Gameplay Journal Entry #4

Not to make it seem as though I only read the first paragraph of Galloway’s chapter on Countergaming, but the first sentence really explains the phenomenon of game mods that are as creative as they are outlandish. He says, “Artist-made video game mods are an unusual thing, for they seem to
contradict their very existence: when the mod rises to the level of
art, rather than a gesture of fandom — as Counter-Strike was to Half-Life — then, more often than not, the game loses its rule set completely and ceases to be a game after all.” This is true for anything that alters the pre-existing nature of game. It has the tendency to take on it’s own life and become something completely different. But this is not always a bad thing. Some artist made mods can cause a domino effect of weird and outlandish mods that make a once serious game, a world of fun nonsense. For example, the Thomas the Tank Engine mod in Skyrim.

This mod effectively replaces the dragon in Skyrim with detailed and accurate models of Thomas the Tank Engine, complete with his train whistle and in some cases, his theme song as the dragons combat music. This mod is incredibly outlandish but shows that anything is possible if one knows how to mod a game properly. There are other mods that improve upon the games existing graphics, or add new features and quality of life additions that the game inherently lacks. There are even wholesome mods that add monuments to gamers that have since passed on but had a deep love for games like Skyrim and worked tirelessly to make the game better through mods. But ultimately, it all started through one or many individuals having a wild dream to put Thomas the Tank Engine in a game like Skyrim.