Today we’re officially introducing you to Jack, one of our new Content Creators alongside Modsetti, or as he’s known on the site, ModularCocoon!
Hey Jack! Thanks for doing this intro interview so the community can get to know you better. Could you introduce yourself and tell people more about your role?
Hey everyone! I’m Jack, one of the two content creators at Nexus Mods! I joined the team at the same time as Shaska, but his interview came out last month because we decided to duke it out on a platform fighter web game to determine who would be introduced first and he won.
As a content creator here at Nexus Mods, I handle creating and sharing posts across our social channels such as X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, having interviews with the wonderful community here, appearing in YouTube videos and generally getting stuck in with anything I can find that helps stretch my creative muscles.
In my outside-of-work life, I spend my time gaming (video and board), cycling, swimming, jamming out games of Magic: the Gathering and hanging out with my two cats: Boo and Marzipan.
Marzipan on the left and Boo on the right
Could you walk us through what a typical day looks like for you?
One of the best things about my job is that there isn’t really a typical day! I love this as I’m certainly someone who jumps in and out of projects all the time, so having lots of different things to do, with a lot of variety between them, is great.
Ultimately, my job is a lot of research, writing and editing. Each day consists of investigating any recent trends that have cropped up over social media, having a look across the site to see what incredible mods you all have been publishing, checking in on any outstanding interviews that I’m working on, writing articles (such as my Mod or Not series), or helping capture, film or publish some video content.
What first drew you to Marketing and Content?
It’s probably easier to ask what first drew me to games; for as long as I can remember I wanted to work within the industry. For a period in my late teens and early twenties, I gave up on that dream as my coding, artistic and musical skills are most certainly not up to scratch! However, when it clicked that game companies are made up from a whole bunch of people from a wide range of backgrounds and skill sets I realised that I do have something worthwhile to bring to the table.
Alongside that realisation, I’ve pretty much always been making content both professionally and in my free time: Whether it’s having Minecraft Let’s Play series as a teenager (who didn’t?), developing and releasing my own board game during lockdown, writing a children’s book or hosting a podcast going through a timeline of video game history!
Work wise, I’ve helped handle content for Kojima Productions, Ubisoft UK, SEGA, Curve Games and Magic: The Gathering, (you can even hear my voice asking you to “pay the one” on a Magic Europe Instagram Reel) and have always loved having the opportunity to build and work with communities in whatever unhinged and creative ways I can think of.
What’s your gaming history? Any favourites from your childhood or ones you’re loving at the moment?
Gaming has pretty much always been present in my life in some way! Growing up, my mum was a primary school teacher and, when I was very young, would bring home the school’s BBC Micro on weekends to ensure it stayed safe and I’d play such classics as Granny’s Garden and Horse Race (look, names didn’t need to be fancy back then).
My first real memories of gaming come from the Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis for our American readers). Favourites from that period in my life include Tiny Toons Adventures, Toejam and Earl and Rainbow Islands; the latter being so popular in my home that my dad repainted all the internal doors in different colours in honour of the game! However, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in particular was always the highlight of that console for me and I would spend hours on it despite only ever being able to reach as far as the fifth level, Hill Top Zone, once.
After that, my love for games grew and grew and once I came across Kingdom Hearts, it solidified itself as my favourite franchise, although I will say that nowadays I’m finding Outer Wilds, Chants of Sennaar and Case of the Golden Idol sitting pretty at the top of my favourite games lists!
Most recently I’ve 100%’d Astro Bot, been reliving my youth with some some Sonic X Shadow Generations and have found myself returning to Cyrodiil with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
A small ModularCocoon in his early gaming days
Did you use Nexus Mods before joining the team?
I did! I went back and had a look at my first downloaded mod which was The Lands of Solstheim Vvardenfell and Mournhold by The SoVvM Team on 15th December 2013 and it’s nice to see that not much has changed as I’m still modding Oblivion to this day.
Aside from that, I’d say the mods I used most were the photo mode mods I’ve used - shout out to PhotoMode mod by DmgVol for Stray and Photo Mode QoL (LE1) by Medikaso for Mass Effect Legendary Edition - from when I was spending a lot of my time in the virtual photography community.
One of ModularCocoon's shots from Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut
Are there any games you’re modding at the moment? Any standout mods you’d recommend or just love having in your load order?
At the moment I’m pretty much all-in on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I know, I know, there’s a rumoured remaster around the corner and there’s the - incredibly impressive - Skyblivion later this year but I can’t wait that long! Plus, it’s like the cool, older sibling to the young, hip Skyrim (can I still say that 14 years later..?).
I’ve particularly loved the collection Through The Valleys by vegasstephen, which has continuously brought me back to the game over and over again and there is something special about the world of Oblivion, with its open countryside and incredible score. Honestly, don’t get me started, I could go on about it for ages.
Aside from Oblivion, I’ve been modding NieR: Automata and Kingdom Hearts III. For those who have been keeping up with our YouTube videos, you’ll already know that NieR: Automata Online PVP was my favourite mod of 2024 and I’ll continue to shout about it well into 2025 I’m sure.
You made your first mod a few months ago, why don’t you shamelessly plug it? Tell us more about what led you to create it and how the process went.
GO CHECK OUT THANKSGIVING-THEMED DARK BROTHERHOOD NOTE AVAILABLE NOW ON NEXUS MODS!!!
How’s that for a plug? Working at Nexus Mods, I felt that it was only appropriate that I at least give it a go! Thanksgiving was around the corner and as an American-British dual citizen, I felt that I could represent that half of me a little bit by swapping out the iconic Dark Brotherhood hand print for a Thanksgiving turkey hand print.
The process was surprisingly straightforward, there are loads of guides online and on the Nexus Mods website that helped me through each step. I encourage anyone who is on the fence about making their own mod to give it a go, especially modding games that are popular on our site such as Skyrim or Cyberpunk 2077 that have dedicated modding wiki guides!
Can we expect more mods from you in the future?
Hopefully! I’m currently working on a bigger project tentatively called ‘Libraries of Skyrim’ where I’m hoping to add one (or more!) libraries to the world of Skyrim and fill them with classical literature. The end goal here is to have a book-lending system as well where the player can borrow a book for a set period of time before being required to return it. You can see some pictures of the temporary library building in Riverwood below.
I’ve also been trying to figure out modding in Cyberpunk 2077 (as I would love to be able to change all the video adverts in the game to play the videos we’ve created here at Nexus Mods), so we’ll see how I get on! I hope to have something to share with you all in the near future at the very least.
Teasers from his upcoming Libraries of Skyrim mod
What drew you to the role here at Nexus Mods?
My background has primarily been within social media and influencer management, with an emphasis on Twitch, YouTube and TikTok, helping to welcome brand-new crowds to gaming.
So, having recently moved back to Devon after a three-year stint in London I wanted to find something that suited my skillset and was preferably still within the games industry. I, alongside so many others, was floored to find out that Nexus Mods were based in the South West and when I saw the job opening it simply felt like the perfect fit!
Now that you’re settled in, how are you finding it?
It’s great! It’s definitely a change from working on loads of different titles at an agency to working internally on projects, but the team here is great and we’re in a great location so there’s really nothing to complain about! I’m excited to see what the future has in store for Nexus Mods and I know that 2025 is set to be a very exciting year for us in the content team especially.
Finally, is there anything you’d like to say to the community?
To be honest I’d like to say thank you to everyone in the community for being so welcoming! It’s been great chatting with you all on my Mod or Not articles, everyone I’ve interviewed has been so exciting to speak to and it’s generally been a really great experience so far and I look forward to the future.
Aside from that, a quick plug again, make sure you check out Thanksgiving-Themed Dark Brotherhood Note and keep an eye out for any other projects I work on in the future - see ya!
A big thanks to Jack for doing this interview, and for all his hard work as part of the Content Team too!
We have a new screen archery competition coming later this week, so archers, keep an eye out for that. We’ve changed it up a little this time, and we’d love to hear from you all about what other competitions you’d like to see from us in the future too.
4 comments
Minecraft Let's Play - Good times.