The Steam Workshop Skyrim paid mods experiment is over, long live free Skyrim mods! Except, there’s a hint of regret in the air. Sure, people got what they wanted. Valve’s paid mod roll out was far from perfect and had its flaws. But the thing about this experiment is, despite the problems, there was promise there. The implementation of paid mods could have resulted in some wonderful things, and it would be foolish of Valve to not give the idea another try.
Not immediately, of course. As we already saw, the whole paid mod endeavor didn’t go over too well with Skyrim . If the right amount of research and care was put into it, something really good could come of it. It just needs the proper amount of preparation.
To start, Valve needs to do a lot more research into the subject, something the company itself admitted . While this run was a complete failure, valuable lessons were learned. These should be taken into consideration, and surveys conducted of developers, publishers, modders, and players before moving forward with any other plans. See what everyone has to say. Especially the customers, since they’re the ones who’ll have to be convinced paying for a mod is better than scrounging among the free ones. Run a few betas. Find out what everyone thinks.
Hopefully, one of the things that will come from such research would be a set of paid mod guidelines. We already saw some rather ridiculous ones appear as jokes in the Steam Workshop during the Skyrim debacle. My favorite was the $29.99 extra apple for the Bannered Mare, a mod which still exists and is now free . This highlighted a legitimate problem. The idea of paid mods is sound, but only if the ones we’re kicking in money for’s prices are justified. There would have to be assurances of quality of such an experiment was attempted again. Because while I’m certain people would have no problem paying for something like, say, Become a Bard , we don’t want to pay for something lazy or insignificant.
Which brings us to another issue that would have to be resolved in a future experiment. Any paid mods would have to be strictly regulated. The legality issue with Art of the Catch is now well documented, as the paid mod came under fire for including content from a free one. Due diligence would have to be paid to ensure people were getting what they paid for and that the proper creators were getting the money they deserved.
Speaking of payment, that would need to be adjusted as well. 25% to the modders isn’t exactly fair, considering how much work some people probably put into programming these add-ons. But, that’s exactly what people were getting during the Skyrim paid mod experiment. Bethesda and Valve received the rest. While a cut is certainly due to the original creator and distributor, the creative force behind the content deserves more recognition for their efforts. If a second experiment were carried out, this would need to be adjusted as well.
Because really, the concept of paid mods is good in theory. It incentivizes creation. People will want to work harder on their fan product, as the supplemental income could prove essential. It also could add further legitimacy to the hobby and make those who would develop the top mods attractive hires to developers. Paid mods could end up being an inspiration for people who considered creation to be a hobby. But, if such an experiment is ever to be carried out again, next time it needs to be done with the utmost care and consideration.