Modding something that already exists is way easier than making a game, and when it comes to huge mod teams most people contribute in small ways in their free time. People also come and go to the modding scene whenever they feel like it as opposed to actually requiring to work in a timely manner.
Yeah, well, that’s why game engines are a thing. I didn’t pick The Witcher at random, that was built on top of Neverwinter Nights tech.
Maybe I’m too stuck in the 90s, but I never quite got the point of doing all those total conversions for Quake games when you could just as well use the exact same tools by licensing the engine and just ship the thing as a game.
Well, no, I’m lying. The point of those total conversions was very often that people wanted to use a bunch of licensed characters they didn’t own, which I guess is the point here as well, so maybe I’ve answered my own question.
Pre-existing models/art is something that is a huge work effort. Not to be undervalued. If one can get those for free, it can be the reason some game exists.
Take Auto Chess for example. I can imagine programming that DOTA 2 mod was an effort one or few programmers did as a hobby at first. If they would have had to either pay or network with artists to create the art and other people to do marketing, it would have been a lot more than a hobby.
Modding something that already exists is way easier than making a game, and when it comes to huge mod teams most people contribute in small ways in their free time. People also come and go to the modding scene whenever they feel like it as opposed to actually requiring to work in a timely manner.
Yeah, well, that’s why game engines are a thing. I didn’t pick The Witcher at random, that was built on top of Neverwinter Nights tech.
Maybe I’m too stuck in the 90s, but I never quite got the point of doing all those total conversions for Quake games when you could just as well use the exact same tools by licensing the engine and just ship the thing as a game.
Well, no, I’m lying. The point of those total conversions was very often that people wanted to use a bunch of licensed characters they didn’t own, which I guess is the point here as well, so maybe I’ve answered my own question.
As far as I know you also can’t just buy the Larian engine. It’s proprietary.
Pre-existing models/art is something that is a huge work effort. Not to be undervalued. If one can get those for free, it can be the reason some game exists.
Take Auto Chess for example. I can imagine programming that DOTA 2 mod was an effort one or few programmers did as a hobby at first. If they would have had to either pay or network with artists to create the art and other people to do marketing, it would have been a lot more than a hobby.