There's a general understanding between video game developers and mod creators. Modders, usually fans, are allowed to use the game's assets, even add to them, so long as they don't make any money. It's a rule that's typically spelled out in the EULA (End User License Agreement) players must agree to when they install the game. For years, that arrangement has led to incredible works, including a young designer who built an entire continent for Skyrim and subsequently used it to apply for a job at Bethesda Softworks. But that quiet understanding may eventually become a thing of the past with Valve's announcement that Steam Workshop creations for participating games may be sold for money.
Bad News for Modders
Few activities show dedication and love for a game more than creating content for it. It's sort of like writing fan fiction for your favorite book, except kicked up several notches. Since modders couldn't be paid for their work, creating one was a labor of love. There are plenty of cases where that hobby turned into a paying job. Once upon a time, creating an awesome Unreal Tournament mod might earn you a job at Epic Games. MOBA games like League of Legends were started by a WarCraft III mod called Defense of the Ancients. Similarly, Garry's Mod started as a free mod before Valve gave permission for it to become a premium standalone game. But the trend with all these cases is that each creator started with a hobby, changing up games that they loved, and later turned it into a paid profession. Furthermore, these hobbies can often raise the gaming industry to new heights, benefiting players everywhere.
The Steam Workshop provides a standardized means for modders to create content for their favorite games without having to learn a dozen different toolsets. Until the announcement, all content created with the Workshop was free. Now modders can create content for Skyrim (the only participating game so far) for the intended purpose of selling it, skipping over the free bit. Creators can set their own price, and prices seem fairly low so far. A dollar or two for a single weapon or a bit of armor, and more for a bundled set. It's not much, but if iTunes is any indication, you don't necessarily need to sell expensive goods to make a lot of money.
In the book "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets," Harvard Law professor Michael Sandel states that money can have a degrading effect when it is introduced into a social system. Although it seems counterintuitive, sometimes paying for something can devalue the item or service. Why should anyone do anything for free when they can get paid for it? When money enters into the equation, it often degrades or replaces the love that would otherwise be present if it were done with no expectation of payment.
Anyone who has ever made popular and original content for Skyrim thus far and gave it away for free just got slapped in the face with the announcement. Even if only 100 people were willing to pay a dollar for that mod, that's a hundred dollars you missed out on because the rules suddenly changed. Now there's incentive to create something, not because you love Skyrim and because you want to share the love, but because maybe you'll make a few bucks. And if you don't make money for your work, then the monetary system becomes a disincentive to make anything at all.
When money isn't a factor, the only things that holds you back is from expressing your talent is your passion, drive, and time. Even if your item isn't popular, at least you made something that you were proud enough of to share with others. But there's an entirely different standard when you expect to be paid for your work, leading to a different relationship between modders and the players that enjoy what they make. By extension, user reviews for mods take on a whole new importance. It was one thing to download a free mod and be dissatisfied with it. It's another to pay for one.
Bad News for Gamers
If you think the deluge of premium DLC from developers and publishers is annoying, just wait until you have to start paying for horse armor again. If modders continually expect to be paid for their creations, free content may eventually go away almost entirely. All that will be left will be crap no one really cares for, or stuff that violates the copyright of something else. So, at least you won't have to pay for that Skyrim light saber or ton ton. Not yet, anyway.
Even if modders can only make a modest profit for their work, that won't stop the flood of terrible premium content that inevitably get dumped into these marketplaces by those hoping to make some quick cash. Just about every online seller, including the iTunes app store and especially Google Play, suffers from this. It's a minor nuisance when this stuff shows up for free, it's really annoying when you end up paying for it, even when you can request a refund.
The expectation of payment opens the mod market up to different interests. Why shouldn't Mountain Dew or McDonald's release branded horse armor? If not directly, then perhaps a modder might seek sponsorship from a company. Even if they don't charge for it, it's still advertising. Fantasy role-playing games are sort of the last bastion for product placement and advertisements, because seeing a having the double arches as your coat of arms is a bit out of place. Game developers can't get away with that kind of product placement, but modders don't have to use that standard. You may end up adventuring alongside a walking billboard in your next multiplayer game. However, I'll admit, things could get interesting if they start advertising rival games.
Being Free to Play
Although it might seem like a good idea to pay modders that do quality work, the long term cost to the gaming community is too high. Allowing premium mods for even one game is a dangerous experiment, and one that threatens the love and creativity that drives the creation of some of these works. Gamers and modders alike should help put an end to this practice by not participating in it. It would send a message that the community is not interested in having this area of gaming compromised.
Opinion: Money for Steam Workshop Mods Turns Hobby into Commerce
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