So, to start, before I get flamed as "Hey there's a new guy, get him!" or "Those radical ideas are not welcome around here buddy!" I would like to say im a long time ModDB user, and I love it here. I created a new account under a new alias purely for cosmetic reasons... sorry for the now empty DB entry. Don't kill me. Onto the show...
I am a long time Modder in Valve's beautiful communities. The days of Natural-Selection, Counter-Strike (When they were independent, and still, they're an amazing group of individuals), Day of Defeat (ditto to them), and just other hard working mod teams, are a rarity in today's market. Today's market is not-so-niche, which is not entirely a bad thing.
Still, today is the day of DIY gaming. Everyone wants a piece of the action, and with engines like Source, Doom, and so many easy access "pick up and go" tools, it very well should be. (Congrats to so many people in the industry making our industry so accessible to the public, I am in no way bashing them, I think the coming years will be amazing for us)
My problem with this day and age, with all this technology, all this access, community involvement and the like, is commitment. No one is committed anymore. Someone starts up a project, gets others excited about a project, but never really spends the months to years of time to really learn what they need to do, and plan for what they're getting into. Hence the hundreds, and ever growing numbers, of defunct "projects".
The reason I called this blog "The State of Source Mods" is because, while not the only tool available, it is one of the most easily accessible tools ever. It comes with almost everything you need, and then some, and you can get it up and running with any Source Engine game on the market.
I remember a few years back, just around the release of Half-Life 2, PC Gamer dedicated a huge portion of one of their magazines... I wish I could reference the exact issue... anyways, they dedicated a huge section to Modding, calling that the "Year of the Mods". The release of the Source Engine was the start of a new age in gaming. So many people would have access to a "Next Generation" Engine. Heres my question: What do we have to show for it?
Some, have done amazing things with it. Created some very original and inspiring independent pieces from them. One great example would be Adam Foster, creator of the MINERVA mod. His work, from the day it came out, was hailed by the community. Tons of community members commented on how well done, and passionate his work was, they stated that Valve should be watching this guy... and look at that they listened. There are many, many more success stories to come from this community. Games like Left 4 Dead, the afformentioned Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat franchises, that started from a simple group of modders, and countless others. It came from hard work, dedication, and passion.
My friends, and community members. Simply put, we need devotion to what we do. If something's worth doing, it's worth doing right. So please, for the sake of everyone: players, developers, and outsiders alike; please put some time, effort, and love into your projects, and make us all proud.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Community Member
