I keep seeing these incredible custom game worlds that people build from scratch and I'm blown away by the creativity. Some of these custom game worlds look better than the original game content! How do modders even begin creating something that massive? What games have the best tools for building custom game worlds, and how much time does it typically take to create something truly impressive?
Creating custom game worlds is a massive undertaking that usually starts with planning. Most modders use tools provided by the game developers - like the Creation Kit for Skyrim or the Hammer editor for Source games. The key is to start small. Don't try to build an entire world at once. Create a single town or dungeon first, get feedback, then expand. The most impressive custom game worlds I've seen took years to develop, often by teams of people working together.
Games with the best tools for building custom game worlds are usually the ones with active modding communities. Skyrim and Fallout have amazing tools, but they're also complex. Minecraft is surprisingly good for this too - the modding tools for creating custom game worlds in Minecraft have gotten really sophisticated. For beginners, I'd recommend starting with games that have simpler level editors, like Doom or Half-Life.
The time investment for creating custom game worlds is insane. I worked on a small town mod for about 6 months before realizing how much work a full world would be. You need to consider everything - terrain, buildings, NPCs, quests, lighting, sound design. It's basically game development but with someone else's engine. The most successful custom game world projects I've seen have clear scope limitations and focus on quality over quantity.