Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Proof: Why Mods Are Ace

By Alec Meer on August 1st, 2011 at 5:20 pm.

Hey, guy that's gonna say 'machinima isn't really anything to do with modding though': shuddupayaface.

Are you listening, Blizzard? ARE YOU? Here are three minutes of why PC gamers deserve the option to alter their games, and why the world is a better place for it. Madness, beauty, comedy, juggling, land-swimming, flying horses and most of all modding await you in this completely, gloriously batshit Oblivion machinima.

Why am I posting it? Why didn’t I post it sooner, more like.

That was The Silly Adventures of Mr. Mochi, it’s by theninjacowboy, it meant nothing whatsoever, but I liked it anyway. Via the peerless peers that are Reddit.

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97 Comments »

  1. 01/08/2011 at 17:23 Anthile says:

    On that note, will we ever get a new mod news guy?

  2. 01/08/2011 at 17:25 Bobsy says:

    I feel better already.

  3. 01/08/2011 at 17:26 B0GiE-uk- says:

    Lol :)

  4. 01/08/2011 at 17:28 Scatterbrainpaul says:

    ooops, just burst out laughing in the office. Boss is now looking at me very weird

    I think the music makes this

  5. 01/08/2011 at 17:33 utharda says:

    The entire development of the PC has been justified in that one video. Take that ebert!

  6. 01/08/2011 at 17:34 LyskTrevise says:

    This video is delightful.

  7. 01/08/2011 at 17:34 Curvespace says:

    It gives me such hope to know that somewhere there’s a person who spent hours making this.

  8. 01/08/2011 at 17:39 Colthor says:

    Brilliant :)

  9. 01/08/2011 at 17:39 Buttless Boy says:

    Tiny Tim makes everything better.

  10. 01/08/2011 at 17:41 Schaulustiger says:

    Saw it on Reddit earlier, laughed my ass off. Brilliantly done.

  11. 01/08/2011 at 17:46 Flint says:

    If this represented actual Oblivion gameplay and this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lo0qD6rOz8 represented actual Morrowind gameplay footage, we’d have the greatest game series in the world.

  12. 01/08/2011 at 17:46 Sian says:

    Had a hard time not laughing. The folks here already think I’m a bit weird.

  13. 01/08/2011 at 17:57 Soram00 says:

    The Elder Scrolls is serious business.

  14. 01/08/2011 at 18:02 DaFishes says:

    I love this. That is all.

  15. 01/08/2011 at 18:14 Jumwa says:

    This is a thing of beauty.

    I laughed heartily.

  16. 01/08/2011 at 18:15 Tei says:

    This and the gta carmagedoom video just get better the more times you watch it. Are amazing.

  17. 01/08/2011 at 18:21 MrMud says:

    Oblivion is not a multiplayer game with a history of hacks that are extremely detrimental to the online experience.

  18. 01/08/2011 at 18:23 Tubby McChubbles says:

    God bless Tiny Tim

  19. 01/08/2011 at 18:31 Lacero says:

    Awesome.
    Campfire limbo is a phrase in search of a meaning.

    • 01/08/2011 at 19:47 gwathdring says:

      It’s where otherwise good people go when guilty of serial camping. They aren’t bad people. They just … don’t quite make it to a better place.

  20. 01/08/2011 at 18:32 theninjacowboy says:

    Thanks guys! Also, very happy you chose the screenshot you did. It came out darker in the video than I would have liked and was hoping people could still take it all in, as it’s also my favorite scene. There’s also a lot I had to cut out to fit 3 minutes so you can count on seeing more whimsical adventures. One involves a bear wearing a top hat.

  21. 01/08/2011 at 18:33 tungstenHead says:

    wtf is this wow rainbow bullshit in my diablos??

  22. 01/08/2011 at 18:43 Zanchito says:

    That’s some excellent wine, sir!

  23. 01/08/2011 at 18:50 PoulWrist says:

    That was great-

  24. 01/08/2011 at 18:58 danimalkingdom says:

    You just made me laugh raucously out loud at work. Nobody even looked up. but thanks RPS and Mr youtube man

  25. 01/08/2011 at 19:01 Zarunil says:

    Pure awesome!

  26. 01/08/2011 at 19:02 dirtyword says:

    But the unique selling proposition inherent to Blizzard’s new envelope-pushing solution promotes blue sky thinking by landing and expanding their position as a leading provider of state of the art online synergy.

    Do you think a end user perspective end-around and the ability to pick the low-hanging fruit is compatible with that?

    So thats why no mods

  27. 01/08/2011 at 19:14 McDan says:

    That was awesome, mods ARE ace.

    • 01/08/2011 at 20:24 Snuffy the Evil says:

      But this one is!

      But seriously, what the Christ.

    • 01/08/2011 at 20:26 Dominic White says:

      In the words of scholar and saint Mr Plinkett: What is wrong with your fa-..EVERYTHING!?

      In the post-cyberpocalypse, Lombaxes apparently got HUGE and RIPPED.

    • 01/08/2011 at 20:31 Kollega says:

      Well that… is really fucking stupid. Has this man who transformed Ratchet into a Liefeldian monstrosity beyond human comprehension no respect for good character design and proper proportions? This is just… just… ugh. It’s retarded.

      I think i’ve expended my stupidity quota for today in two and a half seconds. Forehead, meet concrete wall.

    • 02/08/2011 at 07:10 Mut says:

      I really can’t unsee that, can I?

  29. 01/08/2011 at 19:15 Avish says:

    I need a brain surgery to stop that song from playing in my head….

    IT HURTS!!

  30. 01/08/2011 at 19:31 hardband says:

    No idea why, but that was extremely enjoyable!

  31. 01/08/2011 at 19:31 Tei says:

    *try to say something, and fail*

  32. 01/08/2011 at 19:37 Vermintide says:

    I fucking love this.

    Am I the only one picking up massive Monty Python vibes?

  33. 01/08/2011 at 19:44 Morte66 says:

    What a load of rubbish.

    First decent argument I’ve seen for not having modding.

    Definite misfire there, RPS.

    • 01/08/2011 at 20:51 absolofdoom says:

      I’m not sure the internet is for you.

    • 01/08/2011 at 21:55 kikito says:

      Go play FIFA or whatever and shut up.

    • 01/08/2011 at 22:02 skinlo says:

      Obviously a bit too subtle for you.

    • 01/08/2011 at 22:03 manveruppd says:

      Think he was being sarcastic. (Not sure though)

    • 02/08/2011 at 09:32 Morte66 says:

      RPS doesn’t post this sort of thing sarcastically. Ironically, perhaps, but not sarcastically.

      Then of course there is their 200% over-developed sense of whimsy…

      [p.s. what is FIFA? Lately I've played Witcher 2 (good RPG but didn't like the twitch), and Europa Barbarorum (utterly superb mod for Rome Total War). Looking forward to Frozen Synapse.]

    • 02/08/2011 at 11:19 The Sentinel says:

      Welcome to “Being Completely Wrong”, Morte. That vid is real genius.

    • 03/08/2011 at 02:03 Araxiel says:

      Don’t you guy see it? He’s not an PC elitist jerk as we are, he’s an literal elitist jerk. This puny video of distortion is far below him. Mods, pah. He does not need them. Mods are for people that want to have fun.
      But Morte does not play games for the fun, no. He play’s so he can show what an elitist jerk he is. Also, he’s only visiting RPS to snort at people having fun.
      Also, his favourite game is the Streetcleaning Simulator.

  34. 01/08/2011 at 19:47 Juiceman says:

    Just look at the german mod Nehrim for Oblivion. That was practically a full game. Was just as good as Oblivion too, imo

  35. 01/08/2011 at 19:47 Olivaw says:

    Reminds me of the saga of one “Dongs REO Speedwagon”: http://www.freelanceastronauts.com/games.php?id=3

  36. 01/08/2011 at 19:58 UnravThreads says:

    To be honest, Oblivion is as much an advert as to why mods are bad as it is for why they’re good.

    Modding communities are perverted and lore-breaking beyond belief, and I stopped modding my games because I got absolutely sick of having to trawl through pages of Anime costumes, sex mods, BDSM outfits and other ridiculous crap to find the ONE mod that might work.

    • 01/08/2011 at 20:19 Dionysus says:

      If there is one good mod you like, they’ve already proven their worth. Free, completely optional material? You can pick out the lore-faithful, the perverted sex romps, whatever. I can’t see it ever argued they’re truly a negative. Maybe in crazy land where you must install every single one, even the ones that contradict others.

      I’d argue for sites with better organization and searchability… Most mods, like most books, TV shows, etc. are utter crap.

    • 01/08/2011 at 20:20 Pointless Puppies says:

      That’s why you go look in the top 100 and sift through those. There’s a reason mod website have top lists, precisely because of what you just said.

    • 01/08/2011 at 21:01 Waltorious says:

      @UnravThreads:

      Isn’t that a bit like saying that we shouldn’t play games because a lot of games are bad? If you don’t want to figure out which mods are good, then you are free to not bother, but for the rest of us, the good mods are very rewarding.

    • 01/08/2011 at 21:32 PFlute says:

      I seriously think the real issue is with the main Oblivion mod website. And Pointless, in my experience the top 100 are still the ones voted up by the regular community — which means most of them are slender anime-girly outfits. A quality lore-friendly set of armor suits remains hidden beneath a couple of hundred chainmail bikinis.

      Of course, there are ‘best of’ lists elsewhere, and those help. But it’s still a hairy, frustrating field. Hopefully with Skyrim we can see some better forms of organization. Lord knows I’d love to just gather up all the lore-appropriate content additions and tie them together.

    • 02/08/2011 at 04:03 Pointless Puppies says:

      @PFlute:

      Are you talking about the Nexus? Because just in the Top 25 I see Trade and Commerce, OBMM, BOSS, Wrye Bash, Darnified UI, the Midas Magic overhaul, Unofficial Oblivion Patch, Elsweyr, OBGE, Better Cities, TES4Edit, and Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch. Pretty much some of the most important mods there are to be had in Oblivion.

      Yes, there’s anime/fetish crap, even in the Top 25. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, but I AM saying it’s really not hard at all to find the good stuff. I know it’s all vote-based, but it still pretty much works. It’s not like you have to sift through hundreds of the things, it’s just a small list and the non-fetish-crap is pretty easy to spot.

    • 02/08/2011 at 08:49 UnravThreads says:

      @Pointless Puppies
      I’ve just gone on and looked at the top 25. 12 of them, at the very least, were either lore-breaking, overtly sexual and/or didn’t fit the visuals of the game. And, of the 12 I saw, 3 of them were also blocked as Adults Only.

      Looking at the top 100 (non-adult), they’re mostly either tech and/or UI fixes and utilities (Like OMOD), visual enhancements or lore breaking crap (Lich King armour from Warcraft? Seriously?). It’s so hard to find high quality, lore-friendly mods that don’t make my character look like a stripper from an anime flick.

    • 02/08/2011 at 15:53 TheGameSquid says:

      You’re completely right! When I was a little kid I turned on my radio only to find Bon Jovi blasting out of the stereo. I thereby concluded that all music must be inherently bad, and I have therefore stopped listening to all music whatsoever. In fact, our governments did a fine job when they decided to ban all sound from our good planet!

    • 02/08/2011 at 18:15 Urthman says:

      You think Nexus is bad, you’re going to get a real shock when you start using this thing called the Internet.

  37. 01/08/2011 at 20:09 thegooseking says:

    I would have thought it would be easy to justify allowing modding to Activision, given that no-one would buy VtmB if it weren’t for fans fixing the damn thing.

  38. 01/08/2011 at 20:27 Snuffy the Evil says:

    And then, on the totally opposite end of the spectrum…

    NOT SAFE FOR ANYWHERE

    NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE

  39. 01/08/2011 at 20:36 Thunderkor says:

    I don’t want to live in a world where things like this don’t exist. Hooray for mods!

    Let the furries and the weirdos have their off-putting freaky stuff, I can ignore all those that don’t interest me. But this kind of stuff just makes me happy.

  40. 01/08/2011 at 20:49 Po0py says:

    This shouldn’t be just a post on a blog. This should be one of many posts on a campaign to get Blizzard to man up and do the right thing.

  41. 01/08/2011 at 20:56 nullward says:

    Trying very hard not to bust out laughing in a quiet office.

    I had to stop the video about 15 seconds after the music started.

  42. 01/08/2011 at 20:57 AlwaysRight says:

    Can we have a satirical story outlining the evils of putting real life money into games now please?

  43. 01/08/2011 at 21:26 Vague-rant says:

    Brilliant. Just brilliant.

    The animations are pretty well done all things considered. Always wondered how people managed to get new animations into Oblivion- only a shade less impressive than the script extender in my eyes.

  44. 01/08/2011 at 21:34 Muzman says:

    At about 1m 33s where he’s annoying the guy reading:
    …Is that the Boris Yeltzin dance?

  45. 01/08/2011 at 22:02 manveruppd says:

    Well that was 3 minutes of smiling! :) Back to the daily misery of my life… :p

  46. 01/08/2011 at 23:09 Leelad says:

    Playing oblivion again..

  47. 02/08/2011 at 01:27 Velvetmeds says:

    At least Blizzard makes good games. Bethesda doesn’t even try.

    • 02/08/2011 at 08:39 Symitri says:

      I’d argue against that. As much as I hate the quality of Bethesda’s quality control when it comes to the technical aspects of their games, namely how often they crash or how many bugs they launch with, there’s a lot more I find to love in their games than in Blizzard games as of late. I’ve felt wrapped up in the worlds of Oblivion and Fallout 3 while I played them and while I would get angry at the crashes, it’s only because I enjoyed the experience enough that I hated being taken away from it if just for a minute.

      Blizzard doesn’t release games often enough to judge but I haven’t felt any passion for a game since I first played WoW five years ago. Experiencing the world for the first time was incredible and back then, I might have agreed with you. But I’ve gone through three expansions of that now and Starcraft 2 and the conclusion I’ve drawn is that I couldn’t care less about their games now. Sure they’re polished but they lack a lot of soul. I’d take the game that crashes but makes me feel something over the one that doesn’t but gives me nothing any day.

      BUT that’s a huge aside from the video posted, which was awesome and made my day brighter.

    • 02/08/2011 at 11:25 The Sentinel says:

      Should I counter your completely subjective opinion with my own completely subjective opinion, in the finest argumentative, battle-ready traditions of the Internet? Or should I point to the fact that they’re still trading, still making screeds of money, as all the argument needed to overturn your clearly biased statement? You choose.

  48. 02/08/2011 at 01:52 markside says:

    Words just aren’t enough…

  49. 02/08/2011 at 05:34 RQH says:

    I am increasingly convinced that these sorts of decisions re: mods are not made by people who actually enjoy games, or whose primary goal is to make a game that contributes to the world in any way, or for whom any argument that mods make the world a better/happier/sillier/pick-your-adjective place holds sway. The decision is made because they didn’t think about it until after they’d built tech that didn’t easily support it, or to save on time/budget, or most likely because their whole real-money auction house idea goes down the shitter if people can mod in anything they want. There are certainly plenty of people at Blizzard who care about games and who would love nothing more than for their game to support mods, but they are not the ones making the decisions, because to rise to a certain level in the industry you have to stop caring about games in that peculiarly passionate way that is utterly divorced from how much money they can make you.

    • 02/08/2011 at 07:35 po says:

      Or because when people can make their own mods, you can’t sell them endless DLC, a lot of which is lower quality than mods that are released for free.

  50. 02/08/2011 at 06:13 Daz says:

    What a wonderful way to start off the day :D

  51. 02/08/2011 at 09:38 sjjs says:

    Cute, but has nothing on the Malkavian Mod for Deus Ex. That shit is transcendental.

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