What do mod developers actually want from a paid mod system?

Jeremy Peel Updated: May 1, 2015 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim  On Thursday April 23rd, Valve introduced paid-for Skyrim mods to the Steam Workshop. But by the following Tuesday, they'd been whisked away again. The interim saw community uproar, creator disagreement and protest mods - leading Valve to conclude that they hadn't given the matter due thought. They've since retired to the mail room to read through six months' worth of forthright feedback emails. Though the implementation was flawed, the dream was more difficult to argue with: an opportunity for modders to work on their creations full-time if they fancied it, and a reason for developers to support their communities with better tools. We asked some of the minds behind mods like DayZ, Garry's Mod and DSFix about the ways they'd patch Valve's imperfect system. All of the modders and developers we spoke to were in agreement: good things could come from a Steam-integrated system of mod payment. But the details matter. What are the benefits? Peter 'Durante' Thoman has found his calling in fixing the clumsy PC ports of major publishers; his DSFix has become a near-essential download for Dark Souls players. And, while he's not personally interested in monetizing his work, he believes the option would bring with it "significant advantages". He echoes Valve in noting that paid mods which offer a cut to publishers could provide developers with clear incentives to build modding tools - turning a "cost with nebulous benefits t...