History Main / GameMod

* Mods are Creator/{{Valve|Software}}'s bread-and-butter. ''VideoGame/TeamFortress1'' began life as a free mod for ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'', but Valve hired the staff, recreated the mod for Half-Life (calling it ''VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic'') and then created their own sequel, ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. Ditto ''Day of Defeat'' and ''Dota'', mods purchased by Valve and integrated into their releases.

* One of the earliest game series to still have an active modding community today is the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' series, which intentionally allowed modding of all kinds (''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' wasn't designed this way, but fans were able to mod it anyway), with the first editors coming out just months after its release. One particular Mod, ''The New Technology: Evilution'' (later known simply as ''TNT: Evilution'',) was intended to be freeware, until it was announced at the Usenet ''Doom'' boards, on its intended release date, that not only would its release be postponed, but it would become a commercial product--published by none other than id Software themselves! The reaction to this announcement was... ''[[https://groups.google.com/g/alt.games.doom/c/Fhfl5PHTbVk/m/0eSgX8fkDJcJ?hl=en heated]]'', to say the least. The product would later come out as part of ''VideoGame/FinalDoom''--within the same month as ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}''. And the only place where the team was credited--the DOS text-mode post-exit screen--didn't appear in the bundled Windows 95 version, which is how most people installed the game anyway.

** The original game was written at high-level in a language called [=QuakeC=], which allowed an easy manipulation of the game's own variables. Later, the proliferation of {{Level Editor}}s such as the Radiant series, [=QuArK=] and Worldcraft allowed people to develop not only their own, well, levels, but also campaigns, leading to the existence of ''[[Recap/QuakeBeyondBelief Beyond Belief]]'' (crafted by one Matthias Worch, who later helped Creator/LegendEntertainment develop games such as ''VideoGame/TheWheelOfTime'', ''VideoGame/UnrealI Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali'' and ''VideoGame/UnrealIITheAwakening''), ''Abyss of Pandemonium'' and multiplayer-oriented mods such as ''VideoGame/TeamFortress1'' and most importantly ''[[CaptureTheFlag Threewave CTF]]''.

** Due to using the [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine Doom engine]], the games ''VideoGame/{{Heretic}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Hexen}}'', and ''VideoGame/{{Strife}}'' also have a decent number of mods for them, though not as many as ''Doom''. In addition, there are also source ports designed to be compatible with multiple Doom engine games, allowing the creation of mods making use of the various features introduced in those later games. The creator of ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' began working on Brutal Hexen. One important feature will be collecting XP and levelling up like in Hexen 2.

** Some dedicated fans managed to [[https://www.dfworkshop.net/ reverse-engineer]] ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' into [[UsefulNotes/{{Unity}} the Unity engine]], so while the original ''Daggerfall'' couldn't support mods due to Bethesda [[NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup losing the game's source code]], various graphics/sound overhauls, terrain mods, and user-made quests have popped up once the newer Unity version made an alpha release.

* ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'' got [[http://wiki.vega-strike.org/MODs many mods]] in status from abandoned to frozen waiting for engine improvement to regularly updated. Includes ''VideoGame/WingCommander''/''Privateer'' universe and whatnot. Aside of stats and models, has UsefulNotes/{{Python}} scripting for things like non-cockpit GUI,generation of dynamic universe and missions logic, XML-customizable AI, and XML+Python stock missions.

** A hugely ambitious mod for ''VideoGame/NapoleonTotalWar'' -- a game that is far more difficult to mod than its predecessors -- sets the game in the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI First World War]]. It includes period accurate artillery, gas weapons, flamethrowers, tanks, and mass swarms of infantry. It can be found [[http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-great-war-mod here]].

* ''VideoGame/LethalCompany'': Dozens of mods exist for the game. These include removing the four player cap (the popular ''More Company'' mod), cosmetic changes like changing the Bracken to [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Freddy Fazbear]] or [[Manga/DragonBall Goku]], and the Coil-Heads to a literal [[Series/DoctorWho Weeping Angel]], to adding costumes for you and your team to wear, to new maps like an abandoned [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP facility]] or a VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} world, to anti-trolling measures (ie using the air horn or clown horn in excess has a chance of making your head explode and thus killing you), to new monsters (ie the Boomba or Mimic, the former being a land mine on wheels and the latter being a monster that disguises itself as a fire exit). to new enemy behavior (ie the infamous Skinwalkers mod which records your mic and then lets enemies play them back later to scare or trick you, most effective with the masks). Some just swap sound samples (changing the loot bug audio to ''Yippee!'' or [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Mr. Krabs grumbling]]). And cosmetic ones that just replaces the posters on the ship with pictures of Creator/RyanReynolds or [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furries]].

** The smaller but no less ambitious hack ''The Missing Link'' luckily did make it to completion, and serves a short {{Interquel}} between ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''Majora's Mask''. What's impressive about this mod is how it doesn't just modify existing assets from the original game, but rather adds new graphics, animations, music, [=NPCs=] and areas to explore; even the only preexisting area, Kokiri Forest, was redone from the ground up. It also gives Link back the ability to shoot sword beams from the 2D games, which is integral to solving many puzzles and beating many enemies.

* ''[=DevilutionX=]'' allows you to play ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' and ''Hellfire'' in multiplayer, something the latter was never been capable off. ''All'' sidequests can be undertaken in solo or multiplayer, with randoms items replacing the usual fixed rewards. Also added in the mod are many [=QoL=] like a shared stash, visible icons at shops, mouse scrolling and much more. Found [[https://github.com/diasurgical/devilutionX on Github]].

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth'' is a popular modding target, given the setting and concept of a ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' strategy game, with most mods attempting to tweak the gameplay, add new canonical factions, or make the overall game more like the books or films. The two most famous are likely "VideoGame/{{Edain}}'', which retools the second game to add systems from the first, and ''VideoGame/AgeOfTheRing'', which focuses more on heavily upgrading the gameplay of the second game. Both also end up significantly upgrading the number of factions on display, going from seven major factions in the base game and expansion to nine in the former and ''eleven'' in the latter.

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth'' is a popular modding target, given the setting and concept of a ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' strategy game, with most mods attempting to tweak the gameplay, add new canonical factions, or make the overall game more like the books or films. The two most famous are likely "{{Edain}}'', which retools the second game to add systems from the first, and ''VideoGame/AgeOfTheRing'', which focuses more on heavily upgrading the gameplay of the second game. Both also end up significantly upgrading the number of factions on display, going from seven major factions in the base game and expansion to nine in the former and ''eleven'' in the latter.

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth'' is a popular modding target, given the setting and concept of a ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' strategy game, with most mods attempting to tweak the gameplay, add new canonical factions, or make the overall game more like the books or films. The two most famous are likely "Edain'', which retools the second game to add systems from the first, and ''VideoGame/AgeOfTheRing'', which focuses more on heavily upgrading the gameplay of the second game. Both also end up significantly upgrading the number of factions on display, going from seven major factions in the base game and expansion to nine in the former and ''eleven'' in the latter.

** ''[[https://www.moddb.com/mods/tie-fighter-total-conversion-tftc TIE Fighter Total Conversion]]'' integrate the [[VideoGame/TIEFighter TIE Fighter]] missions in ''VideoGame/XWingAlliance''. It has very impressive visual updates and a remastered iMUSE soundtrack. They also added Reimagined missions which provide a whole new gameplay experience. Like ''X-Wing Alliance'', you also have your own quarters and you collect souvenirs from completed missions.

* Both the original ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' and [[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2 its sequel]] came with all the tools needed to build new adventures. This is because they were conceived as "''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' on your PC": A [[GameMaster DM]] would make a campaign, use the modding tools to build a session, referee it as a hosted netgame on his computer, and the rest of his group of players would all log in and run it from their computers, sort of like a virtual tabletop. The original ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' is probably the king of this trope. It's been out for ''years'', and the toolset is considered, at least was considered, to be one of the best, most complete ever created. Essentially, you can make (and some people have made) content at least as good as the original and expansion content, in terms of complexity, depth, and detail--case in point: ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues''. Culminating in ''Baldur's Gate Reloaded'' which recreates the entirety of Baldur's Gate with the Tales of Sword Coast North expansion as a Neverwinter Nights 2 module (though with the standard 3.5 [=DND=] game mechanics, classes, and races available in NWN2). GOG.com, which sells Baldur's Gate, even featured the mod on their site.

* ''[=DevilutionX=]'' allows you to play ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' and ''Hellfire'' in multiplayer, something the latter was never been capable off. ''All'' sidequests can be undertaken in solo or multiplayer, with randoms items replacing the usual fixed rewards. Also added in the mod are many [=QoL=] like a shared stash, visible icons at shops, mouse scrolling and much more. Found [[https://github.com/diasurgical/devilutionX here]].

* Mods are Creator/{{Valve|Software}}'s bread-and-butter. ''VideoGame/TeamFortress1'' began life as a free mod for ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'', but Valve hired the staff, recreated the mod for Half-Life (calling it ''VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic'') and then created their own sequel, ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. Ditto ''Day of Defeat'' and ''Ricochet'', mods purchased by Valve and integrated into their releases.

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth'' is a popular modding target, given the setting and concept of a ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' strategy game, with most mods attempting to tweak the gameplay, add new canonical factions, or make the overall game more like the books or films. The two most famous are likely "VideoGame/Edain'', which retools the second game to add systems from the first, and ''VideoGame/AgeOfTheRing'', which focuses more on heavily upgrading the gameplay of the second game. Both also end up significantly upgrading the number of factions on display, going from seven major factions in the base game and expansion to nine in the former and ''eleven'' in the latter.

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth'' is a popular modding target, given the setting and concept of a ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' strategy game, with most mods attempting to tweak the gameplay, add new canonical factions, or make the overall game more like the books or films. The two most famous are likely ''Edain'', which retools the second game to add systems from the first, and ''VideoGame/AgeOfTheRing'', which focuses more on heavily upgrading the gameplay of the second game. Both also end up significantly upgrading the number of factions on display, going from seven major factions in the base game and expansion to nine in the former and ''eleven'' in the latter.

* ''VideoGame/LethalCompany'': Dozens of mods exist for the game. These include removing the four player cap (the popular ''More Company'' mod), cosmetic changes like changing the Bracken to [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Freddy Fazbear]] or [[Manga/DragonBall Goku]], and the Coil-Heads to a literal [[Series/DoctorWho Weeping Angel]], to adding costumes for you and your team to wear, to new maps like an abandoned [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP facility]] or a VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} world, to anti-trolling measures (ie using the air horn or clown horn in excess has a chance of making your head explode and thus killing you), to new monsters (ie the Boomba or Mimic, the former being a land mine on wheels and the latter being a monster that disguises itself as a fire exit). to new enemy behavior (ie the infamous Skinwalkers mod which records your mic and then lets enemies play them back later to scare or trick you, most effective with the masks). Some just swap sound samples (changing the loot bug audio to ''Yippee!'' or [[WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants Mr. Krabs grumbling]]). And cosmetic ones that just replaces the posters on the ship with pictures of Creator/RyanReynolds or furries.

* ''VideoGame/LethalCompany'': Dozens of mods exist for the game, collectively under the name ''More Company''. These include cosmetic changes like changing the Bracken to [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Freddy Fazbear]] and the Coil-Heads to a literal [[Series/DoctorWho Weeping Angel]] and adding costumes for you and your team to wear, to new maps like an abandoned [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP facility]], to anti-trolling measures (ie using the air horn or clown horn in excess has a chance of making your head explode and thus killing you), to new monsters (ie skinwalkers, monsters that not only take the look of your team members, but [[ParanoiaFuel also record from their mic and play back the recordings to trick you into a false sense of security]]). And one just spams images of Creator/RyanReynolds all over the ship and add portraits of Ryan Reynolds as extra loot to pick up.

** And speaking of ''World Tour'', the ''[[https://ghwt.de/ Definitive Edition]]'' mod not only brings quality-of-life improvements to the game, it also ported over most if not all content from previous and subsequent ''Guitar Hero'' installments. On top of that, it also adds support for custom content such as new concert venues and characters, which naturally led to some interesting MassivelyMultiplayerCrossover band lineups.

* ''VideoGame/QuakeI'' is next to ''Doom'' regarding modding popularity, and has spawned a scene equally as healthy.
** The original game was written at high-level in a language called [=QuakeC=], which allowed an easy manipulation of the game's own variables. Later, the proliferation of {{Level Editor}}s such as the Radiant series, [=QuArK=] and Worldcraft allowed people to develop not only their own, well, levels, but also campaigns, leading to the existence of ''[[Recap/QuakeBeyondBelief Beyond Belief]]'' (crafted by one Matthias Worch, who later helped Creator/LegendEntertainment develop games such as ''VideoGame/TheWheelOfTime'', ''VideoGame/UnrealI Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali'' and ''VideoGame/UnrealIITheAwakening''), ''Abyss of Pandemonium'' and multiplayer-oriented mods such as ''VideoGame/TeamFortress1'' and most importantly ''[[CaptureTheFlag Threewave CTF]]''.
** The release of its source code allowed development of engines such as [=QuakeSpasm=] and [=DarkPlaces=], which in turn gave birth to games such as ''VideoGame/{{Nexuiz}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Xonotic}}'' and mods such as ''VideoGame/ArcaneDimensions''.
** The 2021 remastered edition of the game added an addons section, from where mods could be downloaded and added to the game without having to exit the game itself. The available mods are ''Recap/Quake64'' (effectively the Platform/Nintendo64 version of the game ported to the ''Quake'' engine), ''[[Recap/QuakeHoney Honey]]'', ''[[Recap/QuakeUnderdarkOverbright Underdark Overbright]]'', ''[[Recap/QuakeTerra Terra]]'', ''[[Recap/QuakeThePunishmentDue The Punishment Due]]'', ''[[Recap/QuakeRubicon2 Rubicon 2]]'', the aforementioned ''Beyond Belief'', ''[[Recap/QuakeContractRevoked Contract Revoked]]'', ''[[Recap/QuakeDeathmatchDimension Deathmatch Dimension]]'', ''[[Recap/QuakeSpiritworld Spiritworld]]'', ''[[Recap/QuakeQDOOM QDOOM]]'' and ''[[Recap/QuakeSlaveZeroXepisodeEnyo Slave Zero X: Episode Enyo]]''.

* Mods are Creator/{{Valve|Software}}'s bread-and-butter. ''VideoGame/TeamFortress'' began life as a free mod for ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'', but Valve hired the staff, recreated the mod for Half-Life (calling it ''VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic'') and then created their own sequel, ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. Ditto ''Day of Defeat'' and ''Ricochet'', mods purchased by Valve and integrated into their releases.

** The original game was written at high-level in a language called [=QuakeC=], which allowed an easy manipulation of the game's own variables. Later, the proliferation of {{Level Editor}}s such as the Radiant series, [=QuArK=] and Worldcraft allowed people to develop not only their own, well, levels, but also campaigns, leading to the existence of ''[[Recap/QuakeBeyondBelief Beyond Belief]]'' (crafted by one Matthias Worch, who later helped Creator/LegendEntertainment develop games such as ''VideoGame/TheWheelOfTime'', ''VideoGame/UnrealI Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali'' and ''VideoGame/UnrealIITheAwakening''), ''Abyss of Pandemonium'' and multiplayer-oriented mods such as ''VideoGame/TeamFortress'' and most importantly ''[[CaptureTheFlag Threewave CTF]]''.

* Mods are Creator/{{Valve|Software}}'s bread-and-butter. ''Team Fortress'' began life as a free mod for ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'', but Valve hired the staff, recreated the mod for Half-Life (calling it ''VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic'') and then created their own sequel, ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. Ditto ''Day of Defeat'' and ''Ricochet'', mods purchased by Valve and integrated into their releases.

** ''Oldskool'' is another notable modification pack. It allows true single player campaign gaming, supporting the original ''Unreal'' as well as several custom map packs (''Operation: Na Pali'' and ''Nali Chronicles'' being two of the most famous). It also works as a customizable mutator for practice sessions and multiplayer.

* ''VideoGame/LethalCompany'': dozens of mods exist for the game, collectively under the name ''More Company''. These include cosmetic changes like changing the Bracken to [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Freddy Fazbear]] and the Coil-Heads to a literal [[Series/DoctorWho Weeping Angel]] and adding costumes for you and your team to wear, to new maps like an abandoned [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP facility]], to anti-trolling measures (ie using the air horn or clown horn in excess has a chance of making your head explode and thus killing you), to new monsters (ie skinwalkers, monsters that not only take the look of your team members, but [[ParanoiaFuel also record from their mic and play back the recordings to trick you into a false sense of security]]). And one just spams images of Creator/RyanReynolds all over the ship and add portraits of Ryan Reynolds as extra loot to pick up.

* ''VideoGame/LethalCompany: dozens of mods exist for the game, collectively under the name ''More Company''. These include cosmetic changes like changing the Bracken to [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Freddy Fazbear]] and the Coil-Heads to a literal [[Series/DoctorWho Weeping Angel]] and adding costumes for you and your team to wear, to new maps like an abandoned [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP facility]], to anti-trolling measures (ie using the air horn or clown horn in excess has a chance of making your head explode and thus killing you), to new monsters (ie skinwalkers, monsters that not only take the look of your team members, but [[ParanoiaFuel also record from their mic and play back the recordings to trick you into a false sense of security]]). And one just spams images of Creator/RyanReynolds all over the ship and add portraits of Ryan Reynolds as extra loot to pick up.

It's much easier to mod a computer game than a hard-coded console game, but creative adjustments to a save file (and, with the most recent generation of games, console hard drive content) and/or use of a VideoGame/GameShark allow determined amateur programmers to mod with the best of them. Most often, however, mods of console games are edits of the ROM files used in UsefulNotes/{{Emulation}}. These tend to be referred to as "ROM hacks" and are usually considered a separate scene from mods, as running a mod is intended behavior of the original software especially in the case of games that offer an official avenue for modding, or alternatively, as mods are designed for games on open platforms such as the UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer and UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, while playing a ROM hack requires patching the game's binaries (or performing some other kind of hack) and copying said binaries to a flash cart or burned to a disc.[[note]]And in the case of more recent systems, performing some kind of modification to the consoles for them to run unsigned or modified code[[/note]]

** ''[[https://sf2mix.github.io/index.html Street Fighter II Mix]]'' is another in-development mod for ''II'', this time of ''Champion Edition'', that completely reworks the game with new system mechanics, moves, and a slew of aesthetic changes. The character select screen has been completely redone and now utilizes character portraits from ''Super Turbo Revival'' for the [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance GBA]]. Stages now have 3 different times of day, similar to ''VideoGame/FatalFury'', and have been reworked to scroll in 3D. Characters now have voice clips from ''IV'' and ''X Tekken'' as well as brand-new and reworked color palettes. The announcer has been replaced with the one from ''V''. Gameplay-wise, it is now possible to do things from other fighting games, including dodge rolls and running from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'', Just Defense from ''Fatal Fury'', throw teching, and a unique "Vigor Meter" that functions both as a super[=/=]EX, guard, and stun gauge all in one.

** Another highly successful mod is ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' (pictured above), a mod for ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' that turns the game into a WideOpenSandbox, allowing for nigh-complete control of the Source engine. {{Machinima}} and even comic strips have been done using the game (see ''Webcomic/{{Concerned}}'' and ''Fanfic/HalfLifeFullLifeConsequences''). The mod's developer Garry Newman eventually struck a publishing deal with Valve, allowing for it to be released on their platform ''UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}'' as a standalone game.

* The unfinished UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor prototype of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' has [[http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/891/ a mod to make it playable]], although it still has NoEnding.

* ''VideoGame/PacMan [[http://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=104 Arcade]]'' for the UsefulNotes/Atari2600. It was basically hacked from the Atari 2600 version of ''Ms. Pac-Man'' (which in itself was a hack of Namco's arcade ''Pac-Man'') to make a version of ''Pac-Man'' that was much closer to the arcade version than the PortingDisaster that Atari cursed the system with. With the exception of the blue ghost sound and the absence of [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco's]] VideoGame/{{Galaxian}} flagship (or the Atari "fuji" logo on the Atari 8-bit computer and 5200 versions) as one of the bonus prizes, it comes pretty close to being an arcade-quality port.
** ''Pac-Man Collection'' for the UsefulNotes/Atari7800 was basically a hacked version of ''Ms. Pac-Man'' for that system that turned the game into ''Pac-Man'' and a few other maze hacks.

### ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3X'' is a hack influenced by the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES / Famicom]] ''Super Mario Bros.'' games, but the graphics make it look like a hack of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars''. This is misleading, because it is actually a hack of ''Super Mario World''.

### ''[[https://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=6099 Brutal Mario]]'' is a well-made hack. It is known for having a large variety of bosses, most of which come from unreleated [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] games, such as: ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' and ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV V]]'', ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'', and other Mario games including ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland Yoshi's Island]]'', and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3''.

** Nintendo themselves joined the scene in the UsefulNotes/WiiU game ''VideoGame/NESRemix'', which alters ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' levels (and other [=NES=] games). Generally the mods affect physics, visuals, and player/enemy behavior rather than changing the level itself.

** It is worth mentioning that Sega is aware of the booming modding scene for the [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Genesis / Mega Drive]] games. So much so that they released [[http://steamcommunity.com/app/34270/workshop/ a centralized location]] for people to share their mods. (You do need to own the original games in order to play the mods, though.)

* On the topic of racing sims, ''VideoGame/RichardBurnsRally'' [[https://www.redbull.com/int-en/insid-the-continued-success-of-richard-burns-rally-pc-game-by-modding lives on]] through countless custom rally cars from various leagues such as the UsefulNotes/WorldRallyChampionship as well as new rally stages and tweaks aiming to either make the game's NintendoHard handling more bearable or bring the game up-to-date for modern audiences. The game's developers even [[ApprovalOfGod praised]] the modders for their reverse-engineering of the model formats when they released a 3DS Max script for exporting custom cars into the game. ''RBR'' is now {{Abandonware}} at this point due to a rather hairy licensing row between the now-defunct Warthog, UsefulNotes/{{Gizmondo}} (which in itself is also quite a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Telematics#Organised_crime_links long and complicated story]] to say the least) and Creator/SquareEnix (who now owns Creator/{{Eidos}}, not to mention the uncertainty with Richard Burns' estate over re-releasing the game after his death, so it's become a necessary evil for fans to just pirate the game and call it a day, short of buying a used copy on the secondary market.

** A mod for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation version of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' called ''International GF Job System'' ([[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII the title reminding you of anything?]]) not only fixes some of the gameplay issues, but even manages to flesh out the Junction system through modifying the magic spells and, most importantly, the [[SummonMagic Guardian Forces]] by making them act more like the JobSystem found in most other ''Final Fantasy'' games like ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV V]]''.

* The ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'' series featured the ability to mod the games simply by dropping the mod (or ''plug'') into the ''Plug-ins'' folder, much like the UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh's operating system could be modified by dropping new extensions/control panels into the System Folder. The most complex mods, however, require overwrite of key data files; ironically, the total conversion mods for the third game that allow you to play the first two games (mods that were ''released by the publisher'') fall into this category. For the most part, it was not so much that it ''required'' overwriting as that it was easier to design total conversions to require you to switch out the core data files for the TC's data files than to have loads and loads of empty resources to keep things from the original game from showing up when they shouldn't. Perhaps notably, ''both'' sequels began life as total conversion projects for the previous game.

* The mid-1990s game ''VideoGame/TransportTycoonDeluxe'' no longer even ''works'' on most computers without the help of UsefulNotes/DOSBox, due to its DOS-based format. However, ''[=OpenTTD=]'' is an open source emulation that still attracts lots of Game Mods called [=NewGRFs=], from replacement graphics to entire new industry chains, alterations to the interface and even whole new modes of transport (tramways recently added to complement the buses/trucks, trains/monorails/maglevs, planes and boats already in the game). One of the simpler [=NewGRFs=], to begin with, replaces the locomotives' in-game names with the real ones (e.g. "TIM" and "[=AsiaStar=]" are replaced with "TGV" and "Eurostar"). Other [=NewGRFs=] include train sets (sometimes at "encyclopedic" scales), landscape sets, town building sets and such inspired by certain parts of the world so you can make your ''[=OpenTTD=]'' game look and feel like North America, Australia, Japan or even more like England.

* The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series -- particularly the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance installments -- has quite a prolific Romhacking scene, to the point where there are [[https://forums.serenesforest.net/index.php?/forum/8-fan-projects/ multiple]] [[https://feuniverse.us/ communities]] [[http://www.feshrine.net/hacking/ dedicated]] to Romhacks. Some hacks are simply translations of games that didn't get exported, [[https://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?/topic/54893-rom-hack-and-fan-game-directory/&page=1 but some are]] [[https://feuniverse.us/t/the-fire-emblem-fangame-directory-please-add-your-own-hacks/3339 a little more]] [[http://www.feshrine.net/hacking/patches.php complicated.]] Particularly ambitious ones include ''VideoGame/ElibianNights'', an extensive MissionPackSequel to ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Blade]]'', ''Project Ember'', a full remake of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' that revamps almost every character and system in the game, and ''Sun God's Wrath'', ''Vision Quest'', and ''VideoGame/TheLastPromise'', which have completely new stories, maps, and casts, blurring the line between a mod and an outright fangame. And then there's [[http://vilkalizer.tumblr.com/post/150360116337/it-continues Dorcas Emblem]]...

* Both the arcade and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 versions ''VideoGame/InTheGroove'' can be hacked to include custom themes and songs. As it is based on a VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution VideoGame/{{s|tepMania}}imulator which requires fan-made content to play, it is very easy to port content made for ''VideoGame/StepMania'' over to ''VideoGame/InTheGroove''. Even without hacking, the arcade version allows players to play custom songs and custom stepcharts for pre-existing songs.
* Most ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' arcade cabinets can also accept custom stepcharts from either USB or UsefulNotes/PlayStation memory cards. A hacked cabinet can also have custom stepcharts built-in, as well as allow modifiers like Fuwafuwa (usually found only in Oni courses) selectable in regular play, and change the color scheme/theme.

Early ROM hacks were largely present in Famiclone consoles and cartridges, especially where the said system wasn't officially released. Cartridges contained graphics hacks very often. The most common ones were those where the main character was replaced by [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], passing them off as an "installment" in the ''Mario'' series such as in the case of the now-infamous ''[[VideoGame/SevenGrandDad]]''. For more on this side of things, see UnlicensedGame (although some are not hacks, but {{Homebrew|VideoGame}}).

It's much easier to mod a computer game than a hard-coded console game, but creative adjustments to a save file (and, with the most recent generation of games, console hard drive content) and/or use of a VideoGame/GameShark allow determined amateur programmers to mod with the best of them. Most often, however, mods of console games are edits of the ROM files used in UsefulNotes/{{Emulation}}. These tend to be referred to as "ROM hacks" and are usually considered a separate scene from mods, as running a mod is intended behavior of the original software especially in the case of games that offer an official avenue for modding, or alternatively, as mods are designed for games on open platforms such as the UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer and UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh, while playing a ROM hack requires patching the game's binaries (or performing some other kind of hack) and copying said binaries to a flash cart or burned to a disc[[note]]And in the case of more recent systems, performing some kind of modification to the consoles for them to run unsigned or modified code[[/note]].

Early ROM hacks were largely present in Famiclone consoles and cartridges, especially where the said system wasn't officially released. Cartridges contained graphics hacks very often. The most common ones were those where the main character was replaced by [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], passing them off as an "installment" in the ''Mario'' series such as in the case of the now-infamous ''[[VideoGame/TheFlintstonesTheRescueOfDinoAndHoppy 7 Grand Dad]]''.