Why do you Mod.
I always wanted ot learn, but I never did. Now I have sons of my own that play Skyrim . And when they saw the mods that came out for the PC ( they use Xbox). They wanted me to make them something.
So that is my reason I started to learn.
Plus now Im cool agian cause I play skyrim.

Opps I think I posted to wrong section. If so please move. Sorry

I'm sure the answer to that question can be as diverse as the many people that actually mod. For me, one of the first mods I used for Fallout 3 was a huge home/base of operations that was set up so that followers could not follow you inside. It was one of my favorite mods and I didn't want to play without it. But I also loved building myself an assault squad of followers to storm the wastes with as their commander, so out of necessity to make that base follower friendly I decided to see if I could add an alternate entrance to the base that followers would follow me through. After that, I decided it needed a little more life so I added radios everywhere so you could hear music throughout the entire base. Then I decided it needed more people because it was so huge and only had a handful of NPC's in it. So I tripled the population and gave them all different work and sleep shifts in their AI packages.

So for me I simply wanted to tweak one of my favorite mods by another author more to my liking. That's most likely the most common answer though – people want to tweak these games to their own tastes. Whether that means a silly doe-eyed-stupid-elf-ear-cartoon-looking race, or some new weapons, balance overhauls or simply a home to live in, it all basically boils down to making the game more pleasing to you.

Good luck with your sons!

Because it's fun.

I just love medieval fantasy, and I find all existing games lacking in one way or another. This way I can try to make my perfect game myself rather than [censored]ing about game studios.

Because I love playing video games, but even more so I love making them. This is the easiest way for me to essentially make my own video games. On top of that, I think BGS makes some of the best games in the world, and I'm hoping that by modding their games, I can get their attention and get a job there. Ultimately, I want to be Game Director one day. (Probably in like 20 years) Though, Todd Howard's shoe's are some pretty big ones to fill.

Because that is what I went to college to do; create stuff for video games. Creating things in the CK is a way for me to keep up with the tools of game creation, not just know how to use Maya or 3DS Max.

I Mod. Therefore, I am playing a better game.

Nothing is ever perfect but if it's close, it's worth pushing it closer.

I enjoy it as a form of art for hobby and relaxation ....

I mod because it feels great to add content, see something you made (often with help) appear in the game. Its a way of personalising Skyrim. It's a big open world just waiting to be filled.

Although I have noticed something recently, in that the number of modders on these forums has dropped. At the time of writing this , only two members are online. Yesterday only 8 when I logged on. While I mod, I tend to stay logged on and noticed this trend. Has something happened?

The reason behind that in my opinion is that :

1 the game was streamlined and dumbed down too much to behave more like a consolle shooter than a true Elderscrolls RPG
2 the Creation kit is not working properly and most of the features are broken or non functional
3 there is no support for tools and importer or exporter and the community has to rely on complicate paths to achieve some success in modding usually with the use of external help and tools that are not much friendly so the step to learn modding on TES is quite hight
4 Major modding for now is not possible , the most of the mods focus only on : retexturing , remeshing , for the basics , simple dungeons....... new meshe and textures for more avanced modders and some tweaking of the game behaviors like perk trees etc .... the rest of the CK is too buggy to be successfully used to produce working quests and new landmasses....

I made a mistake... 6 members online (just 2 looking at this thread). Its still low though, especially when you need help.

I agree completely. I'm finding it frustrating rather than a pleasure atm. We can adjust to the new way of scripting, but need better instruction from the wiki. I'm trying to make EvaluatePackage run on the alias, rather than the objectref or actor. Sounds simple doesn't it. There doesn't seem to be a way to do it that I can easily find. What makes it worse is that if you released a mod, people scream for basic features that you can't give them. simple things (in Oblivion) like detecting if the player is on a horse, so the mounted follower can respond accordingly. IsPlayerRiding is not available and its not in GetCurrentAI either, but it does exist as a condition.

I'm only doing edits to stuff I use. Mainly things like making Triss Armor craftable and upgradeable. It's fairly easy to learn, and improves the game for me. I have a lot of respect for people who design all-new houses and quests. It seems like it would be very difficult and time-consuming to make even one short quest that was engaging and fun to play.

Although it's true that some functionality has disappeared, we also got a lot of new scripting functionality back that wasn't present in Oblivion. Don't forget that a ton of basic features were initially impossible to implement in Oblivion as well, but we remember Oblivion's scripting in combination with the added functionality of OBSE. OBSE at least tripled the scripting API. SKSE has only just started with adding new scripting commands and functions. The really good scripting in Oblivion only started after OBSE had expanded scripting drastically. I'm convinced it won't be any different with Skyrim and the SKSE.

Because it's fun to be able to add (or remove) something to/from an existing game. It makes me feel like I'm part of the team that created it.

tHe VoiCes iN My hEAd! tHEY DriVe me To dO iT!!!

Or put another way ... I like to learn, i like to code, I've wanted to do something with what's now the CK since I first played Oblivion. What's not to understand?


(teLL tHem abOUt the bLooD!)
(shush, you)

... basically a bigger Options menu for me.

As for modding for Skyrim specifically, I've dropped the game altogether. Games for me are still about the plot and how it plays out, character development, dialogue, and Skyrim isn't exactly what you would call strong on those aspects.

To make my own fantasy come true and to create content which has the difficulty I wished for.

Because then I can, to a certain degree, get what I actually want out of the game.

It also makes it feel more like "MY game" instead of just "ANOTHER game"

Long answer: It's a great creative medium which is very technical in its nature (left brained, rule oriented) while simultaneously fertile ground for creative writing of sorts (right brained, flow state). It tickles right in the middle when you envision pages to add to this choose-your-own-adventure-like story and use this mechanical medium to manifest 'em. Also, I love these games all on their own, but there are always things I feel could be better or are entirely absent. Modding lets me get in there and tinker with ...whatever, leaving the game more to my liking and lending it a quality of elasticity other games lack. Dead Spaces, for instance, are great games but the off-centered camera drives me insane. Although Skyrim's 3'rd person cam does the same thing, familarity with the game's guts makes it a cinch to tweak that so it's centered. Cumulatively, little edits like that make for a much more customized and rewarding experience. Then there's the community! All around, the Beth modding community has proven one of the best I've ever encountered. I've worked with people on mods from all around the world and find it really cool how this hobby brings people together.

Almost forgot: It's a relatively inexpensive hobby, so I've always got something to do if insomnia strikes ...again.

Short answer: It's fun!

I mod for the men I've held in my arms, dying on foreign soil... I mod for their wives and children, whose names I heard whispered in their last breath... I mod for the few who did come home only to find our country full of strangers wearing familiar faces... I mod for my people, impoverished to pay the debts of an Empire too weak to rule them, yet brands them criminals for wanting to rule themselves! I mod so that all the modding I've already done hasn't been for nothing! I mod... because I must!

Well, okay, no. It's because I can't leave well enough alone. I see something I think needs to be tweaked, I tweak it. I decide I need a better house, I build it. I decide that Sheogorath's blind freaking eyes are annoying, I change them to a proper yellow. I want a new world to explore... um... I wait patiently for someone else to make it. Heh.

All in all, it's just fun.

more content

Because it allows me to raise the fun factor.

All great answers. Thanks for taking the time to write.
And for the person above me (Terra Nova) I wonder if that show has been cancled. I have not seen it on TV in awhile.

I mod because it's a bleeding drug and I can't stop because I'm addicted. They've tried to send me to rehab, but I said no-no-no.

I mod (or started to mod) because i think of an idea, and i cant find the mod for it so if i wont to say fly for example
and i cant find a mod for it ill make it myself (if i can) then if it works ill share the mod.
plus its a great thing to do when you have nothing else to do.

Because I have a very active imagination and unless I want to start talking to imaginary friends I have to use my fantasies in something constructive. Such as modding.

I'm not crazy. Just a dreamer, an artist and a fan.