How many people have read the moddb.com TOS?
"Must not contain copyright material "
"The mod is unique and original and not in violation of anothers intellectual property."
I've been watching the scoreboard for a little while, lots of votes for Stargate Mods, awesome.
I'd rotflol if it weren't such a sorry state of affairs.
I agree, I can't believe how many people seem to have little/no originality :( It's pretty sad that people have to make mods about pre-existing franchises, eg. DragonBall Z, Stargate, etc.
I can realize that these may just be testing for the persons skill, but there is so many :(
The games industry does need something different and a lot of the time modders can contribute to that...i agree with you though. If people are just changing a couple of aspects of the game, there should be some kinda of originality or gimmick about the mod. I understand if maybe it is their first attempt and they are just gettig to grips with things, but it's nice to see different ideas that haven't been seen before :)
I understand too that people sometimes use existing IPs to make games because they are die hard fans and simply want to play a specially themed game, but I don't think that they should be allowed to profit from their theft by winning prizes/awards. Especially since IP theft is in direct contravention of moddb.com's TOS and results in a completely uneven playing field.
If this continues, you'll see even fewer original ideas (it boggles the mind, but it's possible!) because ppl will see that they can take an existing blockbuster, do less work (or no work in terms of design/story), and win more.
Aside from lagging behind in the graphics department, you soon won't be able to tell the mod community apart from the games industry.
Which will be a major problem for us because when teams DO decide to make cool, new, original ideas people won't play them because they are so busy playing 'Simpsons: Source' or something of that nature which is likely to damage a lot of us who DO put effort into originality and design/story
exactly.
Even worse, to paraphrase, when a person DOES decide to make a cool, new, original game people won't help make it because they are too busy making the latest DragonBall Z/Star Wars/Trek/Gate mod. Most of the modding talent is divided up amongst the glut of rip-offs.
Yeah it's a shame...I think perhaps a lot of the problem is that more and more people are getting into games, they aren't as 'nerdy' as a few years ago, infact they are gradually becoming closer to films. This means more and more people are taking interest in them, but a lot of 'casual' gamers are also discovering you can mod existing games quite easily..the tools are easy to get hold of and to them it is just a bit of fun to play about with. Perhaps they aren't interested in making 'true' original mods, and just messing about. Perahps that is one angle to look at it from?
could be, I think though that by definition a 'casual' gamer wouldn't be someone who mods. It is easier to mod these days, but I would've thought that would free ppl up to work on the more creative aspects of game design. Of course, that's not what has happened, but it would've been nice...
Yeah ...I have a few friends who play causally and they are interested in what I do so they are always asking how to do it..it's certainly a lot more accessible for people. Oh and sorry for using your comment :P I was just trying to be funny, I guess it was not ha ha, I like to try and get some attemtion for our mod because I think its a lot more creative than many you find about, even if it is a little rough around the edges :)
I personally don't see the appeal in re-using assets or ideas from existing games...I love coming up with stuff and saying "I did this." It's a lot more rewarding!
re: comment theft, It's OK, I forgive you. :) And yes, Planet Fall is more creative than the majority of mods out there.
"I love coming up with stuff and saying "I did this." It's a lot more rewarding!"
Exactly.
Dream Casters Duel looks very interesting! Just had a nosey at that..love the cell shaded rendering!
Thnx! I trust I can rely on your vote? :)
Sure i'll vote for you :) although I have already voted for First Contact....I'll try and vote for yours and see if it lets me :)
Here's a cursory list of the top 100 mods that violate moddb.com's TOS, as well as copyright law, and are therefore ineligible to compete. If you believe a mod has been included here erroneously, or if I've left some out, please contact me. :)
Back To The Future: Hill Valley
Barneys Tales (BS remake on Source)
Battlestar Galactica Fleet Commander
Black Mesa
BSG: Beyond the Red Line
Chronicles: Total Conversion
CnC Reborn
DAWN OF THE DEAD
DragonBall Source
Dune: Arrakian Wars
First Strike
Follow Freeman Half Life 2 Coop
Grand Theft Auto:007
Half life 2: Wars
Halo: First Offensive
Halo: Homefront
Jurassic Park
MechWarrior: Living Legends
MINERVA
Movie Battles II
Operation Black Mesa
Perfect Dark:Source
Phoenix Rising
Project Revolution
Red Alert 2: Apocalypse Rising
Renegade 2007
SourceForts
Star Trek: Enterprise – TCW
Star Wars : The New Era
Stargate : La Relève
Stargate : The Enemy Within
Stargate : The New Enemy
Stargate Empire at War
The Fourth Age: Total War
The Real World
Tiberian Dawn
Tiberian Eclipse
Tiberian Sun Rising
It's not there because we want to squash the mods, it's more of a backup so that if the IP owners complain we can cite the bits in the ToS if the mod starts arguing. We try not to make a habit of it.
I realize that and I don't want to see those mods squashed either, but...
if they're die hard fans of an IP, fine, let them mod for the love of it. My point is that they shouldn't be allowed to profit from what amounts to theft.
Intense! has flatly refused to add an "originality" (i.e. non-IP infringing mods) category to MOTY (despite claiming to have solicited suggestions for MOTY categories, and despite obvious support for such a category
Moddb.com
Moddb.com
Moddb.com
).
The result is that moddb.com's tagline "play something different" has become laughable irony as the mod scene further resembles the games industry more and more each day.
The fact of the matter is, mods with new ideas can't compete with movie mods who have had hundreds of highly paid professionals do their design, story, and world-wide advertising work for them.
The ONLY solution? Stop rewarding theft. Start rewarding "something different".