Modification

In this fast paced world of technology everything changes faster then we can blink, we can modify anything, our car, our house, our gaming machines, but what about games themselves? Today I’ll be talking about game modifications or MODS for short.
Almost every game has a player-base and fan-base (those two are totally different). When one of those two find something that they don’t like, or just think that it could use some improvement, they usually do something about it. A lot of people imagine MODs as complex changes that require a total remake of the game, yes those exist, but for now I’ll talk about simpler ones.
A MOD is a change in a game, it’s not important if it’s just a sound bit, or a video texture. These little MODS can be made without any huge effort or knowledge (well, you have to try if you want it to look/be awesome). The best thing about these little upgrades is that they stack very nicely, let’s take a FPS game as an example, you take a standard weapon that you can find in almost any tactical FPS, a FRAG (fragmentation) grenade, change the sound it makes, change its look a bit, and there you go, you have yourself an anti-tank grenade. Do the same thing with some weapons, and you’ve got a custom arsenal.
The same method works for mmorpg’s and mmorts games, but one thing they have might be a hassle… Most of them have protection programs like GameGuard, or XTrap, they prevent any type of game modification in order to fight hackers. You can always try and change Pservers, as they are emulations of the real thing and often have little, to no protection.
An important thing to remember is that MODS are usually “client side”, meaning that only you or/and the people who have the MOD can see the changes.
There are three types of MODs:
Overhaul, conversion, and unofficial patch.
Overhauling is a type of modification that only upgrades the game, for example changes some graphical elements, sounds, but leaves the plot untouched. So HD packs, character models and a few other things go under this category.
Conversion is the opposite of overhaul, usually everything is changed - in “converted” games, only the game engine stays. Conversion changes the way the game is played by taking one game and rebuilding it from the basics. A very good example is Half-Life, when VALVe released a huge part of the source code online, a team of creative “modders” grabbed that, and made a very well know game out of it… Counter-Strike, VALVe hired the team and bought the rights to the mod and started selling this mod as a full fledged game.
Another awesome example that uses the source engine is “Garry’s mod”, this creative sandbox game uses the physics engine and game elements of Half-Life 2, Counter strike: Source, Portal, and Team Fortress 2, letting players do whatever they want with it, build towers, blow stuff up, or just make funny movies of some sort.
Unofficial patches are game updates that are not from the game developer, such patches may fix game problems, add new features, or mess something up. These patches are made by someone from the game’s fan base, if the publisher/developer is unable or unwilling to patch.
An example would be the well known “Nude Patch” that has hit or is yet to hit almost every game imaginable. The “Nude Patch” is a game model tool that makes all the characters in a game butt-naked. (As if playing a female character in a game isn’t awkward enough.) This feared and mostly illegal patch has hit games like “Allods”, “Aion”, “Lineage 2” and a lot of other games with reasonable graphics quality.
(The internet has fount yet another way to disappoint me with this one.)
Is “modding” legal? Yes and no, it is legal, as long as you don’t distribute it for financial benefit (selling mod’s is illegal), but taking donations from people willing to donate is not. A lot of games have MOD’s for them, and entire “modding” communities, since most game developers work under the rule “any publicity is good publicity” they include “modding” tools next to their games, where players are allowed to use the game engine, and all textures, animations, etc. An example of modding kit is VALVe’s SDK (Source developing kit), where players can remake any game they bought. SDK is a good tool for overhauling, but it won’t work that well if you want to make a conversion mod.
Some games ever release their source codes in order to show that they are mod-friendly, games such as “Half-Life” (one) and “Ryzom” have released their files and allow anyone to use, change, mod’ them.
However, if you want to modify a game system, or any system at all, forget about it. Changing something in an operating system of any sort and making money out of it or using it for purposes beyond its intended use is illegal. Today’s technology binds itself around such objects as hardware, software, firmware, you can take one apart and make changes, everyone is going to be okay with it, but take something else apart and use it beyond its intentioned use and you can go to jail. And to end this with something funny, here’s the “Apple” user’s agreement, I marked a spot that might crack you up. You can read the full agreement .
"LICENSED APPLICATION END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT”

You may not use or otherwise export or re-export the Licensed Application except as authorized by United States law and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Licensed Application was obtained. In particular, but without limitation, the Licensed Application may not be exported or re-exported (a) into any U.S. embargoed countries or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Person’s List or Entity List. By using the Licensed Application, you represent and warrant that you are not located in any such country or on any such list. You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.

Conclusion: a lot of popular games have dedicated fans that change the game’s they play in various ways. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. If you want to make a mod of your own, read the terms of agreement before you do so. And remember some mod’s get out and get popular, and some never see daylight. But it never hurts to try (as long as you don’t want to “upgrade” your iPhone into a nuclear weapon).

Thanks for reading,
TheConArtist

And as always,
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