The immensely popular fifth installment in Bethesda‘s Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim has had an active modding community since day one. With the Feb. 7 release of the Creation Kit, PC players have been provided an extensive suite of tools for reworking the game to their own specifications.
When the CK (shorthand for the Kit, used in the general modding community) dropped last month, the already-busy community of modders rejoiced. In the same vein as the CKs for the previous titles, Bethesda has turned over the same content generation program they used to make Skyrim to the userbase. There were already numerous mods available for free download on various filesharing sites dedicated to that purpose, varying from realistic light mods to new textures for clothing to entirely new sets of weapons and armors, all easily installed into a PC version of the game. Now, however, all aspects of the game are finally up for revision: this time around, Bethesda has even provided a wiki dedicated to assisting those new to the modding game as well as partnering with Steam to make some mods directly available through the popular social gaming network.
Despite some degree of controversy over the decision to implement mods into the Steam interface by veteran users, the influx of new and varied mods has been astonishing. I personally haven’t tried the Steam connectivity option with my mods ( as I actually prefer manual installation ), but the interface looks clean and feels inviting. The mods are clearly categorized, and the communities available for instruction on the proper installation and use on the site is more inviting to the uninitiated than in previous attempts. The Steam and Bethesda forums, combined with the existing independent modding community are providing fertile ground for what is sure to develop into as diverse and interesting an array of mods as was seen in Skyrim’s predecessor, Oblivion ( if not even better! ).
Check back here for an upcoming series of spotlights on some of the biggest mods trending right now!
