The g33k show on Radio Wammo : Game modding
Kiwi FM's Wammo and I had a great chat this morning about the world of games modding. It's something we've both dabbled in, and it was where I learned to apply all the broadcast graphics skills I had learned (texture painting and 3d modelling) in a game environment. As well as being supremely satisfying, it is an excellent route into the games industry. It gives you the opportunity to learn and demonstrate a lot of key skills, mostly creative, though there are still plenty of programming tweaks you can do if you want. You can learn a lot about good level design, character creation and animation, lighting, texturing, sound & music, and all of this can be done with free tools.
Yes folks, it's that magical word on the geekosphere that we all love so dearly. A lot of games come with free level editing tools, most notably Quake III which is now completely open-source, and recent engines like the Cryengine II that comes with Crysis. These will let you edit levels, but when it comes to creating new objects, buildings, characters and weapons, you really need to learn a professional 3D application (or learn Blender, one of the best FOSS applications around).
The big three (Softimage XSI, Maya & 3D Studio Max) all have 30-day trial demos or free game modding versions, such as Softimage XSI Mod tool, which comes with a huge amount of learning resources and help. These companies want all the fresh young talent ready to go on their platform, so they are eager to train you in the basics and give the software free for educational purposes.
This puts professional games creation ability into the hands of anyone with a halfway decent PC (If you develop an open source Quake III mod it will run well on even the most basic modern machine) and, most importantly, a hands-on attitude to learning and an imagination. Unethical g33k hint coming up: installation monitoring programs can allow you to re-install 30 day trials, but in this particular scenario, Softimage wins hands down with their free toolset, Cryengine 2 support, excellent tuition and educational resources.
Some game mods, known as total conversions, have become successful spinoffs in their own right. Probably the most famous is the Half-life spinoff, Counterstrike, which has proven to be incredibly popular for online play, with over a million games a day still being played. Check out this incredible video of a Simpsons conversion below, with Springfield in all its glorious detail.
If you see us presenting g33k show pods from Moe's Tavern sometime in the future, it will be because that games modder just created a great virtual set, and we've been cheeky and nicked it.
