jdsgn: I mean, in the end, it could attract more professional acting developers, leading to more and better supported high quality mods.
Actually, that's a common misconception. While not to say that people are
evil, per se, we are most definitely hugely flawed individuals. So flawed, in fact, that we succumb to something called the
Overjustification Effect*. We've seen it time and time again when studios jumped on the ability to make some green only to abandon their projects when everything has been going so well in terms of being funded on stuff like Early Access.
Conversely, The Indie Stone, makers of Project Zomboid, seem to have the reverse effect of this happening to them. That is, their Early Access was highly unsuccessful, to the point where they had their funds locked out, their computers stolen, their fans abandoning them viciously (leaving hate comments aplenty) because they couldn't keep up with updates after having half their codes stolen by a burglar, and in general left with a project that was pretty much not going to get them any money.
Any sane person would have quit, but they're still around, and I can only imagine for the sole purpose of finally getting the game they wanted made to be finished. They didn't seem to have cash flow as a motivator in the slightest, even if there was the slightest possibility that it would be a huge success upon release.
Also, take into consideration the copious amounts of shovelware that has been and still is flooding the Steam store after the introduction of Early Access and Greenlight. While I know when one should buy an Early Access game (tip: only when the game has the features you
want and are
happy giving money to,
never for what the game promises) I can plainly see that that, as well as Greenlight, have completely obliterated Valve's quality control. There's no way they can ever keep up with the mod market if they can't keep up with their own storefront.
Bottom line, modding used to be about just making something because the modder wanted it to exist. They were driven by vision, not by the promise of cash. And it was glorious. For everyone. The introduction of monetization
will actually bring about a drastic decrease in quality mods, and increase the frequency in which they arise a hundred-fold. And in the end, the average gamer is being cheated out of money they probably don't even have (when you consider that Skyrim players use up to 200 mods in their games).
Also, Francis said it best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZAKeddtOuM "I play video games because I'm
broke! I don't have enough money to
do this shit! [Originally about buying a yacht and such, but also in reference to paying for mods on top of DLC, Micotranasctons, exorbitant games costs, subscription fees, console entry fees, graphics card updates] I don't own a yacht! I don't get to go f@#$ supermodels on a yacht! I don't get to do that! That's why I play video games!"
I get it's a joke, but come on. It's pretty spot on.
*The Overjustification Effect occurs when an expected external incentive such as money or prizes decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task.
