Hey GreenComfyTea! Why don't we start with an introduction? Tell me a bit about yourself!
Thank you for having me! I am a complex person who somehow combines two opposites: a creative side (I make 2D and 3D artworks) and a technical side (programming), with too many hobbies—gaming, anime, cosplay, and sewing cosplay, just to name a few!
So, how did you get into modding to begin with?
In Monster Hunter games, there are no health bars or values—you have to observe how the monster moves and behaves. Monster Hunter: World was one of the best games I’ve ever played, but I didn’t play it from release day. In the endgame, I decided to mod the game, and of course, there was a mod for displaying health bars, crowns, and other stuff.
Then Monster Hunter Rise (MHR) came out, and I was really excited! I finished the game 100% in like a week, then went to see what mods were already out there, but I didn’t find any health overlay mods. And then I thought: Wait, I can make it myself! In just 4 days, I released the first version, and the mod was downloaded by a lot of people. So, I kept working on it. Somehow, from a simple “aha!” moment, it turned into the biggest and longest project of my life, where I was able to combine all my diverse skills and even discover a new hobby!
I'd particularly like to talk about your mods for Monster Hunter Wilds. Are you enjoying the game so far?
I absolutely love Monster Hunter Wilds! I finished all the story and optional quests in 3 days, and right now, I have 600+ items on my wishlist to craft. (Gotta craft them all!)
As you've said, you got into modding because of Monster Hunter Rise: What is it about this game series that inspires you so much?
Some games are just better suited for modding. The love for the franchise, good modding tools (in the form of REFramework), and the very essence of the game—with lots of different mechanics, enemies, armor sets, and weapons—are the perfect combination of factors that couldn’t help but cultivate a big and fun modding community, which I’m really proud to be a part of!
Have you encountered any major roadblocks when modding the Monster Hunter games?
The most difficult thing in my mods, in overlays specifically, is the size of the projects, which raises the need to think about the code architecture. And that is the thing I am the worst at. MHR Overlay was rewritten three times almost from zero because, as I added more features, the codebase became unmaintainable. There are just too many things to keep in mind: localization support, configuration support, full customization support, font/unicode support, managing game state and game data, optimization, and testing. Adding a feature is not as simple as I would like it to be, but I decided to persevere. Sometimes, though, I have to just scroll through the game methods and fields, looking for something for hours, just because Capcom made a typo, so a search doesn't work...
Your mods really help add some much-needed quality of life changes to Monster Hunter. Do you have a favourite that you've created?
My favorite mod is actually the No More Blinking Icons mod for Rise. It’s nowhere near as popular as my other mods, but I once received a message that made me feel like my efforts in life weren’t in vain. A person who was a fan of Monster Hunter absolutely couldn’t play Rise because of epilepsy—the game had too much blinking, which is exactly what my mod addressed. I don’t have epilepsy like that person, I just found the icons slightly annoying, so I made the mod for fun. But that message meant more to me (and to him) than all the popularity of my other mods combined.
What a lovely message to receive. Have you had others like it before?
Yes, I do get similar messages from time to time. Maybe not so extreme, but there were other people who did find my mods helpful in overcoming some sort of difficulty, whether it was visual impairment or a roadblock in speedruns.
Health Bars mod for Monster Hunter Wilds
Your Health Bars mod was recently covered by PCGamer, congratulations! How did it feel to have your mod picked up by the wider gaming press?
To be honest, I don’t really care. I just know that a lot of people are interested in my mods, so I’ll continue working for them. If, instead, my mods weren’t popular but just one person liked them—I would continue working for that person. And if no one used or liked them - I would still continue, for myself and for fun, because that’s what I enjoy doing!
Is there anything else you're working on at the moment that you can share with our readers?
I am soooo caught off guard by that question, xD. Sad to say, there’s nothing special I’m cooking up right now :c Maybe there will be a Better Matchmaking mod? Who knows xD.
And is there anything that you'd like to say to our community before we wrap up? Any advice for budding Monster Hunter modders out there?
Sure! For anyone who has never created mods but wants to—modding is extremely easy nowadays! If you have an idea, go for it! If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask! Modders. Strong. Together! And veteran modders, I just want to ask to not forget the ways of having fun!
A huge thank you again to GreenComfyTea for agreeing to be interviewed. Are you playing Monster Hunter Wilds? Are you modding it as well? Let us know in the comments! And as always, if there’s someone you’d like us to speak to, send SlugGirl a DM! See ya!
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