Be warned that using mods may cause unintended side effects and/or hinder game progress and could possibly crash the game. Use mods at your own risk. |
Modifications, more commonly known as mods, are fan-made alterations to a game after its release.
The Grand Theft Auto series, in particular, has a large modding community, and modifications can be downloaded from both GTA fan sites, and general gaming file repositories. Most mods consist of changing gameplay mechanics, or adding cosmetic changes such as different skins and models for vehicles, characters, or the game world itself.
Modifications are created by fans after the game's release, and are not supported or endorsed by Rockstar Games. Almost all modifications are entirely free, and may be downloaded and used by anyone. However, most mods include some copyright restrictions on distributing the mod or making a derivative version, so always ask permission from the author. Modifications are mainly only used on PC versions of GTA games; there are methods of modifying console versions, but these tend to break the license agreement of both the game and the game console.
In the myth hunting community, modifications are a divisive topic.
Internet forum posts about strange and terrifying encounters throughout the series, especially in GTA San Andreas, would prove to be a major inspiration for many mod developers. Some developers would go on to create their own modifications about myths, which typically involve a high-health enemy spawning in a rural area under certain conditions, usually with a custom model derived from popular horror movies or real life legends. Other mods fleshed out a deeper story and created complex backstories for the mythical creatures, sometimes even using a mission-creation tool to create full narratives about the player hunting down the myth.
As a consequence of the popularity of myth mods, many players have used them as an easy means of creating a hoax. The majority of myths captured on camera are, in reality, just fakes made through the help of mods and image editing tools. From another point of view, the large catalog of specialized tools and programs made just for the GTA series play a large role in any myth hunter's arsenal, allowing them to analyze the game's code and data to help explain supposed paranormal sightings, find and document evidence of already existing myths in the game, or even uncover a new myth entirely.