There has never been a better time to get into the modding scene. From altering ini files to a full conversion, mods have always offered the player a way to experience their favourite games in a new light.This article will aim to set you off on the right towards getting your ideas into unbalanced weapon replacements!

Pretty much every gamer has a game concept in their caffeine fueled brains but like the late Roy Castle once said "Dedication's What You Need." Inspiration like love comes fast and strong but dedication to it is vital. Depending on the what you want to do for your mod expect to at least lose a weekend to your project.

Plan Plan Plan!

Even if your mod is going to be a single weapon do as much planning as patience will allow then do some more. Draw up concept art, research your material, write a script. Although a lot of great things come from improv to fully flesh out your project, have it remain consistent and incorporating the best of your ideas, planning is essential. 

Choose your weapon

Depending on which game you want to develop your mod for will determine which toolset you'll need. The most popular at the moment are Hammer offered by valve and it excels for those wanting to get into map design. It's available from steam providing you own a source game.A Quick guide to mapping in hammer to get you started.

The unreal engine offers the recently released UDK. The unreal engine as you probably know is a powerful and versatile one. It's well suited for those that wish to develop their own conversion mods.For help on getting started check out Mod db's intro to UDK.

It's worth noting that brushing up or developing some skills with 3d modeling and image creation software can be essentual. For those on a tight budget Blender offers a free alternative to max with some good tutorials for beginners on the site. While Paint.net offers a decent platform for all your texturing needs.

Tutorialized offers some great tutorials for pretty much every piece of software you'll use.

We're going to need bodies!

Much like crudepixels manta a single person tends not to excel at every aspect of game development. For your mod to reach release and maybe go beyond your expectations get a team together.

If you have followed my tip on planning you may find it easier to get help from new people by posting your concepts online. Go through the relevant forums get involved in the community. If you have been blessed with multi talented friends make the mod a hobby get together every weekend with a pack of beer and start creating. While it may be tempting to release your mod once it's playable refrain from doing so. Test it on as many computers as possible.

While your mod may work on your pc that extra high poly, uber textured vehicle of yours may crush your mods chances of circulating. Unless buffing up a game to Crysis proportions was your intention. Above all else have fun it may take some time to release your first mod but don't lose faith make it your hobby instead of Google staring.