Trendy Entertainment has obviously not been sitting on their laurels after the runaway success of their multi-genre tower defense game Dungeon Defenders got released a few weeks ago. Yesterday they announced the release of their community mod tool—the Dungeon Defenders Development Kit.
From the product page:
The Dungeon Defenders Development Kit is a robust set of tools for players to modify all aspects of the Dungeon Defenders source and create their own content and games. Packaged with the game’s complete source code and art assets, the Dungeon Defenders Development Kit is one of the definitive Unreal reference codebases for anyone looking to create their own Unreal games.
Key Features:
- Create and edit maps for Dungeon Defenders: These maps can include new game code, assets, and more which will be automatically downloaded online to new players so they never have to leave the game. Create awesome new mods and become famous as their popularity spreads through the online Dungeon Defenders community!
- Access to all of Dungeon Defenders’ source assets: Build upon our vast library of Dungeon Defenders assets for your mod or total conversion using your art package of choice, so you can quickly create new content, animations, or characters without having to start from scratch.
- Access to Dungeon Defenders’ full source code: Change ANYTHING and create your own completely new game as a Total Conversion! You could make a brand new FPS, a team-versus-team online MOBA, or a third person Role Playing Game. The possibilities are endless and the existing Dungeon Defenders code base and content will give you a head start. This is one of the definitive Unreal Engine 3 reference codebases and one of the largest complete codebase to ever be publicly released!
- Utilize automatic online matchmaking for Mods and Total Conversions: Players automatically download new maps and content as needed when they connect to a previously un-played map or mod. Players can search online games for specific mods and Total Conversions will automatically connect, seamlessly matchmaking among themselves.
- Distribute your mods and total conversions: We give you the rights to distribute your creations anyway you wish, as long as you don’t include our EXE’s.
- Includes the pre-alpha source for a new, 16-Player PvP Capture the Flag mode, giving you a head-start on creating large-scale, competitive game types!
Capture the Flag
Opening up a game to the modding community is almost always a certain way to ensure the success and longevity of your game. From huge, AAA titles (such as Elder Scrolls games) to once-small one-man projects (like Garry’s Mod), community development is one of the drivers of PC gaming enthusiasm and keeps games fresh and fun long past the time when they were new.
That’s not all they announced, however. They are now alpha-testing a new 16 player Capture the Flag mode for Dungeon Defenders, which takes the game in an entirely new direction. This game is starting to smell vaguely of the venerable (and still extremely popular) Team Fortress 2, if the trend of adding new features and modes continues.
With community development support, that’s almost certain. If Dungeon Defenders follows the TF2 development path, the community mods will help drive further development of the game with new maps and gametypes, and eventually Dungeon Defenders may go free-to-play, with continuing revenue and support coming from the sale of in-game items or features.
The Icrontic community has been having a riot with this game. Even yesterday on Skyrim launch day, I saw several Icrontians playing Dungeon Defenders instead of Bethesda’s latest epic. That has to say something.
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