DrSmiles Blog RSS feed - Mod DB

Is any publicity good publicity? Not in mods.

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:33:37 -0500

There's a thread in the modDB forums right now. It's a general survey of what people like, dislike, and wish from of mods. Interestingly enough, all the members who filled out the survey and posted in the thread seem to have rather similar tastes. There's little difference in the opinions, and as of this posting, no out-right disagreements so far. Maybe this means the modDB forum leans more towards this standpoint than the average modDB user. Either way, some important information came to light. The most important piece of information was when updating, quality over quantity. Only update when an update is needed. Do not update for the sake of a bump in your mods activity. Specific examples given of a bad update is updating showing some weapon concept art. This ties back into my previous blog post. People don't really care about a new unskinned MP5 or M9, because they've seen a million. This doesn't really show progress in a mod, and in fact it hints to the community that the dev-team lacks creavitity, even if this isn't the case. This creed of quality over quantity seems important for the entir development process. No-one cares if you get your mod out fast, they want a good mod. All sucessful mods, be they total conversion or minor edits, are done incredibly well. A good developing team takes their time. If a team does this, they'll get loyal fans. If a team overupdates, they'll only get the attention of passer-bys. They'll turn of people who would stay for a long time. There are a few other things to note. Players don't want a lot of patches; they want 1 or 2 patches that will bring them up to speed. All in all, quality over quantity and you can't go wrong.

Re-inventing the Wheel

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:43:21 -0500

MidiPrefix has as great blog post. It's a little dated, but it's a must read for any mod-team. It really got me to thinking about how mods keep on re-inventing the wheel. Constantly new mods startup, create a few great models of an MP5, maybe a tank or two, and then disappear. Why? Because the fans aren't excited. And the reason they're not excited is because there are tonnes of mods that have the same concept art, and the same few select models. Even if a modder has a great idea, he might get discouraged from the lack of attention he's paid for his hard work. So how does a modder get around this? Well there are a few ways.

1. Creativity.

What I mean by this, is that the modder has a whole new idea that's outside the realm of a new weapon model and a new tank. Before I get any flaming comments, let me be clear: You are not automatically uncreative simply because you're (at this stage) reinventing the wheel. For a lot of mods it is necessary to do this to accomplish their goal. This leads us to the second way...

2.Perserverence

If the way your mod is setup is that you have to (re)create some weapon models, make sure you're willing to go through with it. You're not going to get a lot of attention at this stage of development. So this means you have to be willing to go without the fuel of fans, or that you're part of a great synergetic team.

3. Being part of a good team.

If you're part of a good team, lots of problems just magically disappear. You get the synergy of simply being near other productive people. You get the encouragement of other team-members. And the whole process at large is made a lot more enjoyable, and productive. A "good" team varies widely by definition, and by the scope of your project. It might be 2 or 3 of your best friends, or it might be 10 or 20 new-friends. Being part of a good team might also mean you get to share the "boring" parts with other members. All in all, it's a catastrophe that this happens to so many mods. There are lots of pitfalls in the development process, and this is just one of them.

New Kid on the Block

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:22:22 -0500

Well after years of knowing about this site, and weeks of heavily using it to survey mod teams, I've taken the jump. I registered. I've established the "when," and the "why" is equally simple. I want to group up with enthusiastic mod teams to help create something new, or mess with something old. So I want to be part of a team, but what do I offer? Well, a few things.

I'm a skilled writer, so this opens up a plethora of ways I can help out any mod.
- Writing press releases
- Creating FAQs.
- Maintaining a friendly presence on forums.
- Helping craft a story-line, up from collaborating on a storyboard, to dialogue.
- Mission writer.
I'm also starting to venture into the complicated world of voice-acting. I'm by no-means an accomplished professional, but I'm comfortable with Adobe Soundroom, which is the "Photoshop of Sound," and is heavily geared towards voice-acting. So maybe if I'm not the star voice-actor you're looking for, I can help the voice-actor you already have.
I'm also planning on getting active in the ModDB community, and hopefully the modding community at large. By doing so, I hope to have a network so I can quickly push a mod so that the average gamer will discover it.
- On a side note, I'd more than gladly cover any recruiting process.

But, (and there's always a but) I need your help. I need an exciting mod, and a motivated team that I can join in. I want a team that focuses on collaboration and synergy in order to get things done. However your mod is, contact me if you're interested, I'm very approachable. So, I know I can help your mod out, if you let me. So hit me up, send me a pm, add me on a messenger, and let's talk about how I can help your mod. Smiles.