Just a few days ago we were presenting a blog post about video game mods, highlighting their importance within the industry and the possibilities they offer for both independent video game designers and established development companies. The truth is that every day, more video game developers and lovers of this art decide to dedicate their free time to creating modifications that vary and even improve the experience of other players. In many cases, a small initial change of our favorite video game can become quite a revolution, as has been the case with titles such as Dota 2 or Counter-Strike.
Therefore, in the following entry, we present the best video game mods. To carry out the selection of the best mods of all time, we have valued aspects such as originality, the volume of modification, the final quality of the product, or its relevance in the history of video games.
Types of mods
With this in front, it is possible to make a distinction between the eight main types of mods:
- Added: mods that simply add specific content to a game. A new weapon, an original map, a translation into a particular language. Thanks to this kind of mods, we could play Undertale in Spanish.
- Interface Mod: changing the layout of the information we receive on-screen can be much more than a help. Sometimes, even cheating.
- Review: it comes to be a complete face wash to a game. Without becoming so, it could be interpreted as a kind of fan-made remaster in which specific elements, such as Dark Souls: Daughters of Ash, have been added or improved.
- Total conversion: or when an original game becomes a different game. As a reference, among the most popular mods of Half-Life celebrities and its aftermath are Counter-Strike, Black Mesa, Garry’s Mod, or Chivalry: Medieval Warfare.
- Unofficial patch: sometimes patches take longer than expected, sometimes they never arrive and sometimes they are not desired. Thus, the player community itself is dedicated to fixing game failures and even unlocking content-discarded or not – that is hidden within the software.
- Continued support through mods: after some time, developers do not continue to expand the content and functions of a given game, and that is when the community takes the lead. With the right mod, it would be possible to play PES 2017 with the current season templates.
- Artistic Mod: while the presentation of a game is part of what defines it, it is possible to establish new aesthetics or make changes of tone through the mods. One of the first games to receive this type of mods was Castle Smurfenstein, in which the nazis of Castle Wolfenstein were replaced by Smurfs.
- Mods Pack: finally, it is possible to find software packages that integrate original mods together with those of other creators, benefit from the set of improvements instead of having to search and adjust each mod separately and without conflicts between them.
With that in front, it is interesting to establish that not all developers allow or approve the use of mods. In fact, some of them can have advantageous effects on competitive experiences, so if they are detected, they can ban the users so that the game environment is enjoyable for everyone.
Thus, even though developers are not usually involved with mods or their creation, they are the ones who have the last word allowing or providing facilities for their games to support them. And even allowing native incorporation.
In this respect, there are development companies that welcome the contributions of other users, giving rise to the creation of portals to share mods, creation programs, and promotion of the most interesting ones and even opening up to initiatives such as Steam Workshop.
