Mod (computer gaming)

Mod or modification is a term generally applied to computer games, especially first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public, and can be entirely new games upon themselves. They can include new items, weapons, characters, enemies, models, modes, textures, levels, and story lines. They also usually take place in unique locations. They can be single-player or multiplayer.

Related Topics:
Computer game - First-person shooter - Real-time strategy - Multiplayer

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Games running on a PC are often designed with change in mind, and this consequently allows modern computer games to be modified by gamers without much difficulty. These mods can add an extra dimension of replayability and interest. The Internet provides an inexpensive medium to promote and distribute mods, and they have become an increasingly important factor in the commercial success of some games. Developers such as id Software, Valve Software, and Epic Games provide extensive tools and documentation to assist mod makers, leveraging the potential success brought in by a popular mod like Counter-Strike.

Related Topics:
Internet - Id Software - Valve Software - Epic Games - Counter-Strike

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Mods can significantly outshine or continue the success of the original game. Playing a mod might even become more common than playing the unmodded original. When talking about playing a game, players might have to clarify that they are referring to "vanilla Battlefield 1942", for example.

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Recently, computer games have also been used as a digital-art medium. See artistic computer game modification.

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