Are graphics-only mods valid?
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:05 am
Hi all,
When I started the KeenWiki I was of the opinion that skin mods (those that change only some of the graphics and nothing else) should not be added. Over the years a number of skin mods have been added and then removed, as they typically only change the main player sprite and nothing else.
Recently this has happened again, and I am wondering whether it is time to reconsider this stance. Should graphics-only mods be allowed on the KeenWiki?
In my opinion, most players would be familiar enough with the original game that there would be limited appeal in playing it through from start to finish with the only change being the main character looks a bit different. It seems to me to be a very low-effort mod, in that it only takes a few minutes to change some graphics and declare it as a new finished mod. I have always been of the opinion that if you want your skin mod listed on the wiki so badly, at least add a few new levels to give people something new to play, but for some reason the creators of skin mods never wanted to do this, which unfortunately just furthers my opinion that it's a low-effort mod. The only argument I can think of for having skin mods is that other modders could borrow the graphics for use in their own mod, picking and choosing from various skin mods to avoid having to come up with all new graphics from scratch.
But perhaps I am wrong. What do other people think? Especially those here who have released full mods. Do you think just changing the player sprite is enough to qualify as a new mod with its own KeenWiki page? Or do you think there should be some minimum required before it's considered a legitimate mod?
When I started the KeenWiki I was of the opinion that skin mods (those that change only some of the graphics and nothing else) should not be added. Over the years a number of skin mods have been added and then removed, as they typically only change the main player sprite and nothing else.
Recently this has happened again, and I am wondering whether it is time to reconsider this stance. Should graphics-only mods be allowed on the KeenWiki?
In my opinion, most players would be familiar enough with the original game that there would be limited appeal in playing it through from start to finish with the only change being the main character looks a bit different. It seems to me to be a very low-effort mod, in that it only takes a few minutes to change some graphics and declare it as a new finished mod. I have always been of the opinion that if you want your skin mod listed on the wiki so badly, at least add a few new levels to give people something new to play, but for some reason the creators of skin mods never wanted to do this, which unfortunately just furthers my opinion that it's a low-effort mod. The only argument I can think of for having skin mods is that other modders could borrow the graphics for use in their own mod, picking and choosing from various skin mods to avoid having to come up with all new graphics from scratch.
But perhaps I am wrong. What do other people think? Especially those here who have released full mods. Do you think just changing the player sprite is enough to qualify as a new mod with its own KeenWiki page? Or do you think there should be some minimum required before it's considered a legitimate mod?