Skyrim: Mods make games ‘better’, says Todd Howard

When it comes to video game mods, Bethesda is one of the best there is at making their games accessible to modders.  As one of the few companies to cater to modders, Bethesda and their newly released Skyrim Creation Kit provides the same tools used internally to build the world, quests, AI, etc. Using these new tools, it allows its fanbase to build on the already massive and impressive world that has been created.  It gives fans the opportunity to craft their own adventure and really shape the grand RPG in a way they want.  It's virtually limitless freedom for the player.

And how much do players love it?

Since the release of the Skyrim Creation Kit, there have been over 4,000 mods created and submitted to the Skyrim Steam Workshop.  Even more impressive is that just after a week since their release, over 2 million mods were downloaded by Skyrim PC players.  I'd say it's a system players enjoy.  So why don't more companies embrace the mod community?

"I don't know why they don't," questioned Bethesda's Tood Howard in an interview on G4TV.  "I think it makes your game better."

"Maybe since we're not a multiplayer game that becomes our community avenue so maybe it is more important to us," Howard reasoned.

To Bethesda, it's all about giving fans the freedom to express their own adventures.

"Our fans and the guys who make stuff…they are so creative and they just go nuts," Howard added. "We just sit back and go, 'Wow'.  It's great," he concluded.

Some of the most popular mods, and a taste of what you can find on the Skyrim Steam Workshop are:

• Sounds of Skyrim – The Wilds: Adding 94 new sound effects to Skyrim's wilderness.
• Horses for Followers: Followers and hirelings can now ride horses instead of running behind you.
• Improved Interior Lighting (For Pluto's Realistic Lighting Mod): Updates certain interior spaces with more realistic lighting to better mimic ambient lighting caused by smaller enclosed spaces.

While there are some incredibly useful and intricate mods on the Steam Workshop, you can also find some pretty amusing ones including one in particular that really made Howard laugh, the Macho Dragon Mod which replaces dragon heads with "Macho Man" Randy Savage's face.

No matter what your taste in mods, odds are you can find it all with the Skyrim Steam Workshop.  It really does provide hours of endless fun to the game.