting a Mod - from a Pro

[Crispy]

So you have an idea for a Mod and you're wondering what you need to do to get this thing made and played. Here's some advice from a professional, not me but www.CharlieCleveland.com, the creator of the most played Mod for Half-Life (at the time of writing).

He's recently released the original story for Natural Selection on his personal blog site. It was a short piece of text designed to show the intended gaming experiences for his award-winning Mod when he was just starting out.

As you read it (and if you've played NS), you'll notice two very important things about this story:

• It's not perfect. There are spelling errors and aesthetically it's no literary masterpiece.
• It does what it aims to do. And more. This story, which took just a few hours to write, gives both the Mod's team and its followers a great insight into what to expect. It shows the Mods direction, giving examples of the weapons, the mapping style, the alien and marine classes, the user interface, the role of the commander, and more.

The third thing, something that I suspect personally through my own experiences of developing a Mod idea, is that when you give yourself the task of writing up a story like this you will inevitably be prompted to ask yourself numerous questions about what it will be like to play this Mod. By answering these questions and adding them into the story, you'll be slowly demisting the hazy view of this Mod idea you have. And, little by little, you'll be finding out what will work within your idea, and what will not. What should be included, and what should not.

The reason I'm writing this thread is because I see far too many Mod ideas that fall flat on their backs through a lack of planning.

Planning your Mod and devoting sufficient time to the Pre-Production phase will determine the direction of your Mod. Sometimes you may realise that your idea isn't so great afterall, but having to plan out the Mod will have given you valuable experience for your next venture into Mod-making.

So before you sign up for that domain name, think a little about these essential questions and, once you've done that, write yourself out a brief outline of a day in the life of: myMod, like Flayra did.

• What?
  What does your Mod hope to achieve? When a player downloads your creation, what will they be asked to put into the game and with what will they be rewarded? (e.g.: Is teamplay more important than personal skill? Will players feel like they played a valuable role in the game? or simply that they performed the best out of all the players present who were all using exactly the same toolset? or is it a single player experience, rewarding the player with an immersive story and role-playing?)
• Which?
  Which period will your Mod be set in? (the future, the past, the present or even an alternate reality) and its setting? (modern day Earth, a foreign world, a terran or Earth-like setting) Maybe the game is simple enough not to require a detailed setting, such as a puzzle game.
  Which genre(s) of gameplay will it provide? (Real-Time Strategy, First-Person Shooter, Single-player, Multiplayer, Deathmatch, Co-operative, Role-Playing Game, Adventure, Puzzle)
• Why?
  Why should any player choose to play your Mod over another -free- game. Why should they invest their time playing your Mod, what sets it apart from the others?
• How?
  How are you going to make this Mod? Using which programs, which engine?
• Who?
  Who will you need to help you out? Do you need semi-professional writers for a single-player Mod with an all-important story? Do you need experienced mappers for well-balanced levels in a teamplay Mod? Do you need modellers experienced in low-definition models because of a fixed camara distance or do you need high-detail modellers for a Mod that gets up close and personal?
• When?
  When do you (realistically) think this Mod will be finished? Do you want to work on a long project or a shorter modification? Do you have the experience to put in the time for a longer Mod, or is it best to put this idea on the backburner until you have more of an idea about how to make a game?

Think about this and come up with the introductory gameplay passage, as found in the link above. If you do decide to go ahead with your idea, good luck, and even if it never gets completed remember to take away the lessons you learnt from the experience and apply them to each and every new experience. If you can critique your own work then nothing you do will ever be a waste of time.

 

[Praz]

A pro eh?
What mods or games have you completed?

 

[Crispy]

Like I said, the real Pro giving advice is Charlie 'Flayra' Cleveland. I'm merely acting as a middle-man here and adding my own yet-to-be-established-as-professional views.

The jist of this thread is not to debate whether or not I am pro or not, but to give advice on starting a Mod. If you found the information helpful, or if you have anything relevant to the thread and not its author, then post away.

 

[OCybrManO]

A pro eh?
What mods or games have you completed?

Here's some advice from a professional, not me but www.CharlieCleveland.com, the creator of the most played Mod for Half-Life (at the time of writing).

......

EDIT: Damn, you beat me to it...

 

[DjBourgeoisie]

A pro eh?
What mods or games have you completed?

Read more carefully, he is posting this on behalf of someone else who wrote it :dozey:

 

[G-Dub]

So you have an idea for a Mod and you're wondering what you need to do to get this thing made and played. Here's some advice from a professional, not me but www.CharlieCleveland.com, the creator of the most played Mod for Half-Life (at the time of writing).

He's recently released the original story for Natural Selection on his personal blog site. It was a short piece of text designed to show the intended gaming experiences for his award-winning Mod when he was just starting out.

As you read it (and if you've played NS), you'll notice two very important things about this story:

• It's not perfect. There are spelling errors and aesthetically it's no literary masterpiece.
• It does what it aims to do. And more. This story, which took just a few hours to write, gives both the Mod's team and its followers a great insight into what to expect. It shows the Mods direction, giving examples of the weapons, the mapping style, the alien and marine classes, the user interface, the role of the commander, and more.

The third thing, something that I suspect personally through my own experiences of developing a Mod idea, is that when you give yourself the task of writing up a story like this you will inevitably be prompted to ask yourself numerous questions about what it will be like to play this Mod. By answering these questions and adding them into the story, you'll be slowly demisting the hazy view of this Mod idea you have. And, little by little, you'll be finding out what will work within your idea, and what will not. What should be included, and what should not.

The reason I'm writing this thread is because I see far too many Mod ideas that fall flat on their backs through a lack of planning.

Planning your Mod and devoting sufficient time to the Pre-Production phase will determine the direction of your Mod. Sometimes you may realise that your idea isn't so great afterall, but having to plan out the Mod will have given you valuable experience for your next venture into Mod-making.

So before you sign up for that domain name, think a little about these essential questions and, once you've done that, write yourself out a brief outline of a day in the life of: myMod, like Flayra did.

• What?
  What does your Mod hope to achieve? When a player downloads your creation, what will they be asked to put into the game and with what will they be rewarded? (e.g.: Is teamplay more important than personal skill? Will players feel like they played a valuable role in the game? or simply that they performed the best out of all the players present who were all using exactly the same toolset? or is it a single player experience, rewarding the player with an immersive story and role-playing?)
• Which?
  Which period will your Mod be set in? (the future, the past, the present or even an alternate reality) and its setting? (modern day Earth, a foreign world, a terran or Earth-like setting) Maybe the game is simple enough not to require a detailed setting, such as a puzzle game.
  Which genre(s) of gameplay will it provide? (Real-Time Strategy, First-Person Shooter, Single-player, Multiplayer, Deathmatch, Co-operative, Role-Playing Game, Adventure, Puzzle)
• Why?
  Why should any player choose to play your Mod over another -free- game. Why should they invest their time playing your Mod, what sets it apart from the others?
• How?
  How are you going to make this Mod? Using which programs, which engine?
• Who?
  Who will you need to help you out? Do you need semi-professional writers for a single-player Mod with an all-important story? Do you need experienced mappers for well-balanced levels in a teamplay Mod? Do you need modellers experienced in low-definition models because of a fixed camara distance or do you need high-detail modellers for a Mod that gets up close and personal?
• When?
  When do you (realistically) think this Mod will be finished? Do you want to work on a long project or a shorter modification? Do you have the experience to put in the time for a longer Mod, or is it best to put this idea on the backburner until you have more of an idea about how to make a game?

Think about this and come up with the introductory gameplay passage, as found in the link above. If you do decide to go ahead with your idea, good luck, and even if it never gets completed remember to take away the lessons you learnt from the experience and apply them to each and every new experience. If you can critique your own work then nothing you do will ever be a waste of time.

A pro eh?
What mods or games have you completed?

Try reading it next time.

 

[DjBourgeoisie]

As for the article itself, I dont think it is all that well written/informative, more like a dummies guide to modding than a serious document to take notes on unless you are completely clueless as to how to create a mod. Everything said is very basic knowledge, and alot of issues are not covered. No doubt ns is a great mod (I play it myself) but the article could use alot of improvements.

 

[Crispy]

You're right, it is written for the leyman, because too many leymen try to make Mods. The topic title is intended to instantly attract the attention of the newbie Mod-maker and give him/her some advice on planning out the Mod before deciding to embark on the development proper.

A lot of ideas men have no idea about actually making a Mod. In the same way I'd like to advise newcomers to the Modding scene to put some serious thought into what they're about to undertake, and whether they will need someone more experienced to head up the development team (in most cases - yes).

To be honest everything I have learnt and continue to learn from developing my current Mod is fairly straightforward. You just have to analyse and scrutinise every last detail. In my opinion, while the technical knowledge for making a game may be fairly tricky to comprehend, the actual designing of a game isn't so difficult at all if you ask yourself enough of the right questions.

 

[Praz]

Wow, my bad bro.
Sorry.

Anyways, thank you for posting the article.
Much appreciated.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Flayra's a bit of a legend, he knows his stuff.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Shinobi]

I'm pretty sure there was no point in time where natural selection was the most popular mod for half life

 

[Ennui]

I'm pretty sure there was no point in time where natural selection was the most popular mod for half life

most popular mod that is not currently owned by valve, yes.

 

[Shinobi]

oh fair enough,,


/me sheds a tear for firearms halflife

 

[Crispy]

I don't, they screwed that game up seriously when they added the stamina bar imo. I'll shed a tear for the earlier versions, though

 

[Shinobi]

2.5 was firearms apex, the stamina bar wasnt so bad,, in the newer versions it's like DOD (doesnt run out unless youi sprint)

 

[Flewk]

A pro eh?
What mods or games have you completed?

You certainly through yourslef in the ditch there buddy LOL