The video "7 More Awesome Games that Started as Mods & Fan-Made Creations [2022]" is published by Ask Gamedev, and it discusses how modding games or creating fan-made games can be a great starting path for game developers. The video highlights seven outstanding examples of games that began as mods or fan-made creations and eventually became standalone titles.
1. DayZ: This realistic survival game set in a zombie apocalypse was initially an Arma 2 mod created by Dean Hall, who was an employee at Bohemia Interactive at the time. The mod's success led to a full commercial release, with the game launching in December 2018 and selling more than 4 million copies before its launch.
2. PUBG Battlegrounds: Brendan Green created PUBG as a mod of the DayZ mod itself, initially called DayZ Battle Royale. The game evolved into the popular online multiplayer battle royale game we know today. After being contacted by Chang Han Kim from Korean-based dev studio Bluehole, the game launched in early access on Steam in 2017, selling millions of copies and generating significant revenue.
3. Heroes of the Storm: Inspired by a mod called Blizzard All-Stars, this MOBA game was developed by Blizzard Entertainment. After a legal battle with Steam, the game's name was changed to Heroes of the Storm, and it entered pre-alpha and alpha stages in 2014. The game was praised for its innovative approach to the MOBA genre.
4. Garry's Mod: Created as a mod of Half-Life 2 using the Source SDK provided by Valve, Garry's Mod is an interactive experience-building tool rather than a traditional game. Developed by Garry Newman, the mod evolved into a full game released on Steam in November 2006, selling more than 20 million copies by 2021.
5. Dear Esther: Developed by The Chinese Room, Dear Esther started as a research project led by Professor Dan Pinchbeck at the University of Portsmouth using the Half-Life 2 Source engine SDK. The game is a slow-paced, first-person exploration experience that launched in 2012, selling more than 16,000 copies in less than six hours.
6. Organ Trail: A fan-made parody of the educational game The Oregon Trail, Organ Trail was created by Ben Perez, Michael Block, and Ryan Wiemeyer. The game was initially launched as a Flash game in 2010, then remade in Unity and released on various platforms, including Steam, where it has an 89% very positive rating.
7. Team Fortress: Originally a mod for the classic game Quake, Team Fortress was developed by Robin Walker, John Cook, and Ian Caughley. The mod's success led to the developers joining Valve and creating Team Fortress Classic, which was released in 1999. The sequel, Team Fortress 2, was launched in 2007 and remains popular to this day.
These examples demonstrate how modding and fan-made creations can provide valuable learning experiences and connections in the gaming industry, often leading to successful standalone games.
