Featured Creator: RoastGorilla439

Every year, new players venture to Skyrim for the first time.

Just like those who have been playing the game since its release, some of these players will eventually find their way to modding their own Creations. This was the case for this month’s Featured Creator, RoastGorilla439 (Bethesda.net, Nexus) who started playing Skyrim in 2017 and got into modding a few years after that. He quickly developed his skills, contributing to the Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil project, and then ultimately released his own expansive location mod: Siege at Icemoth (Xbox, Nexus).

In our interview, RoastGorilla tells us what initially got him started modding, how he tackles creating new locations that feel like they could be a part of the base game, and the excitement in incorporating elements of Elder Scrolls lore. He also gives advice to anyone who is new to modding Skyrim, as he was just a few short years ago. His journey and unique perspective are a great read for anyone interested in the world of Community Creations.

Can you tell us a bit about your background with modding, both as a player and Creator?

I started playing Skyrim in 2017 when one of my friends recommended it to me. Initially, I thought the game had a kind of depressing vibe, but I started to enjoy it more the longer I played. Also, discovering the Alchemist’s Shack in the Rift was one of the small details that helped me really get into the game!

As for modding, my journey got off to an odd start: Inspired by Skyrim, I first tried to build an ancient Nord dungeon with Lego. I quickly realised I wasn’t going to get the immersive experience I was looking for unless I created my own mod. So, I started my first mod in early 2020 — a few weeks before lockdown started. I loved the Umbra dungeon, Champion’s Rest, and wanted to see if I could recreate something similar.

At the time, I was building my design portfolio (3-D modelling, graphic art, etc.) with the aim of joining the Beyond Skyrim project and thought building a mod would help me hone some of the skills I was learning. So, I decided to learn how to use the Creation Kit to make my own dungeon. By the way, Umbra is still one of my favourite content creation pieces!

Siege at Icemoth introduces some very impressive locations. What were your goals in creating these islands?

One of the main reasons I started the project was because I was starting to miss Skyrim’s environment, especially the bleakness. For context, I’d been spending a lot of time working on Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil which has a more ‘cheerful’ feel to it.

Aside from wanting to create something remote and inhospitable, I wanted the Isles to feel like official content. I constantly referenced similar content in the base game and DLCs (vanilla content) to ensure parity. We often do this in Beyond Skyrim, where I do level design and 3d art, to get that official DLC feel.

What were some of the biggest challenges in creating multiple ambitious locations like these?

Probably the biggest challenge was designing the dungeons. I wanted the layouts to be interesting, unique, and close to vanilla. I find satisfying these concerns takes quite a few iterations until I feel happy.

I also find writing journals quite difficult. I have to spend time planning what to write and then making the language consistent with the base game. However, once I start it seems to flow more readily.

This Creation also interacts with some Creation Club content and incorporates some elements from The Elder Scrolls: Blades. Are you excited by the opportunity of modding to connect various corners of the Elder Scrolls franchise?

Incorporating elements of lore is always fun — we do it a lot on Beyond Skyrim. A big moment for me was discovering content-aware scripts (initially in The Cause creation.) This allowed me to easily integrate content from other plugins without requiring them as dependencies. It opened up a load of new opportunities, such as having skeletons with magic arrows for more chaotic fun.

Do you have any advice for someone just beginning to learn modding?

To get started, I recommend Bethesda’s dungeon design tutorials. I found them very helpful to get me familiar with the basic aspects of using the Creation Kit to create mods.

Another technique I find useful is to copy a section of a vanilla dungeon or interior and use it as an object palette to make my own interior. This helps introduce me to other people’s techniques and styles and extend my range. It’s also a great way to make something unique and remain consistent with vanilla.

Another great place to learn is the Arcane University Discord server. There are many experienced modders willing to help and give you assignments!

Lastly, can you give us some of your favorite mods and mod authors?

TateTaylorOH (Bethesda.net,Nexus) has a lot of good mods, and he helped me with some of the updates for Siege at Icemoth!

Kelretu (Bethesda.net,Nexus) also has lots of nice mods, and he has a resource pack with lots of very high-quality assets that are used in Beyond Skyrim and Siege at Icemoth!

Beyond Skyrim: Bruma (Nexus) — This was the first mod I ever played, I’m sure most people already know about it. It’s what inspired me to want to join Beyond Skyrim.

SR Exterior Cities by 1990strider (Nexus) — This is a cool underrated open city mod I enjoy.

Thoom SE by Keysmash2b (Bethesda.net, Nexus) is also a great one. It adds new shouts from splicing vanilla ones with high quality FX.