Mod Vs Game

#1 I would prefer the MOD, anything to stay away from the big an powerful corporate publishers. Even if I have to go back to my cave (just kidding about the cave).

#2 If I had to choose between only those two options, I would pick the next gen stuff, cause it's going to be more advanced/interesting. Mods are fun to tinker around with, but ultimately you'd be working with older, less exciting technology.

#3 For me at least Mods are boring and often your stuck with a generic set of tools that aren't often well suited to the task at hand. I'd rather use a proprietary engine so long as the team is interested in integrating proper tools that allow the most creativity.

At the end of the day I'd prefer almost anything to creating a MOD. I guess part of the reason I'm working as an independent developer is to get the opportunity to get my hands dirty in all areas of game development, and try and create a efficient and stimulating set of tools, and have the flexibility to develop our own methods for doing things, enabling quick prototyping and experimentation with ideas without having unnecessary restrictions laid down from the get go. Often something you get when you are handed someone elses stuff.

#4 Studio. In general, I'd say that there is less of a chance you'll work with inept, flakey people when you see them every day instead of trying to collaborate across the internet on a project that will never* make any money. With the mod you are at the mercy of the mod tools, any lameness you encounter you'll have to do worse hacks to get around, and at the end of the day you have a mod you can't sell.

*The chances of making money off a mod can't be even close to as good as the chances of you making money off of a company with a next-gen engine licence. One will probably let you eat, the other won't do anything at all.

#5 The question left unasked is the option to build your own IP and market it as an indie. Both of your options leave the creator without ownership or control of their IP.
I'd say if its between those two options I'd chose McDonalds or Wal Mart.

#6 And if you're big criteria is whether you get to eat or not, I'd choose McDonald's... unless you have one of the Super Walmarts with the food court inside.

Course if I'm working at one of those places I prolly ought to be making a mod. ; )

#7 I wouldn't work on either. Neither would leave me with very much control over my destiny ... so I'd end up just working on my own game.

Barring that ... I'd probably work on the Mod because it'd be just for fun and at this point in my own life I couldn't contribute to a full time job that MIGHT pay me later.

My experience thus far is that most publishing deals etc... never come through and if they do the publisher puts many stipulations on the game ... heck even if it doesn't come through you'll still be jumping through hoops for them ... and all because you have the expectation to get paid and you probably won't.

If you do the mod at least you don't have your expectations very high. You'll probably make something fun and interesting that maybe gets shown in the mod section of PC Gamer and gets enjoyed by many players ... whereas the commercial project would have crashed and burned without anyone ever playing it.

#8 Simple questions, no simple answers. I'm a former modder that likes to MOD, but if there is no pay in the mod, it's not really appealing to take it on. I can do almost anything for fun or free and I'd rather build my own game if I'm not going to get paid so then i would have to choose the studio with license. Even then, I would have to have the following conditions before I would waste my time on it....


1. Having a high dollar engine is nice, but I want to see some art and some reasonably completed roadmap.

2. Believe the proposed game would sell, even if I wouldn't buy it myself I would have to believe others would.

3. A complete team of people that I felt were competent and capable, and a leader that would replace any of us in an instant if we were not doing our job or jepordizing the project in some way such as impossible to get along with.

4. Could not work under anyone that was not of a greater capacity than myself. I don't like explaining to the boss why he is wrong and I don't take well to being told to do something that I know is wrong or was going to be trouble later.

5. Flexible management that is open to better ideas and possible changes that go with them. Management also has to explain any deviation from the plan to workers and actually get workers approval before commiting to change. Meaning that if management has a change they feel is in everyones interest they just tell us and if we agree it gets done, if we dont we either find a way to make everyone happy or the change is just dropped period.

6. A very fair points and pay package that is backed by an early termination clause in the contract with mutally agreed payguard fee and points fee and finally a two year work contract guarantee upon sucessful completion. Clause has to be safegaurded via a trust account with a deposit equal to early termination value which is based on projected completion date. Points have to be milestone based and paid per milestone. And assuming completion pay distributed immediately.

To clarify this lets say I'm going to get 10% of the rights upon completion, as well as $2000 bucks a week pay and that each milestone is one month long, project to be completed in 10 months, with a paygaurd of $500 per week and points gaurd of $1000 per point. I agree to work for free till a publisher is found and pre-established pay can be instituted.

This would mean that first there would have to be 10 months x 4 weeks x $500 per week + 10 months x $1000 per point put into an account as an early termination fee = $30,000 cash backing my work if someone decides to fire me or the project is terminated for any reason.

So if I worked 4 months and someone pulled the plug on the project I would be owed exactly 4 months x 4 weeks x $500 per week + 4 months x $1000 per point = $12,000 cash for the work I've done.

If I was fired or released and the project is still planning to go the distance I would be owed 4 months x 4 weeks x $500 per week = $8000 for the work I've done and I retain my points. If the project terminates after that before completeion I would still be paid 4 points x $1000 = $4000 since the project still did not finish after my termination.

And if it runs to full completion(and I still work there) on release date the $30,000 will be paid from the account and normal pay starts that same day.

#9 I can put a spin on it. I used to do hardware testing for Intel. When testing video cards we would put them into the Quake 3, Unreal, and HalfLife engines. Getting to play the games is fun at first, but after 6 months of HAVING to play Quake 3 and/or Arena you start to HATE it. I still cant stand the game.

Another one: We created an online FPS for the IntelWebOutfitters web site. During the 2 months it took to test this game we found a bug on the final boss, where if you went Back down the elevator, you just rode up in, that the boss would still attempt to shoot you while closing the distance. He got to the closed elevator- kept shooting his rockets- killed himself. what a way to win the game!
Now, we forgot to save before going to the new level and had to replay the final level ( another hour...) just to proove the bug to the bosses.

playing the games is great, when its enjoyable and you look forward to it... but it gets old real quick.
at least it paid well.

#10 Neither. I'd say to the MOD offer, "Why make a MOD when you can make a GAME?" I'd tell the salary dangler to stuff it.

#11 Great answers, any one else care to chime in?

-x

#12 Oops. Double post.