Modder to Developer - Hothtrooper44

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We’re excited to reignite a series we last featured a few years ago, celebrating the journey from modder to developer. Our community has always been a hub of creativity, and we’re thrilled to highlight those who have turned their passion for modding into professional game development.

Today we’re joined by Hothtrooper44, who made popular mods such as Immersive Weapons and Immersive Armors for Skyrim and Skyrim Special Edition, as well as Wasteland Sniper and Armored General for Fallout 4, to name a few.



Hey Hoth! Thanks for taking the time to speak to us today. For those who don’t know you, could you tell us a little about yourself?


Thanks for having me! I’m best known for the Skyrim mods I have created under the handle Hothtrooper44 such as Immersive Armors and Immersive Weapons. My mods have over 35 million downloads on Nexus Mods, so I hope I’ve brought a bit of joy to many players. At home I’m a husband, a father of 3, and an avid gamer. Professionally I’m an indie game developer releasing my first game, an action RPG called Far Horizon.




How did you first get into gaming? 

I started with a Nintendo and a Game Boy, but my passion for gaming truly ignited with my first PC games: Warcraft II and Heroes of Might and Magic II.


Could you tell us a bit about your favourite games and is there anything you’re playing at the moment?

I love immersive RPGs like Dragon Age: Origins, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Kenshi, and The Elder Scrolls series. I’m also a fan of complex 4X games such as Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, and the Total War: Warhammer series. Recently, I’ve been diving into Valheim to explore their new Ashlands update and enjoying Diablo 4 since the Loot Reborn update made it even more engaging.


You’ve made some pretty notable mods, what drew you to modding in the first place?

I’ve always loved games and needed a creative outlet. Modding and game development perfectly combine those passions. I started modding in a few small games, but the Nexus community’s support truly propelled me to create the volume I have over the years. My early Skyrim mods were just for fun and personal use, but the positive reactions from the community motivated me to create more. This feedback loop of creating and receiving appreciation fueled my dedication, leading to the development of several large mods.




To continue on from that, what inspired you to make the mods you did?

I focused on armor because it significantly impacts the game experience. Characters are visually defined by their armor, and I felt the base game lacked variety. I aimed to expand the available options while maintaining the game’s original feel. I started creating mods for weapons, music, and more for similar reasons.


You mentioned you’ve recently released your own game, can you tell us more about it?

My game is called Far Horizon, available on Steam and the Epic Games Store. It’s an action RPG where you play as a stranded space explorer, battling a hostile robot legion and alien creatures while searching for a way home. The game features extensive character customization through perks, attributes, research, and a plethora of armor, weapons, and other loot. There’s also a strong focus on collection and crafting. I’m really proud of it and hope players enjoy it as much as I do.
Steam
⇒ Epic Games Store




What was the driving force behind making Far Horizon? What was your inspiration for it?

My brother and I wanted to create a game that we both would enjoy playing. The mix of gameplay systems in Far Horizon were inspired by several different games:

FTL: Faster Than Light: Planet-hopping and ship progression
Halo: Fluid shooter combat
No Man’s Sky: Planet exploration and procedural generation
Diablo: Tons of loot with randomized stats
Modded Minecraft: Crafting systems
Other games and movies influenced us too, including Subnautica, Fortnite: Save the World, The Outer Worlds, Star Wars, and many more.


How would you say you made the leap from modding games to creating your own?

I spent several years working at a video game publishing company and creating mods, which helped me develop the skills and knowledge necessary for game development. My brother and I have always dreamed of making games together. He’s an outstanding coder, and I’m more of the creative type, so we make a great team. As we refined our respective skill sets, we reached a point where we could finally bring our vision to life. Creating Far Horizon has turned our dream into reality.


Was there anything you found particularly challenging when creating Far Horizon?

Yes, there were significant challenges, particularly with the game engine. Far Horizon was developed on Amazon's Lumberyard, which was later abandoned and partially transitioned into the Open 3D Engine (O3DE). When this transition was announced, we were already years into development.

The engine lacked essential features such as navigation, terrain, wind, hitboxes, store integrations, and more. It also had many incomplete systems and numerous bugs, with no remaining support or staff to help. We had to create or integrate systems to address these issues and learn how to fix the engine's bugs ourselves. This challenge added nearly two years of extra work to the project.


Do you plan on supporting mods for Far Horizon? If not, would you ever consider making a game with modding support? 

Modding is such an amazing tool to bring life and longevity to a game like Far Horizon. While we didn’t launch Far Horizon with modding support, it’s something we’re interested in adding. As a two-person team, we’ve had to make tough choices, and the game’s success will influence future feature additions. We’re hopeful modding will be a part of that.


Do you plan on making any more games in the future?

Absolutely. Making games is my greatest passion. For the foreseeable future, I will be continuing to develop and improve Far Horizon, so I'm not sure what the next game will be right now.


Lastly, do you have any advice for aspiring modders who dream of following in your footsteps? 

If you want to make your own game, here is my advice:
  • Start small.
  • Make something you love and connect with.
  • Find the fun first. Build your game around it.
  • Estimate how long it will take. Double it. Double that.
  • Creating a game isn’t enough; people need to hear about it!
  • Most importantly, have fun!



Thanks again to Hothtrooper44 for coming to us about his new game, Far Horizon, and for agreeing to be part of this modder-to-developer interview. It's always so inspiring to see people take their skills and passion for modding and evolve into professional game development, it looks like an incredible game!

We'd love to hear from anyone else who started in modding and moved to game development too, so please reach out to me.

58 comments

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  1. hothtrooper44
    hothtrooper44
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    Thanks so much for the kind words, everyone! If you could, please wishlist my game on Steam. It's free and greatly helps in getting my game discovered by more people.
    1. PaleAlchemist
      PaleAlchemist
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      I've been using your mods since they first came out, from Skyrim basic all the way to the latest, and I've always loved the attention to detail and passion you've put into them :D your game is right up my street, and I've just wishlisted it - looking forward to playing it! Thank you so much for all the hours and love you've put into both mods and gaming in general!
    2. Starborncelt
      Starborncelt
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      Hey Hoth! Just wish listed your game, I've always used your mods in my game and you actually inspired me to start creating mods. I am starting small like you said and i've already created 7 mods that I use personally for fallout 4 and published one. 

      I do have a request for your new game, will this game be coming to MacOS as well? I have both a windows gaming pc and and iMac and MacBook Pro, and it seems like it would run really well on the Metal API. Ive played both No mans Sky and Subnautica on my both of my Macs and they play flawlessly. While I do understand that Mac hasn't really forefront of gaming and most people don't use them for gaming, I have noticed a lot of developers are porting their games over to Mac and I am all for it. I absolutely  love my Macs and the apple ecosystem and would love to see more games come to MacOS.
    3. OfficerHotPants
      OfficerHotPants
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      Already done.  The game looks real promising.  Beautiful too.
    4. astrob0y
      astrob0y
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      Done. Will buy it asap. Thank you for all the great mods.
    5. londonhascalled
      londonhascalled
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      Love your mods, can't wait to see your game! wishlisted!
    6. Ulrick28
      Ulrick28
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      HI! I just reached out to you via private messaging. I helped support you on Lumberyard and am now the new Executive Director for Open 3D Foundation, who oversee O3DE. Hoping to connect so we can discuss some options for supporting you going forward as we are excited to see the release! We have a vibrant community on Discord https://discord.gg/o3de that can provide technical support as needed. Remember O3DE is completely open source and MIT and Apache-2.0 licensed. No engine fees ever. o3de.org, o3df.org. 
    7. exzactly1
      exzactly1
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      wishlisted, sir! love your mods. Can't wait to see what your game holds. 😁
  2. kuczaja
    kuczaja
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    I wonder how Gechbal and other authors fare. You know, those who's work promoted Immersive Armors. Why don't they get interviews, while the guy who just merged their mods do?
    1. hothtrooper44
      hothtrooper44
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      I met Gechbal through of our work together in Skyrim modding, and consider him a friend now. I helped him go over his resume that led to him landing a job at Creative Assembly. We have played a few total war games together as well. I'm sure he and most of the other authors you are referring to could have an interview if they wanted one - not everyone does.
    2. ghostmaker00
      ghostmaker00
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      @kuczaja So...do you normally try to minimize people's contributions  without knowing the whole story? You must be fun at parties and such a...wholesome human being.
  3. havokwing1978
    havokwing1978
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    CONGRATULATIONS!
    1. StinkyDooDooMan
      StinkyDooDooMan
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      that pfp is fucking WILD
    2. Halzel
      Halzel
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      I prefer yours, stinky :P
  4. clawdius25
    clawdius25
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    Literally insane modder (in a good way, of course), the Immersive weapon and armors is a must-have mods whenever I try to decide to reinstall skyrim for the 6th time. Thank you for making my childhood really immersive!
  5. xlwarrior
    xlwarrior
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    Great work always, with great quality, dedication and effort. I wish you a great future as a developer. 
    Thanks for sharing your great mods!
  6. luxfi77
    luxfi77
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    what a great guy , having family aka brother that have same motivation is really amazing 
  7. Kedavix
    Kedavix
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    I'm feeling nostalgic. Immersive Armors was one of the first major mods I installed for Skyrim. I'll be following First Horizon on Steam. It looks promising.
    1. Yokai2041
      Yokai2041
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      OMG same. I am happy for Hoth
  8. nappilydeestructio
    nappilydeestructio
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    Wow I have been a fan of Hoth's mods since oldrim days.  Thank you Hoth, for contributing so much into the modding community.  And congrats on the new game Far Horizon.  I wish you and your brother the very best of luck in the success of Far Horizon.  I have already added the game into my wishlist, i gotta say the game does look promising.
  9. MadTown
    MadTown
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    isn't hoth that weird guy who used to attack a bunch of modders on the site?
    1. hothtrooper44
      hothtrooper44
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      Nope. I think I know who you're thinking of, but no need to bring that up here.
    2. mattmartin609
      mattmartin609
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      No, Hoth is a great guy! been lurking forever downloading his mods
  10. mitsoswu
    mitsoswu
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    oh nice. 
     
    I am still using his "immersive weapons" mod. It's good. 
  11. maxpeach
    maxpeach
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    Congratz you have always been essentially in my load order, and I'm definitely giving the game a shot!