How Modding Made Bethesda Better: GDC 2015 Level Design in a Day
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Modding has had a direct influence on many developers, game studios, genres, and helped shape the course of the video game industry itself. Bethesda Game Studios is no exception to the influence of modding, having provided official mod tools for all of their projects since 2002's Morrowind to their most recent game, Skyrim. This talk will touch on the historical and modern relevance of modding, as well demonstrating the many positive ways in which modding has affected the studio. Attendees will leave with a new perspective on how modding has influenced everything from community building, tools design, team workflow, DLC, and the recent surge of interest in user-generated content.
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How Modding Made Bethesda Better: GDC 2015 Level Design in a Day
- 1. How Modding Made Bethesda Better Joel Burgess, Senior Designer
- 2. A Note About This Presentation These slides have no speaker notes. I will be posting a free, written transcript online at a later date. Please feel free to contact me for details on how to access that. (contact info on last slide) In the meantime, please enjoy!
- 8. Epiphany: Cross-Discipline Tools โ I cannot program, therefore: I cannot make games.
- 9. Epiphany: Cross-Discipline Tools โ Programmers can create tools that empower other creators
- 11. Overview โ This talk is about: โ The history and significance of modding โ Modern relevance of modding โ How Bethesda is intertwined w/modding โ The hidden benefits modding has provided
- 12. Modding? โ Mod = User Modification โ Total Conversion, HD Assets, Unofficial Patch, Tweaks, New Levels, etcโฆ โ In General: Any user content
- 13. Historical Context โ Mod Scene of 90โs PC era
- 14. Historical Context โ Mod Scene of 90โs PC era โ Attractive to aspiring creators โ Junction of Cutting Edge and Accessibility
- 15. Silicon Graphics Octane 2 โข OpenGL chip โข Dual 550mHz processors โข 8GB SDRAM โข 1920 x 1200 max resolution MSRP $75,000 (1997) 3Ds Max R2 $3,495 (1997)
- 16. Unreal โข Fully 3D Environments โข Free Level Editing Tools/Documentation โข Compatible w/Consumer-grade hardware โข ~$1,000 - $5,000 Retail $50 (1998)
- 17. Historical Context โ Mod Scene of 90โs PC era โ Attractive to aspiring creators โ Junction of Cutting Edge and Accessibility โ Brought together vocal/active communities
- 18. Historical Context โ Similar to the Indie scene of today โ Unity:2010 as Hammer/Unreal Ed:1998 โ Attracts vocal, driven creators
- 19. What Mods Can Do Past, Present, Future
- 20. Mods Blaze Trails โ Mods attempt what โBigโ games may not โ Experimental, Unusual, Risky
- 21. Mods Become โRealโ Games โ Blurred lines between mod and new game โ Can become standalone games
- 22. Mods Launch Careers โ Mods & Individual Creators
- 23. Mods Found Studios โ Mod Teams can become โProโ teams
- 24. Mods Create Whole Genres
- 25. Mods & Modern Dev Are Mods Relevant Today?
- 27. โUser-Generated Contentโ โ The hot Buzzword of GDC 2015?
- 29. Recent Games Supporting UGC โ Far Cry 4 โ Disney Infinity โ Minecraft โ LittleBigPlanet โ Project Spark โ Mario Maker โ Haloโs Forge
- 31. User Generated Content โ Buzzword implies new concept โ But creation as play goes way back
- 33. 2008 2011 2014 2009 2012
- 35. Timesplitters 2 (2002) Tenchu 2: Stealth Assassins (2000)
- 36. High Heat Baseball 2000 (1999)
- 43. Bethesda & Modding An abbreviated history
- 44. Bethesda Games Modding History Morrowind 2002 Oblivion 2005 Fallout 3 2008 Skyrim 2011 Steam Workshop 2012
- 45. Benefits of Mod Support (The Obvious Stuff)
- 46. Mod Support Benefits โ Obvious Benefits: โ Develop Community (social)
- 52. Mods as Expression โ Enthusiasm can extend beyond the game โ Fans want to express this enthusiasm โ Streaming โ Online discussion & Forums โ Fan-Created Music/Video โ Cosplay, Fan-fiction, etc โ Making & Playing Mods!
- 53. Mod Support Benefits โ Obvious Benefits: โ Develop online community (social) โ Extends lifespan of games (sales)
- 55. Mods Can Sell Games Typical PC/Console Sales Pattern PC Console Launch Sale Price Drop Bundle
- 56. Long-Term Sales Taper Off Over Time PC Console Launch
- 58. Mods Can Sell Games โข Long-term replay value
- 59. Mods Can Sell Games โข Long-term replay value โข Notable mods keep game in public eye
- 60. Mods Can Sell Games โข Long-term replay value โข Notable mods keep game in public eye โข Game becomes platform for mod(s)
- 61. Benefits of Mod Support (The Less Obvious Stuff)
- 62. Less Obvious Benefits: โ Modular Data Format for ease of integration
- 63. Collaborative Data Format Plugin ESM Plugin ESM PluginESMPlugin Base Game Master File (ESM)
- 64. Mod integration w/Base Game Base Game ESM Mod 3 Mod 2 Mod 1
- 65. Less Obvious Benefits: โ Data format cleanly adapted to DLC delivery DLC! DLWTF?
- 66. Mod/DLC integration w/Base Game Base Game Mod 1 DLC 1 Mod 2 Mod 3
- 67. Figuring Out DLC โ Modular Pipeline as Head Start, butโฆ โ What do we make? โ What deployment issues exist? โ What should we charge?
- 69. Yup. Horse Armor. โ Proved DLC deployment pipeline โ Led way for more complex DLC โ Gave internet something to make fun of
- 71. DLC: The โNewโ Mods? โ Love it or Hate itโฆ DLC is here to stay
- 73. Post-Release Choices โ 1985: Sequels โ 1998: Sequels, Mods, Expansions โ 2015: Sequels, Mods, DLC, UGC, IAP, Updates
- 74. Modders & Paid Mods โ Modders Get Paid โ Games Live Longer โ Direct Fan Support โ Everyone wins
- 75. Mod Support Benefits โ Less Obvious Benefits: โ Observe โalternate realitiesโ of your game โLike: What if Fallout 3 had greenery?
- 79. Alternate Realities โ Ideas we avoided, cut, scaled back etc โ Less polish required, no canon restrictions โ Able to reveal unexplored paths
- 80. Alternate Realities Oscuroโs Overhaul Influenced Fallout 3 level systems Deadly Reflex Inspired Skyrim archery feel Open Cities Attempted prohibitive layout concepts
- 81. Mod Support Benefits โ Less Obvious Benefits: โ Community Documentation & Practices
- 84. Mod Support Benefits โ Less Obvious Benefits: โ Publically-accessible training tool
- 85. Mod Support Benefits โ Less Obvious Benefits: โ Influence on internal tools design
- 86. Eat Your Own Dog Food โ Temptation for just-good-enough tools
- 88. Responsibilities: โข Editor Tools โข Data Loading Systems โข ESM Optimization โข Visibility Systems โข Actor Template Systems Responsibilities: โข Editor Tools โข Interface โข Facial data โข Material properties
- 89. Eat Your Own Dog Food โ Temptation for just-good-enough tools โ โWill modders use this?โ test โ How Intuitive is the workflow? โ What are typical mod use cases? โ How frequently is this feature used?
- 90. Mod Support Benefits โ Community/Social โ Sales Lifespan โ Versatile Data Format โ DLC Pipeline โ โAlternate Realitiesโ โ Documentation & Tools Design โ Hiring & Training
- 91. The โModder Mentalityโ โ Resourcefulness โ Prioritizing Intent โ Swiss Army Knife Developers โ Professional Finishers