Pumpkin Lord
Winter
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One of the first modders - Author
1.) Hello, Winter. As one of the First modders ever, your attempts go way back to 2005, which led you to become also one of the First modders to get hired by Armagan to be the First guy to make tutorials aka in-depth documentations of module system to teach the first generation of modders. Well - you are the history of modding. So, lets start with an introduction of yourself for those who don’t know you.
Answer: My name's Ryan Span, 34, and I'm an indie game dev. RPGs, visual novels, platformers, strategy games, I've pretty much done it all. Writing is my particular speciality.
As well as working for other studios, I run an outfit of my own called Illuminated Games. A few of our releases include Euclidean, The Next World, and Golem Creation Kit.
Back in the day I made StoryMod and CraftMod, helped out with the early module system documentation, and eventually contributed some work on the original Mount&Blade.
2.) How did you get started on modding this sequel for the first time? Did you have any past experiences? Why did you want to mod this game?
Answer: What I really wanted to do when I first learned about M&B (0.632) was to join the team. The game had huge potential to become the kind of story-driven PC RPG I love, and we weren't seeing a lot of good ones back in the mid-2000s. Kind of a lost era between Knights of the Old Republic 1 and Mass Effect/Dragon Age.
I ended up emailing Armagan to see if he was interested in hiring any help. He replied, we got to talking, and he ended up showing me a prototype of the first module system. So I set about making myself familiar with it.
At the time I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I had absolutely no past experience in scripting or programming, so I spent a lot of time just figuring things out through trial and error, since there was no real documentation at all.
Writing, on the other hand, was something I did a lot of even back then. As time passed, a project gradually began to take shape. This would eventually turn into StoryMod.
3.) So - you are the history of warband modding. It all starts in 2005. Was there a crowded player-base? What kind of a modding community there was back then? Did you help to dev-team of M&B actively? How did you start working for TaleWorlds?
Answer: I think that's giving me quite a bit too much credit!
There was already a bit of a community when I joined the TaleWorlds forum. At least a few dozen regulars, probably hundreds of players. A few people were already modding M&B by directly editing the text files that contained the game's compiled code, which was pure madness. (A kind of madness deserving of respect, mind you.) Then the module system finally came out.
I had a slight head start on others, since I'd seen the prototype. I made it my mission to become the best around at using it. (I wasn't, but I put in a lot of effort.)
Eventually, since I had a combination of modding experience, writing skills, and free time, Armagan contacted me about doing a series of tutorials for the module system.
4.) Through our conversations, you revealed that the idea of “Character Backgrounds” belonged you and executed by you during your time as a developer of this game. What was your role, exactly? How was it like working alongside Armagan? Was there others back then?
Answer: I officially joined the team in 2008, to do original dialogue as well as polishing up some existing material. Since I knew the menu system, I figured it would be a fun way to handle character creation, and give people a chance to connect with their character from the start. I pitched the idea, and it was accepted.
As I understand it, there was a big hiring push after the publishing agreement with Paradox, and I was one of the last to come on board. There were already a number of people working on the game in order to get things polished to a proper standard. Deadlines were looming.
All in all, it was a pretty intense time.
5.) Your main task was to document module system, and all thanks to your efforts - there is a community to talk about in a way, even so it was your job. What was the aim of creating the documentations? Did Armagan encourage modding even back then?
Answer: Definitely too much credit.
I don't think modding was part of the original plan, but in 2005 it became obvious that a real community was rallying around the game. So Armagan went out of his way to get the first versions of the module system done and into creative people's hands.
My work on the docs was all part of encouraging the community. Not many games can boast about having such a dedicated fanbase, it would've been stupid to ignore it! More mods equals more people engaged and interested. It was a no-brainer, really.
6.) What was MBX streetofeyes like at the time? Why it was created? Why did you, alongside with many IRC modders, move off from TW forums to that forums?
Answer: MBX was a project largely in response to tightening of the rules around intellectual property on TaleWorlds, which I think was largely in response to The Last Days. TLD had become the #1 most popular mod at the time -- I probably don't need to explain why -- and it was taking a lot of visual cues from the Lord of the Rings films. Star Wars Conquest and a couple of others at the time were also using third-party IP. So TW decided to expel all mods using third-party IP from the official forums, to head off any legal action.
I thought that was a bit of a **** move. So since I had the resources, I decided to set up a new, unofficial forum for everyone to use, with a primary focus on modding.
I also wanted to use MBX as a launchpad for a special mod that Janus, Yoshiboy and I were planning together. Unfortunately everyone's personal lives got in the way and that never ended up happening.
7.) How would you describe Armagan and his vision with a sentence? If it is too cliche, a paragraph is also good! Do you think that he predicted modding would be this big of a thing?
Answer: I think the saying about 'riding a tiger' is appropriate. I don't believe he ever expected M&B to take off like it did, let alone the modding community, and was a little overwhelmed by it. Like any of us probably would be. To his credit, he held on, and here we are now, 10 years later.
Who knows, maybe even Bannerlord will get released someday?
8.) Moddding, working in TaleWorlds. Did these experiences influence you in any way? Your studies, carreer?
Answer: Having Mount&Blade as a credit certainly hasn't done my career any harm. It was also my first time working with any kind of code, and the little bit of scripting skill I gained from using the module system gave me a lot more flexibility in taking writing/design jobs afterwards.
It even got me started scripting full games a few years ago, rather than always relying on outside programmers. That turned into The Next World and Golem Creation Kit, for which I'm still releasing occasional updates and DLC to this day.
Life takes you in unexpected directions!
9.) Do you have any plans to do modding work for Bannerlord?
Answer: Original M&B is the only game I've ever modded, and will probably stay that way. I'm a professional game dev -- if I'm going to work on a video game, I can't afford to do it for free anymore.
10.) What is your favourite M&B mod? Why do you like it?
Answer: Ooh, tough question. I think the one I played most was Holy War Mod by Raz. Also Yoshi's RPGMod. They were clever, and really pushed the envelope of what was possible at the time.
That always appealed to my game-making philosophy: If it hasn't been done, do it. If it can't be done, do it even more.
11.) What is your overall impression of the modding community of this game?
Answer: Ridiculously dedicated, motivated, and creative. I've never seen another one like it.
12.) And - lastly. Would you like to say anything to creative people who’re reading this interview at the moment?
Answer: I think one of the most important things I've learned in this line of work is to not just ask yourself what you want or what you're doing, but why. It's very easy to fool yourself into doing the wrong thing, or the right thing for the wrong reasons.
Always ask yourself: Am I feeling good about this, and why? If the answer is no, then why not, and why am I doing it in the first place?
It's good life advice in general. Regular sanity checks will save your skin in many a tough spot.
Also, you should back my upcoming Kickstarter campaign for a brand new game. Details will be forthcoming.