A Atividade de Modding: dos hacks à inovação

Matheus Corrêa de Souza; Tiago Barros Pontes e Silva; Frederick M. C. van Amstel

doi:10.5433/2236-2207.2025.v16.n1.49938

Authors

Matheus Corrêa de Souza University of Brasília https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0837-7756
Tiago Barros Pontes e Silva University of Brasília https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2149-5973
Frederick M. C. van Amstel Federal University of Technology of Paraná https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9163-7095

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5433/2236-2207.2025.v16.n1.49938

Keywords:

modding, game studies, game design, activity theory

Abstract

Although an integral part of video game history, modding often doesn't receive much attention in studies of this media. Existing studies on modding mostly fail to approach the phenomenon from a historical perspective and lack in-depth discussions on the dynamics of dispute and negotiation among modders, players, and game designers. In this context, the current research aims to investigate how modding activity has evolved over time, highlighting its tensions with game design and player activities. To achieve this, the research is grounded in the approach of Historical-Cultural Activity Theory, coupled with empirical data obtained through documentary analysis on key points of modding history. The results indicate that it is possible to characterize the modding activity system. Furthermore, they demonstrate that the activity impacts the gaming industry as a whole, setting expectations for future games, preserving older titles, innovating in genres and mechanics, and providing feedback to designers in the form of addressing latent demands in already published games.

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Author Biographies

Matheus Corrêa de Souza, University of Brasília

Master's degree in Design from the University of Brasilia (2018), with a bachelor's degree in Social Communication - Advertising and Propaganda also from UnB. Has experience in the field of Communication and conducts research in the area of digital games, studying modification activity.

Tiago Barros Pontes e Silva, University of Brasília

Associate Professor in the Department of Design at the University of Brasília (UnB), where he has been working since 2006. He has coordinated the Undergraduate Design Programs (2009-2011; 2015-2017) and the Graduate Programs in Design, serving as deputy coordinator (2017-2019; 2019-2021) and coordinator (2021-2023; 2023-2025). He has also contributed to senior administrative roles, including serving on the Teaching, Research, and Extension Council (CEPE) (2019-2021) and the Research and Extension Chamber (CPP) (2021-2023; 2023-2025). A member of the Advisory Committees for Design (2018-2020; 2020-2022) and General Education (2022-2023) at INEP, President of the National Forum of Coordinators of Graduate Programs in Design for CAPES' Area 29 (2024-2025) and leads the Special Interest Group in Health of the Brazilian Society for Information Design (SBDI). As a researcher in the PPG Design program, his work focuses on Cognitive Ergonomics, Interaction Design, Information Design, and Serious Games, with an emphasis on complex cognitive tasks, ubiquity, portability, safety, health, learning, and playfulness. He holds a Ph.D. in Arts (2014) from the University of Brasília, where he conducted research in the field of Evolutionary Computational Art, focusing on Artificial Life, emergence, and effective complexity. He also holds a Master's degree in Psychology (2006) from the University of Brasília, with an emphasis on Cognitive Ergonomics applied to environments and interfaces, where he studied information presentation in portable artifacts. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Design, with specializations in Product Design (2002) and Visual Programming (2003), from the University of Brasília.

Frederick M. C. van Amstel, Federal University of Technology of Paraná

Professor at the Academic Department of Industrial Design (DADIN) at UTFPR and collaborator at the Laboratory of Design against Oppressions (LADO). Bachelor in Communication (UFPR) and Master in Technology (UTFPR), Frederick sought in his doctoral thesis (University of Twente) an approach between architecture and service design to identify contradictions in participatory projects.

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