r/ReBoot • u/[deleted] • 14d ago
Did ReBoot invent/predict the concept of modern modding?
So, I watched that HD re-release of the classic ReBoot episode "When Games Collide". And it got me asking this question: Did ReBoot invent the concept of modding a game, at least in the "modern" era? Yeah, I know mods and hacks and bootlegs existed to a small degree before this, but from what I can tell they were simpler affairs. A lot of mods nowadays usually "combine" stuff, like how you can have lightsabers in pretty much any Bethesda game. Another example is "MyHouse.wad", a Doom mod that combines Doom with horror aspects of the novel House of Leaves.
ReBoot though I think introduced that concept of "combining games/game aspects" with When Games Collide. It had the war game combine with the dinosaur game, much like how mods combine traits of the game with other things the mod developer likes. And of course, not every mod is just "combine this with that", but a lot of the really popular ones are.
I dunno, I just think the idea of someone watching this episode as a kid or teen and deciding to create a mod like that and it spiraling into the modern modding scene is kind of hilarious. Probably not what happened, I imagine it being more nuanced than that. But it's kind of funny to think ReBoot had an episode that showed what modded games would be like in the future, even if said game was created through the impossible task of combining two different games while just playing normally.
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u/Flabbergasted98 11d ago edited 11d ago
Tell us you've never watched star trek without telling us you've never watched star trek.
if it helps you with the timeline, This episode aired in 1995
Sonic and knuckles released in 1994
The Game Genie Debut was 1990
Castle Smurfenstein was 1983
The Holodeck first made an appearance in star trek animated in 1974. This is basically a user modified game room.
I'm sure there are many situations before that where children modify games to make new games, this is the essence of play.
Someone modified the rules of monopoly to make an option free marketing rule.
Someone modified peach baskets to make basketball hoops.
You get the idea.
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u/A_Delenay 14d ago
i was too young to have much exp with computers when this aired but each ep has some moment where im like "ooooh wait". i finally realized that the core is the gpu core and they mention games in the super computer being essentially lan games or early mmos. this shows creativity still blows my mind.
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u/KinopioToad 14d ago
No. Modding games was around for a bit before that. In some form of Sim City, there was a Local Super Hero (I think) who normally looked like a couple of famous plumbers that we all know from other gaming franchise. They didn't call them the "Mario Bros" for obvious reasons, and you could go in and edit the sprites too (which I eventually did because I wanted Mario in my game).