A few years ago some companies started exploring the idea of giving gamers some of the tools the developers themselves used in making the game. Morrowind and Neverwinter Nights were two games that featured a wonderfully integrated Mod support system. No fiddling around with patch files and other complexities, just put the files in the right directory and the game can activate the mod for you. Needless to say this was embraced with open arms by the gaming community. People played Neverwinter Nights for years and the amount of user-generated content was vast with yet more skilled modders adding in entirely new coding for horses, capes and a plethora of other items, keeping interest in the game high.
In light of this incredible success Bioware are planning to release a toolset along with Dragon Age: Origins (a game that when first announced was using the NWN engine). Once again the community will be able to build their own adventures to share with the public once the main storyline is completed. Right now they’re accepting applications for the beta test of the toolset. Luckily for anyone with no real programming or modding experience they’re not just looking for people who will use it to mold their own universes. They’re looking to get a broad range of users with different computer systems and levels of expertise. Sign up for it here.





