Game modding has long been a way for talented designers to find a career in game development, and the practice has helped shape the course of the video game industry itself.

Bethesda Game Studios is no exception to the influence of modding, having provided official mod tools for all of its releases since 2002’s Morrowind through to their most recent game, Skyrim.

At GDC 2015, Bethesda’s Joel Burgess spoke during the Level Design In A Day workshop about the historical and modern relevance of modding, as well demonstrating the many positive ways in which modding has affected the studio.

Shortly thereafter Bethesda worked with Valve to (briefly) pilot its paid mod program because, Bethesda said, it believed game modders ought to be paid for their work.

While that pilot program imploded after a few days, Bethesda presumably remains an advocate for game modders and modding culture.

Burgess’ talk on the topic is worth your time to watch, and you can do so right now for free over on the GDC Vault’s YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech