This is something I just wanted to post my opinions on. Not bashing, not arguing, just stating my opinion.
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So...there's a lot of controversy in the gaming industry right now, particularly with moding certain games such as Skyrim. And I'd just like to put my opinions out there. I don't think I have very many - if any friends who play games on PC here, but whatever.
Just over the course of a couple days ago, the Steam Workshop has made a 'scheme' that makes people have to pay for mods. Now...I don't know where I really stand on this, but I think I'm really more for it than against it.
Now, I don't know about a lot of you, but I play video games daily. Mostly simulation games, but I play a lot of 'shoot 'em up games' as well. And as a PC gamer, I have installed a fair amount of mods on a number of my games. Both good and bad.
In todays world there's not really such a thing as an 'actual job'. There just isn't. The internet has made sure of that. People are able to make a living of recording themselves playing video games for crying out loud. Completely out of advertising certain items. Those YouTube adds you get, even just the pop up pictures, those are what make these people their money. Like it or not, it's a fact of today's life.
So what I'm trying to ask...is if people can make money just recording themselves just playing games, why can people not make money for making mods? Something PC gamers rely heavy on to be above the 'console peasants' as PC fanboys call them.
In my opinion, if someone has spent hundreds to thousands of hours making a product that is actually better than what the actual gaming company has produced...I think they have the right to ask for a buck or two. And heaven knows companies such as Bethesda Gaming Studios can use all the help they can get for fixing all the bugs they let slip by in their 'final products'.
Secondly, mods are an OPTION! You do not have to play with mods! They make the game a lot more fun to play, prettier to look at, and God knows what else, but they are an option to put on your PC. They are not a required item for your game.
Thirdly, as I said before, if someone has spent a long time making the item better than the actual game itself or a DLC, they have the right to ask for a small payment of maybe five to ten dollars.
If you don't like having to pay for mods, go and look up a new website. It's that simple. It's not like they're charging an arm and a leg. From the research I've done, a lot of mods are only asking for less than a quarter. If you can't afford that then how did you even get the game?