The Business of Mod Websites

So, you have a mod and you want to tell the world about. Well, read on and perhaps you’ll see things from a new point of view.

Change Your Perspective
I have a particular philosophy about mods and mod making and this affects the way I view everything.

Let’s start at the beginning. You are a business and the players are your customers and your mod is your product. The Team’s job is to make the best product in the shortest possible time and make sure as many customers know and are interested in your product! Not everybody agrees with the way I see it but allow me to explain why I see it this way.

Each player has a limited amount of time to play and a huge selection of retail games, free games, demos and custom maps and mods to choose from. Different people have different amounts of time and different amounts of money to spend. What they all have in common is they are potential “customers” of your mod. (Of course this assumes they own a version of the game you are making the mod for)

So, you have potential “customers” that need to be convinced that your mod is worth their time and effort. All you need is to get them to try your mod and if you have made something worthwhile then they will play it.

I have used the business, customers and products analogy because you ARE competing for their attention, just like real businesses. You are competing with all those other possibilities I mentioned. Sure, you mod is free but players have to “pay” something and in this case it’s time and effort.

Therefore, you need to make your mod stand out from the rest, or at least ensure that the things that make your mod interesting are clearly promoted.

Never Compromise On Quality
A very important point to note is that everything you write and show is a reflection of your mod. If you show bad work then potential players will assume that the mod will be bad, and by “everything” I really do mean everything.

The first thing they may encounter is your website, which means that it needs to do exactly what it’s designed to do. It is the link between you and your customers. It has two functions: Firstly, to advertise and promote your mod and secondly to act a single point of accurate and up-to-date information.

Be Careful
It’s possible to make you mod look better than it is and whilst that may seem like a great idea it will actually back fire and hurt you and your mod in the long run. If you promise too much and fail to deliver on those promises players will be left with a bad feeling. It’s always better to understate your product and exceed players’ expectations rather than build up so much anticipation that you are bound to fail.

Content
In the previous section I mentioned that it is a bad idea to create too much expectation for your mod. A common way of doing that is by the description you use. Too often I read phrases like
“Never before seen features”, “Merging FPS, RPG and RTS” and “This mod will change the way….”

Whilst this is really a issue of mod planning and management, it falls into the website topic because if you publish this type of wording you are using the website in the wrong way.

You’ve Reached The Fork
At this point you have two choices. Release the mod and put the website online at the same time or announce the mod via the website. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Let’s have a quick look at both ways.

Both At The Same Time
Let’s start with an example: Riot Act, a Half-Life 2 mod.

This is my favourite mod website. It simply informs you about the mod in a visually appealing way. The important point about this site is that there is no updating, no community section. It’s more like a poster, but it works.

A recent PlanetPhillip poll Questions asked Do you prefer regular updates or surprises from mods?. At the time of writing almost 70 percent said, Just make it and release it. It seems that players are getting bored with the long development time and the constant lack of updates.

If you decide to build a site like this, make sure it is easy to use and looks great.

Announce Via The Website
Most mods use this process: build a website, post updates, try and build anticipation. My advice is that unless you really commit to this process, don’t bother. If you do, then use software that is easy to update, WordPress for example, try and tie it in with your forums to ensure it stays active and above all post regular and interesting media.

Here’s a good example: Gear Dev

These guys build source mods. They update with interesting stuff. What this means is that if you follow this style of website, make sure you actually create interesting stuff to show! The maintenance of the site is low because it’s hosted by WordPress and the person in charge of updating doesn’t waste time doing it instead of building the mod.

ModDB
Of course, another route is to simply use ModDB as your mod’s website. I think ModDB is great but don’t allow it to be your only contact with potential players, use it like Twitter; as another way of reaching players.

There’s a lot to consider about designing your mod website but all I want you to do is THINK about your website BEFORE you build it.

If you are not sure about your design get it beta tested like anything else about your mod. Show it to a few people and ask for their opinion, just make sure those people know nothing about you mod though.

Good luck!

One Response to “The Business of Mod Websites”

1. David says:

   July 1, 2009 at 2:47 pm

   Great article

   When i first saw Riot Act’s website, i just thought “cooool” x)

   I’m quite a fan of WordPress, it saves soo much time.

   Reply