So one of the most popular PC games of recent times has developed it’s own Deathmatch ‘Null Mod’. About damn time!
And lo, on this most glorious and radiant of days, did it finally happen. Someone – specifically, an Indie DB user named “Chentzilla” – devised a means by which to do violence to one another in, um, Farming Simulator 2013. It’s described as “front loader sumo fighting,” and based off a video of two particularly determined tractors matching both wits and steel, I’d say that sounds about right. See this fierce, majestic thing that will surely revolutionize the gaming, farming, and being alive industries in action after the break.
I think this giant, farm-shaped canvas for the Internet’s collective mania has actually looped around to the point where it’s kind of interesting now. Here’s why: this “mod” doesn’t actually require any add-ons to the main game. Mortal Kombain, as it’s oh-so-wonderfully known, has been dubbed a “null mod,” so it’s really just more of an inventive rule set some wily players dreamed up.
There’s actually a fair bit to it, though. Different front loader loadouts, for instance, can alter your effectiveness in the tractatorial arena, and it looks like these back-and-forth bridge battles can get pretty tense. I mean, obviously it’s mostly just hilarious, and this will never – I don’t know – replace Team Fortress 2 or something. (That said, tractor hats! Someone, make this happen.)
But I am kind of fascinated by the idea of developing your own on-the-fly rule sets for games using raw creativity and nothing else. I don’t think people talk about it all that often – well, aside from speed runs, no-kill playthroughs, and those sorts of things. Do you play any games with your own sets of arbitrary restrictions? By way of that, have you more or less invented any new gametypes? I, for instance, can’t resist trying to carry oddball objects (piggy banks, traffic cones, potted plants, creepy dolls – that type of thing) through entire games if it’s an option. I get oddly, um, attached to them over time. But that’s not weird, right?
