2012-02-23 00:50 , edited 2012-03-06 21:17 by chaplain118

Yes, But here is a short version for the less careing:



Mod support = Free army of game dev's

To whomever it may concern,As an avid PC gamer, I am shocked by DICE and EA's decision to not release mod tools or even mod support for Battlefield 3. I can understand your fear as publishers: modding will interfere with possible sales for new DLC and will adversely affect cash flow. I understand that the Frostbite 2 engine is the result of years of hard work by DICE and I understand that as publishers, you're afraid that rival companies could reproportion parts of the engine through the mod tools and repurpose them for their own uses.Recognize that this is not a letter to lambaste you about toning things back from the Alpha and Beta. This is not a letter decrying that you're unsupportive of the modding community. This is not a letter calling you names or insulting you. This is merely a single PC gamer expressing his opinions on why it's not a bad idea for EA and DICE to implement mod tools for Battlefield 3.This is the most important aspect that I'd like to point out with regards to incorporating Mod Tools or at the very least, Mod support.One of the most successful games ever published on PC was a little game called Half Life, which garnered well over 9 million units sold within a year. Nowadays, this number means precious little compared to the juggernauts like Call of Duty: Black Ops (25 million within 9 months of release). Its sequel, Half Life 2, sold another 6.5 million physical copies within two years of release. However, there were millions more sold through Steam and both games continue to be widely purchased by players.Now, that's great and all, but this is not taking into account of the heart of this argument: modding.When Half Life was released, Valve actively supported and encouraged players and modders to make modifications to the Source engine. What eventually came into existence were some of the most popular PC gaming titlesBelow are 2 of the mods that were born out of the Source engine:1. Counter-Strike Franchise (25 million units sold)2. Team Fortress 2 (3 million units in the Orange Box)3. Left4Dead (2.5 million units sold)Total number of units sold that were mods: 30.5 million unitsTotal number of original games sold: 15.5 millionAs you can see, the number of games sold pales in comparison to the number of mods and derivatives sold. A good portion of this money also went to Valve whiel requiring the company to do little but offer support to the studios that made this game. This is not mentioning the fact that when a mod (such as CS, which undeniably shaped the online FPS genre) becomes popular enough, people bought the original game purely for the purpose of playing the mods, ensuring that game sales figures will continue rising.If anything, modding will only increase your sales figures and will push developers to issue the best expansion packs possible to directly compete with the more popular mods, which brings me to the next point.One thing that developers failed to realize when they look at the success of the Call of Duty franchise in its current form was the level of innovation put forth by Infinity Ward in an attempt to break out of the rump that games have fallen into. They introduced the concept of shooting through walls, the idea of customizing weapons, and awarding players for certain feats performed. Every game after Call of Duty 4 has attempted to incorporate the same idea into its own design, and every game has run into the same problem:It's not innovative enough.With modding, however, players are able to create exciting new modes, new maps, and even entirely new games from a single source. Competition, when done correctly, is far more innovative than simply re-treading the same ground over and over again. And when you give the players the direct ability to compete with your own development team, that forces the development team to be one step ahead of the players in innovation, to push out new products that surpass the old. In short, DLC/expansion packs truly EXPAND the game rather than simply adding a few new maps and skins. Battlefield 2: Special Forces introduced night vision goggles and grappling hooks among other things, further altering how the game could be played and injecting new life into the series.With modding tools, you'll be able to create a positive feedback loop, an arms race if you will, in which both players and developers are neck and neck to come up with the most innovative and refreshing video gaming experience. By locking players from modding the game for their own purposes, you shut off that potential road towards innovation and a series will quickly stagnate.Citing the Valve example, CS:GO is one of the most anticipated FPS titles to be released on multiple platforms thanks to its cult following from its early days as a mod to Half Life. Had Valve took the route of "nope, can't mod this", then CS never would have been born. Imagine that, a world where Counter Strike did not exist. As a gamer, it's hard to imagine. This ties in with my next point:If you take a look at the Battlelog Forum, you'll see a large number of people looking back to the days of Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 1942--both games with amazing mod support that created some truly lasting mods like Project Reality and Desert Combat respectively. These were the people who pre-ordered Battlefield 3 without second thought but who hesitated with Bad Company and Bad Company 2. CS:GO is another example. Its popularity from CS was what hooked those players and what kept them playing.Create a game with amazing mod support and let the community run wild with their dreams. Sure, 99% of it will not pan out, but for that 1% that does become amazing, people will be talking about them for years to come. And when that happens, you have done it. You have created a strong and loyal fan base who will defend your game to the death--Give the players the tools to create a world that they call their own, and they will feel a sense of connection and belonging to the franchise. With the Frost Bite 2 engine being touted as the next generation gaming engine, players and developers have the amazing opportunity to really push this engine to the limits of its power (the Source engine in use now for over 6 years). This brings up the next point:Modders aren't dumb people. The core group of modders can be just as competent as somebody working at a big name studio and sometimes even more so because they're making something that they enjoy. Again, yes, 99% of all mods are simple changes to a skin or a new map being made that caters to only a few people. But when total conversions are pushed out, they require hours of complex coding, of reading through the engine source files and understanding what must be done. Often times, modders are the ones who find bloated code in the engine and are the ones who fix it. Imagine if a modding team was able to remove the stuttering issue by tightening up the netcode of Battlefield 3 or if a modding team solved the crashing issues. Would people stop buying the game? No, they would be happier that there's now a fix. Did this cost you anything as developers, or more importantly, those who finance developers?No.The helicopter was introduced for the first time in video games in Desert Combat. Now it's a staple in military shooters. Did DICE spend any money at all to program that for Desert Combat?No.You forget that the modders are first and foremost PLAYERS of the game. Many times, mods exist purely to FIX the issues that players are constantly running into. Incorporating these into the patches not only show the community that you care, but shows that they're genuinely important to you.Modding tools open the possibilty of, something that is helping the scientific community decipher the human genome, find the cure to AIDS, and even map out how to combat Somali pirates. Why not use the power of the crowd to your benefits?As Spiftastic so succinctly pointed out:Above are the points arguing in favor of mods. Thank you for your consideration and reading.Signed,chaplain118A PC GamerAddendum:Todd Howard, executive producer for Bethesda Studios gives his argument on why Modding is superior to DLC http://gamingbolt.com/todd-howard-talks-about-the-importance-of-mods-and-how-they-are-better-than-dlcs [gamingbolt.com]If you support this, please do any or all of the following:- Show your support by stating your reasons for mod tools (or against, all opinions are welcome)- Spread the word on Reddit under the title "An Open Letter to DICE and EA regarding Mod Tools" and sign your name above the "A PC Gamer"- Tweet this to both @EA and @EA_DICE with the following: "An open letter to DICE and EA regarding Mod Tools - http://tinyurl.com/7rfsw3c [tinyurl.com]