A Mod Publisher
Introduction
I have a pipe dream I want to share with you. I think big, always have and always will. I almost always have grand ideas that I am unable, for various reasons, to bring to fruition. This is another one of them and I offer it to the community in the hope that somebody with the relevant skills and motivation decides to use it.
Game Publishers
Retails games have a developer and a publisher. The developer makes the game and the publisher sells, markets, promotes and distributes it. They each have specific functions and have specialist staff.
One area of the modding community that has generally been behind is publishing. It’s very easy to get a domain and build a basic website and then start releasing a few screenshots and videos. But there’s more to promoting a mod than that.
Time for a Mod Publisher?
Imagine a group of people got together and said they were going to start publishing mods. What would that mean and how could it work? Well, here’s some of my ideas.
Exactly What Would a Mod Publisher Do?
Firstly, they would create a professional looking portal site. Then for each mod they agreed to publish they would create a sub-domain. This su-bdomain would have it’s own website, designed by the publisher.
ALL communication from the mod developers to the playing public would be made through the mod publisher. This includes screenshots, videos, interviews, competitions, Beta Testing, even the final release would be through the publisher.
The mod publisher would release Press Releases to gaming websites on a regular basis.
What benefit to the Mod Publisher?
Well firstly the Mod Publisher’s team would consist of people who have an interest in marketing and promotion. Just like making mods can be a great way to find a job in the gaming world, publishing mods can also be a stepping stones to developing a career in game publishing.
The publisher could, if it had the right kind of people, attract sponsor to cover the cost of host etc. There’s no reason why other income couldn’t be considered. Although all money raised must be used to help promote the mods, NOT for personal gain.
You must remember that some people actually enjoy this type of work and there are some mods that have a position of the team for Public Relations; Strider Mountain is one example.
What benefit to the Mod Developer?
Firstly, image not having to worry about promoting your hard work. You could focus on what you do best; making mods. The people with the interest and experience would help “sell” your mod to the playing public.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Every mod is competing with literally hundreds of other mods for players’ time and effort. You can have the best mod in the world but if nobody knows about it then it’s almost wasted.
Another aspect is the language. Not all developers have English as their native language, that can make promotion even harder.
Payment
Because the mod would be free, then the publishing would also be free. We’ll ignore the possible development of paid-for-mods for the time being. The cost of hosting etc would be covered by sponsor and advertising.
Don’t Mod Publishers Exist Already?
Yes, in a way. websites like Moddb.com and PlanetPhillip do a similar job and a mod publisher would still ensure that sites like those are given all the promotional material. But there is a difference between the sites and a publisher, in the same way as there is a difference between the gaming news sites and the game publishers.
Not Every Mod Would be Published
I’m not suggesting that EVERY mod should be published just the better ones. A mod would need to make an application and the publisher would review the application and make a decision. Unlike the retail game publisher there should be no financial consideration, just quality.
Conclusion
Every area of modding is taken seriously, why not publishing? These kinds of support roles are often neglected because mod makers don’t have experience in them. Accept that publishing is a useful tool used to allow more players to play your mods. If, as a mod maker, you take anything from this article, take the concept that publishing is a skill and at worse if you are serious about your mod you should find somebody to help promote it.
Personally I believe that this would make a great feature for Moddb.com. They have huge amounts of visitors and members and if anybody could do it, they could. What do you say Steve?
Your Thoughts
I have little doubt that some readers will think the idea crazy, that’s fine. Why don’t you take the time to counter some of my points? I’d love to hear sensible comments and suggestions.
6 Comments for “A Mod Publisher”