{"id":286,"date":"2009-03-23T13:36:19","date_gmt":"2009-03-23T18:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.xenopulse.com\/blog\/?p=286"},"modified":"2009-03-23T13:36:19","modified_gmt":"2009-03-23T18:36:19","slug":"monday-madness-mods-addons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xenopulse.com\/blog\/?p=286","title":{"rendered":"Monday Madness: mods & addons"},"content":{"rendered":"

*sigh, rant on*<\/p>\n

Hello, I am an add-on addict.\u00c2 If a game allows modding of any sort, I seem drawn to them and in some cases find it hard to play the game with out them.\u00c2 \u00c2 I have always thought games were made better or at least had their lifespans increased by allowing the community to contribute to the game via such mods\/addons.\u00c2 That all said, I do believe that mod authors need to play by the rules, even if those rules change mid-stream.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I only bring this up because recently Blizzard made an announcement about its Addon policy where some new rules were inacted.\u00c2 I find the new rules (basically: Don’t hide code, don’t charage, and dont advertise in game) to be good and actually sort of felt they were common sense sort of things.\u00c2 \u00c2 \u00c2 \u00c2 Apparently I was wrong, and the idea of keep code open, and addons free had been brushed aside by authors\u00c2 and which forced Blizzard to set up new rules.<\/p>\n

Well since the announcement there has been some fall out, but thus far it\u00c2 like a few authors throwing a tantrum and making me think of them as greedy whiners.\u00c2 Yes, I know a good mod takes a lot of time.\u00c2 Yes, some mods have millions of users.\u00c2 Yes, some people by implementing in-game advertising have apparently made a business out of the mod.<\/p>\n

But I have always felt mods were community driven projects and you should be writing a mod because you love the game and the community not to make money.\u00c2 \u00c2 I don’t think creating mods should have become a job\/business, it should have stayed a hobby, one you participating in because you were passionate about the game and your project and not the money you gained.<\/p>\n

I have yet to donate any money to a WoW author, though there are several that I would gladly, if I had an income, buy a pizza for or send a gift to.\u00c2 Not because I feel the should get paid, but as a thank you for their passion and work.<\/p>\n

If the only reason you were working on a mod was for the money, and are going to quit now because you can not charge people then I say with a smile, “goodbye and good luck.” \u00c2 \u00c2 I will adapt to playing without your mod, or someone else who is passionate will come in and take over.<\/p>\n

*Whew, rant off*<\/p>\n

Now since I mentioned wow mods, I thought I would list some of the ones I use.\u00c2 While long, yes I know I use a lot of mods,\u00c2 you should note this is not a comprehensive list.\u00c2 I am sure I have other mods installed, some I only use with some characters and many that I only try for\u00c2 short while, but these are the big ones I use.<\/p>\n