Here at The Ludonist, we do our best to bring you a fresh, topical episode every week. We think we've got a pretty good system down that accounts for unexpected changes to a story, but there's always the risk that a topic will become irrelevant within 24 hours of a recording.

What can I say? We sure didn't expect that Valve would pull the plug on its brand-new paid mod support just days after launching it. And Skyrim's thriving and well-established modding scene seemed like it had real promise for community investment!

But what can you do? That's what happened, and we'll just have to roll with it.

So here you have it: 35 minutes of discussion examining the flaws, pitfalls and promises of a brand-new means of monetization within the gaming world. Consider it a time capsule from a more-optimistic period when anything seemed possible.

Rest in peace, paid mods. You never got the chance you deserved.

Intro/outro music: "Sunrise" by WJLP. Used under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC 3.0 license.