Modder's Interview: Vegetto

How long have you been modding and what was your first complete mod?

I joined the community in April 2020, before I only downloaded and installed mod. My first mod was "The Sanctuary coffeeshop". More a joke mod than anything else, but it helped me put in practice all the suggestions gathered in the various manual made by the community, get a grip on the CS and how Morrowind works in terms of modding. The mod itself adds a coffee shop (The Amsterdam kind of one).

How do you approach modding?

In general, I try to find specific places in the game that I feel underwhelming, check if there are mods already changing it and if yes, if I can improve upon them. I love making models, textures and talking about the "architectural" aspect of a mod.
I don't have a specific flow, or inspiration outside the game, sometimes is out of concept arts, sometimes is out of talks I make with other modders, other times are other mod themself, that inspires me. Rarely come just straight out of my head.

What’s your favorite thing about modding?

I often refer to it as my "zen garden": It helps me relax, helps me keep my thoughts in order, and provides me a sense of accomplishment beyond the ones of our mundane world.

What’s your favorite mod that you’ve made so far?

I have more than one: I love my Concept Art Palace because is the first "big mod" I made, it took me months and I learned almost everything I know now but The Ashlanders and We will go to mount Assarnibibi and the Library of Vivec are in my heart too.

Is there a mod you are especially proud of?

All of them, are all children of love, fatigue, and white nights.

Esthetically, though, I feel the Library of Vivec is my masterpiece.

Are you working on a mod these days?

More than one, probably out when this reaches its destination. I'm focusing on the Maar Gan shrine and Telvanni council house. They might use a spice-up. Like many of my mods, my main goal is to upgrade the graphic rendition of those places and make them more pleasant and unique to visit. I also have some tapestries in mind.

Because I took forever scheduling this interview, Vegetto has already publihed both mods mentioned above: The Magic Rock of Maar Gan and The Carpet Pack.

How much do you play Morrowind, not counting playtesting?

I finished Morrowind multiple times I play it once every couple of years.

This is because I play on a setup, that is so modded and atypical (is self-modified) that I must play the entire main quest to test that it works properly at his core.

How did you discover Morrowind?

I saw it in a video game store at launch and by reading the back of the box, I remember being sure it was THE game. I was so excited that I did not even realize that was in English only, and at the time my proficiency in foreign languages was close to zero. I remember never being able to find the cavern of the Incarnate, and simply starting doing my own things.
At that time exploration was, for me, the biggest thing. I spent hours simply pressing "Q" to let the character walk and simply appreciate the surroundings, often simply running towards a horrible death.
Took me years to go back to it and finally finish it but it taught me some basics of the English language too.

What makes Morrowind special for you?

Morrowind has a world setting that is unmatched to me: It surprises you with the unconventional at every corner. There is slavery, racism, and many other things that find no space in today's game or, if they do, they tend to be quite rhetorical in representation.

What are the mods you simply cannot play without?

MET and Animated Morrowind are a must for me. Is controversial for some, but I simply can't play it with the original graphics anymore.

Are there any underrated mods that you really enjoy?

I think Strider burial and the grove of Ben’Abi are up in my favourite list and deserve more recognition.

As shameful self-promotion, I also say that my "The Kagrenac's cursors deserves more than where it landed.

Do you play other games?

A ton, I'm still a very active gamer. Just finished God of War on pc and Tomb Raider 3. I also play online games with many of my friends. I can't stand the MMO games though. My favorite games in the last 5 or so years have been Kerbal Space Program, Elite Dangerous, Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2.

Do you mod other games?

No, one is more than enough.

And by the way, what's the story behind your user name?

Vegetto was the nickname I used  when I was a teen on IRC (You must be old to know what it is) it just stuck with me. The name is clearly taken from Dragon Ball. I also randomly use the nickname Nobured, cause I like how it sounds.

Anything else you’d like to share that we haven’t talked about?

Just: thank you all!

Curious about Vegetto's mods? We looked at most of them during this livestream: