Monthly Modder: Skinnytecboy

Humor is a common element in companion mods.

Talented voice actor and designer Skinnytecboy has released many such companions, all full of wry quips, and sometimes wonderfully absurdist. We sat down with him to discuss creating and voicing his characters. Whether you’re playing Skyrim or Fallout, these fantastic companions can tag along and brighten your adventures.

You’re well-known for your range of colorful companions. How do you go about designing these characters?

Once I get an initial idea for a character, I usually start with a little research to help discover jokes or interesting quotes that fit their overall personality. For example, Ben Doon’s earliest incarnation drew upon a wide range of silly one liners and grumpy remarks from the likes of Winston Churchill and Oscar Wild, whereas the majority of Elvis’s lines come completely from either quotes from the king himself or song lyrics. Usually this method helps me to form my own jokes. Mharphin is a good example of this as his lines are 98% from my warped mind but were initially inspired by quotes and book lines from the great Douglas Adams himself.

How does quest design influence your companion design?

First and foremost, I am a storyteller. Not many people may know, but the majority of my companions come from a quest that I began way back in 2013 for Skyrim. Ben, Mharphin and indeed Wowbagger all hail from this original quest which was 60% complete before I ever released my first follower mod: Ben.

Unfortunately, crafting quests takes an awfully long time and I happen to be the king of procrastination. I get easily distracted by other ideas before completing present projects. Because of this, I realized early on that it was easier to release my creations in bite size forms before tackling fiddly, overly ambitious quests. Plus, this method helped me to learn how to use the creation kit tools to achieve my overall goal for the larger projects.

For those curious about the quest in question, I will one day (knock on wood) complete it. Hopefully one day you will all discover exactly why Ben is grumpy about his past and who is Derek, the small life form that MHARPHIN continually refers to.

Okay, I’ll throw in one clue for free: Mharphin is a time traveler...

**Do you have any suggestions for folks interested in VO work? **

Have fun, don’t be shy and experiment. I cut my teeth with voice acting by reading stories to my children, who don’t appreciate the effort as much as you guys apparently do. Most importantly, believe in yourself.

Are you working on anything currently?

As mentioned previously, I am prone to distraction. For the past couple of years, I discovered that a fair few people enjoy my voice more than my children, and I have stumbled into reading audiobooks. Again though, that procrastination is still at work and I don’t produce more than I can manage outside of my real-life work commitments (I’m a teacher of acting and production).

What do you enjoy most about modding?

Storytelling. I absolutely love that BGS games have provided me with the tools to tell stories in my own way. The creation kit gives you the means to do whatever you can imagine – from making custom items to crafting new fully voiced quests. It is such a powerful tool whether you’re starting out small or delving deeper into the murky depths of scripting. The only thing holding you back is your own imagination.

When I first began modding, I noted that there was a distinct lack of silly British mods. So, once I knew what I wanted to create (silly British mods), all I ever had to do was to teach myself how. Thank goodness for the many fellow authors I have met who have humored my questions over the years.

I’ll say it again: When it comes to creating mods, you can do anything. All you need is an idea. That idea will lead you to questions like “how do I…?” It’s the journey of trying to answer each question that I fully recommend to anyone who has an idea. Go make mods!

Any mods you’d like to recommend?

There are so many amazing mods and authors out there. This is somewhat of a loaded question. Therefore, I will answer “every mod and every author.” I have been privileged to work alongside so many, and I’m continually humbled by their acknowledgment and assistance. That said, the best authors, as mentioned previously in my own journey, are those who share their knowledge in the forums. To those guys, I am eternally grateful.