Warcraft III: Reforged reminds us why mod toolsets should matter

Warcraft III created new genres of games with its World Editor. Now with Warcraft III: Reforged there’s an update for the classic game — but why don’t more games have modding tools like it did originally?

It’s 2004 and Warcraft III is one of the hottest games in the world. Like many teenagers, I spent all summer thinking about Warcraft, but I wasn’t playing — I was coding. I was coding my own Warcraft III maps and putting them on the internet along with thousands of other amateur creators. We called ourselves modders. Our games used the same art and controls as Warcraft III but introduced completely new gameplay.