Skyrim Director Wishes Console Gamers Could Experience PC Mods

Kotaku: Skyrim game director Todd Howard agrees—he and his team at Bethesda have embraced the modding community to an unprecedented degree. It's really too bad that such a huge number of console gamers never have an opportunity to mess around with mods at all. "If I ran the video game world," Howard told me at E3, "all consoles would be exactly the same way [as PCs]."

[Snookies12]

Well yeah... I traded in my console version for a PC one... Greatest decision ever. I swear, the game is like 10x better with mods, adding all sorts of extra playability.

[SeekDev]

I think I had something like 60 mods installed in the first month of Skyrim. I loved the mods, it was like shopping in a candy store, where all the candy is free.

[Snookies12]

Wow, that's exactly how I felt! Wasn't sure how to explain it, but yeah... I installed like 30 on my first day, before even staring a new game haha! I love the lush trees, more grass, and terrain bump mods. Couple that with the dungeon and wildlife sounds mods, and it's such a better experience all around aesthetically and audibly.

[SeekDev]

I'm waiting to do a second playthrough with all of the new and improved mods. I didn't actually finish my first playthrough, never got around to it. But now there's so many new mods that I want to restart.

[Asgaro]

This makes me smile.

I am a PC gamer but because I don't have much free time at the moment, I have yet to buy Skyrim!

But in the meantime I have already made a nice list of mods I've come across (being featured on game news sites), and plan to install them all right from the start!

Next month, I will finally have a lot of free time so I will buy it! On top of that, there is the Steam Summer Sale so it will probably be 25% or 50% off.

Glad and proud to be a PC gamer :)

[SeekDev]

I recommend Skyrim Nexus. I'm pretty sure they've got all the mods from Steam Workshop too.

[Double_Oh_Snap]

I Wish I could play it with mods.
I'll just enjoy what I have.

[jamesensor]

Pc is an open-ended world my friends.. the last stronghold of freedom ^^

[Iceman X]

PS3 can run mods, and alot of stuff. I rmember when Unreal 3 came out and PS3 could run mods maps etc. Now the problem is 360 can't run mods, they couldn't even, make their own stuff of Unreal for 360 they had to wait for Epic to give them stuff. Mean while PS3 version downloaded what they wanted whan they wanted. Now A: this guy doesn;t know how to do mods for PS3 or B: they don't want to make mods for PS3 and 360 can't get them. That would be alot of trouble. And even still they could pick mods and make them updates. This companuy is making excuses.

[Cueil]

can't isn't the word... it can most certainly run a mod... most DLC are "mods"

[h311rais3r]

All DLC is mods. DLC is company controlled mods that players would make for free but companies cash in because they restrict the consumer.

[Iceman X]

I agree i think today's favorite word is "LAZY". How about the fix broke ass Skyrim 1st, then worry about mods lol.

[Cueil]

Iceman X you must not be an Elder Scrolls fan... none of their games are without giant bugs it's the nature of the game type

[MysticStrummer]

If it was simply the nature of the game type, modders wouldn't be able to fix Bethesda's mistakes so soon after launch, if at all. lol Of course Bethesda embraces the modding community. What a joke it was for anyone to name them devs of the year.

[Iceman X]

@Cueil

You are right, i wasn't talking about the quality of the game just the point of mods. Yeah i tried Skyrim... people were talking about how good it was. It's a good looking game with ALOT to do, but combat is BORING. And with all that to do you never really cared about any of the people you met. Shit you didn't even remember thier names, their were NO memerable characters. But every1 has thier own opinion about different games. I know even people say FF13 was a bad game, i liked it. But yet every1 still knows the characters names, even for ANY old FF game. People still know the characters. Ask someone to name someone from Skyrim lol.

[Ravenor]

Unreal Tournament 3 couldn't run total conversions, it was only new maps, skins and gametypes. Barely a mod.

[PopRocks359]

Maybe it's because I'm not a huge PC gamer, but I'm not big into mods. Never really interested me.

I'm a bigger fan of user generated game content. Like being able to make your own levels and characters in Little Big Planet and your own test chambers in Portal 2. I know mods are technically the same thing, but often it takes longer and is not as easy to manage than what's provided by the developer.

I'm aware that this isn't always the case, but bear with me. I've had a lot of issues working with mods for Halo PC, Doom III and even some Valve games I own on my computer. It's just not really a process I enjoy unless the developer goes out of their way to help make it easier.

[Ducky]

Although traditional mod tools are harder to work with and take longer to produce content, they also give the creators more freedom and often lead to mods that can do something unique.
It's not really PC-specific, LPB2's creation tools are pretty complex and the amount of freedom it gives can be seen in the creative levels created by people far more talented then I'll ever be.

As for getting those mods to run, Steam's Workshop has made the process considerably smoother. Some games, particularly TES series, were a bit cumbersome to install mods onto in the past.

[thebudgetgamer]

That is the main reason I would ever invest in a gaming computer.

[jaymart2k]

If I ran the video game world like Howard I would at least get Skyrim to play on the PS3.

[Ducky]

Don't have to. If mods were allowed, then the community would fix their game for them.
That's how it's been in the past.

[MysticStrummer]

Exactly, which is why they have "embraced the modding community". They can't code properly themselves, and they know the modders will fix their mistakes.

[LAWSON72]

Well most console fanboys say we dont need mods because we dont have inferior product that needs them and we like to play them the way the devs intended us to. How about build a decent rig for around 500$ it aint like it is hard and is for more than gaming.

[Cueil]

The biggest reason for lock down on mods is system instability and cheating... I know I have a lock pick mod for my game 0_-

[Gorilla_Killa_X]

I believe a big reason is due to the inclusion of trophies. However, an easy fix would be to disable the trophy system on PS3 if mods are installed for a game.

[Cueil]

sir... a group took a save file and used it to install Linux on the original Xbox... you think they couldn't do that with a open mod system... it still have to go through an approval system and that doesn't even include the nude texture mods and other weird stuff that would make old people in power want to raise the rating to AO

[sriki007]

valve is the best.. Even The level creator for portal 2 is epic.

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

The mods for Just Cause 2 make playing it without mods almost unbearable. :/

[ninjahunter]

122 mods installed and counting.

[InTheLab]

Then console gamers would realize how shit Skyrim is. The modding community for Skyrim should be paid by Bethesda for finishing their unfinished and broken game...

SkyrimNexus.....makes the game playable.