Monthly Modder: NikaNine

Every month Bethesda.net features a selection of amazing community mods. For those new to using mods, or with aspirations of making their own, we’ve reached out to several authors to learn more about their process.

This month, one of the many Fallout 4 mods we’re featuring is “The Machine, And Her,” available for both PC and Xbox One. This introduces a new, fully-voiced companion character, along with a story quest. The modder behind this ambitious project is NikaNine, who offers some background on this incredible mod, and modding as a whole.

How did you get into modding?

One day I realized that a short story I'd been working on would work better as a game. But game development wasn't something I'd ever tried before and I couldn’t even imagine where to start. So, with the intention of drowning my sorrows, I sat at my computer and began playing Skyrim and my in-game companion (the fantastic Inigo) said something that made me laugh. As silly as it sounds, right then it really sank in that his character, voice and behaviors were all part of a mod – content that someone had added on top of an already great experience. I’d known that when I first installed it of course, but something about that moment was when I started to believe that modding was something I could start learning how to do.

What inspired the story (or characters) of “The Machine, And Her?”

I was taking the train to work one day, and the pre-recorded lady’s voice that announced the stops, arrivals and departures was acting erratically, announcing the arrival of trains I’d never heard of, ending and starting sentences abruptly, and when my stop came up it said we were approaching a station that was twenty miles in the opposite direction. What surprised me most was how worried I was about this disembodied voice, that I actually thought of it as “her” – as something alive and, apparently, unwell.

Everyone who’s played “The Machine, And Her” will recognize that as the initial story seed/idea. But an “AI in distress” isn’t a very interesting story conflict by itself, so I created the backstory for both the AI and for the companion character, Kit, with the goal of raising some difficult questions for the player.

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You have amazing characters in this mod, any favorites from the Fallout games?

Of the many Fallout characters I’ve loved over the years, two have stuck with me more than most:

• Moira Brown, love her or hate her, is an iconic character for a reason. To me she is quintessential Fallout. There’s something so emphatically human about her midwestern charm, optimism and relentless knack for making mountains out of mole rats. Hope, in the middle of hell, is every bit as precious as water.
• In Fallout 4 there’s a toymaking ghoul named Arlen Glass whose storyline is one of the most heart-wrenching experiences I’ve ever had in a video game. A broken world leaves behind a lot of broken people, and in that world Arlen lives with the bleakest regret imaginable. But despite it all, he can, in his own words: “still make toys, and still make children happy. And that’s all that matters.” To this day I still stop by to check on that last Giddyup Buttercup, hoping a child in need will have found it. (And making sure no one else has taken it!)

This project has such a huge variety of content. What is your favorite part of modding?

Narrative design is definitely my favorite part of the development process. I quickly learned that what I love most about writing for games is the very thing that makes it so difficult – the interplay between design and implementation, art and technology. Honing that instinct goes a long way towards producing a cohesive and engaging experience for players.

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Are you learning any new skills at the moment?

Primarily I’ve been learning C# as well as Unreal’s editor and Blueprint system. I’ve also been spending a lot of time in Zbrush and Substance Painter – not because I want to be (or remotely have the talent to be) a modeler or texture artist, but so I can better understand asset optimization and the overall production pipeline. As a narrative designer I believe that having at least a rudimentary understanding of the overall development process is critical to being able to write content that will (to the extent possible) be part of the final release.

There are many players hesitant to try community mods, do you have any recommendations for how to start?

To anyone anxious about installing mods, I think it helps to remember that the engine and the tools that Bethesda gives us access to were designed for this exact kind of thing. Bethesda has been allowing and even encouraging mods for nearly twenty years now, and with every new release, modding gets more stable and the possibilities even more fun!

What about getting involved with the greater modding communities?

The modding community is a fantastic place to meet like-minded people, get help and share experiences! There have been more times than I count when someone on the Nexus forums or a Discord server pointed me in the right direction when I was really struggling.

For fans looking to get started with working on Mods, what would you recommend?

Although most people say you should start small and avoid passion projects your first time out, to be honest, I disagree with this advice. Of course, it’s smart to keep your own expectations and development scope to reasonable levels, but I believe it’s at least equally as important to start with a project you truly believe in. I fell in love with the hellish grind of game development/modding when “The Machine, And Her” was about halfway to release, but if that had been my first project and one that I wasn’t genuinely passionate about, reaching the point where I loved the process itself would have been possible, but much more difficult. Nowadays it’s easier to find joy in the grind because I can see the greater whole it will lead to.

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To get started with the Creation Kit I would definitely suggest looking into Seddon4494’s tutorials on YouTube. Before “The Machine, And Her” I had never written a line of code or done anything remotely related to game development, but Seddon’s tutorials were easy for me to follow and enabled me to get an initial vertical slice running in just over a year.

Are you currently working on updates for “The Machine, And Her?”

There are some quality-of-life improvements in the pipeline, with a particular emphasis on performance. Optimization has become increasingly important as I’ve gotten a better grasp on other aspects of development.

Do you have any new projects on the horizon?

I have a major project in development but can’t announce more than that just yet. But stay tuned!

Would you like to give a shout out to any modders for their assistance over the years?

First and foremost, I need to acknowledge the incredible work of my VAs: Kelly Kipper, Teagan Gardner, Paul Warren, Cliff Davenport and Eric Ryan. The quality of their work was the lifeblood of the project and played such a large part in its success.

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And in addition to Seddon’s tutorials, I learned a lot from Kinggath when I worked for Sim Settlements, and from Thuggysmurf who really helped get “The Machine, And Her” into fighting shape just before release! Munkyspunk has forgotten more than I’ll ever know about texture work and lighting, and I’m extremely grateful for his help and friendship along the way. I also have to thank LlamaRCA for her inspirational work on “Willow” and Heather Casdin, and for making her source code public.

Any mods you’d like to recommend?

Most recently I had a fantastic time playing through “Children of Ug-Qualtoth,” and one of my all-time favorite quest mods is “Bleachers: A Diamond City Story”. I also can never play Fallout 4 without “Creative Clutter” or the “Makeshift Furniture” pack!