Paid Mods vs Patreon pledges

[JolanXBL]

Gameranx's '10 Weird Gaming Stories of 2018' has mention of a Thanos mod for GTA where the author is offering a 'Work in progress' version if you pledge $10 on his Patreon. So pay 10 for an early copy of his mod. Doesn't that combine the stigma of Bethesda supposedly releaseing an unfinished or broken game then 'expecting the modders to fix it' mixed with charging for player-made content? That's two no-nos in one.

Bethesda's games and all the flak their Creation Club received are being used as an example. The concern with charging for a mod is that companies would phase out allowing players to freely change their games, bringing gaming further into a 'Money Grab' as many mobile games are already. (That's how it seemed with all the negative attention there was)

Is offering content as a 'free gift' from donating really any different than straight-up charging for a modification? Apparently they charge $2 for other mods as well.
What do you think of this? Would you attack a person's Patreon or website if they charged for their mods as heatedly as was done when Bethesda did it?

Let's meet in the Comments section below.

[Kemalist(mdx³)]

alot of asian modders do the same, you need to pay monthly to acces their google drivers, or even to get updates for their mods if you paid before.

In my oppinion this is even scumier than the cc.

[wim1234]

i only use the nexussite for modding, it has plenty.

[NIKFS]

Opprinnelig skrevet av wim1234:

i only use the nexussite for modding, it has plenty.

ive got two mods from bethesda.net that werent available (or maybe i was just to dumb to find them if theyre uploaded under another name) a music replacer and the possiblity to favorite your fists, using the latter to unequip spells in my left hand on my spellsword character

[NIKFS]

♥♥♥♥ forgot the main point i wanted to write xD main point: nexus is the best way to mod, for small amounts of mods you "can" use bethesda.net but its a bit buggy at times

[neuralnetwork]

A free gift received in exchange for money is not a free gift, that's an oxymoron.

But not really sure where you're coming from. Naturally when a big company who has sold tens of millions of copies of their hit product makes a rather radical shift in their marketing strategy, they draw a lot more attention than some lone person who's trying to grab a dime or two from Pateron pledges or other means of donations.

Sure enough, it's the same thing in the end. Pateron pledge-gated mod content is equal to paid mods, there's nothing to debate there.
Some people who have gated their mods behind a paywall have received quite some flak though. Those stories just don't get that much publicity but they're there, if you know where to look.

Unless legal rights are enforced in relation to making a profit from someone else's IP, there's nothing to stop people from trying to make some buck out of their work though. It might seem stupid and short sighted to pay for player-made custom content but then again, loot boxes and microtransactions are a thing too. So is Creation Club!

It could also be seen from a different light - if you're pouring your time day and night in order to create something, why shouldn't you be allowed to get paid? Money's not dirty in itself. It's simply a tool to measure the value of things.

Not that I support paid mods, quite the opposite, but I can understand why some people take the paid mod route. Also, greed is a thing.

It's up to the individual to vote with his/her wallet, so to speak. Buy your mods if that's what you want, nobody's stopping you. The rest of us, happily browse the depths of the interwebs and find all kinds of curious things.

[Arawn]

I agree with neuralnetwork that people should vote with their wallet. If you support something, buy it if you do not do not spend your money.

Unlike neuralnetwork I support paid mods. Time is quite valueable. If you want an endless access of high quality mods, great storylines, and the company who owns the IP doesn't mind. Then pay the people for their work. I do not expect anyone to work a job to pay their bills and then work a second one providing me with something for free.

I can understand why some people take the free mod route, they don't care how long it takes to design something, quality of it, or the hours they take away from something to improve their lives. Or maybe they do, entitement is a thing as well.

Many of us enjoy the fruits of others free labour and don't mind saying thank you by paying for things. Not to mention if someone enjoys modding and can make a living off of it, then I have a never ending supply of content.

[neuralnetwork]

The biggest issue with paid mods is probably quality curation.

While anybody is free to make paywalled content - within legal rights - there's always the question about getting worthwhile value for your purchase. Mods are typically made by amateurs, students and such like and thus the quality varies dramatically from mod to mod. Therefore, giving access to half-done Patreon plege-locked mod preview is shady to say the least.

Mayhaps the author is good at what he does and deserves to get paid for his time and effort. Mayhaps he's a fraud and incompetent and makes products that are buggy and half finished. You really can't tell beforehand and if no information about the author's credibility can be established.

That's something Bethesda tried to fix with their CC, at least on paper. By having curated content, presumeably stuff within Creation Club is guaranteed quality and money well spent in theory. The reality is not quite that however, as can be seen from unofficial bug fixes released for CC based content.

Modding culture has this inherent idea that it is and is supposed to be fan-made stuff out of love and passion for the (whichever) game. That's why people are typically so up in arms whenever someone talks about paid mods. It goes against the core concept of modding. Against the unspoken rules.

In the end, time is indeed a valuable asset though, like Zinde said. Try to get a professional 3D artist to create a new sword for you in Skyrim and see how he reacts when you demand that he should do it for free.

Still, going to paid mod route is dangerous as I see it. If money becomes the underlying principle, it will kill creativity fast. Modders won't be so helpful towards each other anymore as people begin to compete in order to create better and better mods while seeing other content creators as rivals, instead of supportive community.

Moreover, pushing mods towards the paywall end will ultimately diminish the interest in mods in general. Microtransactions and such like do bring profits, but I have a hard time imagining Skyrim being this popular after all this time should majority of the mod content be accessible only via extra purchases.

Free modding increases the popularity and longevity of games and indirectly brings more money to the company behind the vanilla game. That's probably the biggest reason I prefer to keep modding away from the money.

I understand both sides, I just prefer the "love and passion" end of the spectrum. I'm soft that way.