Digital Dust

 

 

 

 

 

It was the summer of 1967 when Steve Wozniak toiled away with his transistors and diodes. Whilst other teenagers were busy drinking cream soda, riding their bikes and trying to impress their other cool teenage friends, Wozniak had something a little different in mind. He built calculators for fun, he made fake ticking bombs as pranks and he dreamt of redesigning schematics from existing computers. For him, the desire to create, to tinker and to improve technology was a full-fledged way of life, nourishing with every screw turn and solder. Regarding the first Apple computer, Wozniak admits “I designed the Apple i because I wanted to give it away for free”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is something special about the way a line of code unfolds itself onto the computer screen. It can take the form of letters and numbers, it can take the form of fire breathing dragons and the craziest space operas. It’s lascivious and tantalizing in how it hints toward the possibilities of a digital world limited only by imagination. It is this allure of creativity that attracts the most hardcore hackers and communities of modders who are willing to slave tirelessly over the most minute details for free. Almost 50 years since Wozniak’s garage days, it is apparent that these enthusiasts have expanded the face of computing and software. In no other industry can this impact be felt more strongly than in the gaming industry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1983, a parody of Castle Wolfenstein was released. Rather than fighting the usual Nazi enemies, the player was confronted with hordes of vicious blue “smurfs”. Rather than being set in Germany, the players found themselves in Canada. The theme music was different, it seemed chirpier than the sullen original. Its opening narration spoke of cartoon characters inheriting the remnants of the Third Reich and attempting world domination. Whilst this bizarre remix of pop culture artifacts seems benign in today’s internet era, this would mark the very beginnings of game modding culture. Furthermore, it showed the potential that three teenagers could yield with a mere paint program, sector editor and audio software.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 years later the line between modder and developer became blurred further, with teams of amateurs and paid professionals feeding off each other’s creativity. In 1993 DOOM was released and proved to be transformative in the way consumers saw games. There were many things about DOOM that made it so special. It introduced chainsaw brutality that incited fear in middle suburbia and stirred the loins of a generation of gamers. One of the things that made it stand out however, was the introduction of .WAD files which could be edited by anyone who cared to. It was a decision that unwittingly expanded the value of the game as players produced their own content to play with. Many people designed new levels or changed the mechanics of the game. The modding scene was of such interest to the original developers, that they incorporated player made maps into future installments such as Final Doom. One particularly impressive mod was the Aliens TC mod a painstakingly elaborate recreation of the Aliens movie which revamped the games atmosphere and play style. The game would prove to be an influential gem in its own right. Its first level consists merely of walking around and soaking in the suspense, an element that would act as a precursor to an entire genre of walking simulators. Its stealth based game play would also influence future titles such as DOOM 2.

 

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Capitalising on the success of DOOM's vibrant modding scene, were games such as Half Life and Unreal. The developers would encourage modders with packaged level editors and incentivised this further by employing well known modders. Furthermore, some mods were being acquired by companies and released as full games. Modding was not just a hobby anymore, it was something that you could make money from and become noticed by the industry. Mods became more ambitious than ever with hobbyist radically deconstructing games and creating something entirely new. Some of the most well recognised games have come from such humble beginnings, with titles such as DOTA, Team Fortress, Killing Floor, The Stanley Parables and many more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the most successful mod in gaming history is Counter Strike. In 1999 Minh “Gooseman” Le would modify the game Half Life in his spare time. He would do this between university classes, working between 30 – 40 hours a week. He wanted something that took skill and patience, that followed more mature and real themes. In short, he wanted something different from the litany of first person shooters that had so defined the 90s, but the industry was reluctant to let go. Slowly a community grew around Counter Strike, contributing with feedback and their own maps. They were creating mods for mods! In the process, this disparate community was developing a fully-fledged game, polished for the masses. What started in Gooseman’s dorm room 17 years ago, has now flourished into a full blown industry. With a slew of remakes each as popular as the next it has sold well over 50 million copies. In March 2016, a prize pool of 1,000,000 US was issued during a competition for Counter Strike. Concurrent to this are the countless e sport teams complete with managers, TV broadcasting rights, commentators, training boot camps, sponsorship deals and paid players. Although the game has since been acquired by Valve, the tradition of modding continues to this day. Modders are rewarded money for their weapon designs . There are thousands of servers each with their own rules, subcultures and of course, modifications. Players can become their own personal gods in their domain, choosing to turn gravity off at a whim, or switching  to levels themed around The Matrix movies. In the Aus-TG servers you can fight off giant hordes of zombies or even glide gracefully in the sky and do battle with fellow players. Anything you could imagine, at your fingertips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consistent amongst all this are the people. Whilst the inner world of circuit boards and code remains unknowable to the majority, there are a select few willing to discern its secrets. These are the people who hack open their computers and .WADs, studying its bare naked entrails. With automated fingers, a laptop, and vast reserves of imagination they silently create worlds to play in. It is people like Steve Wozniak with his playful penchant for pranks and Gooseman in his college dorm, who quietly affect industries worth billions.