"The biggest problem is a lack of single vision. ... I think that, with mods, the reason a lot of them don't get released is because they were team efforts." - Dean Hall, creator of popular ARMA 2 mod DayZ, argues that mod teams need leaders who will decide the project's direction and get everyone to fall in line.
He points to Apple's success as an example, as the company was able to deliver a tremendous amount of innovation under the guidance of Steve Jobs. Though the late CEO was often seen as demanding, Hall says he knew what needed to get done.
"I think one person has to sit down and take the responsibility like I did," Hall told VG247, noting that he did the art, code, and production for DayZ. He also paid for the project, so all of the decisions came down to his approval.
"Everybody knew that, so they would accept it if I said, 'Nope, we're doing things that way.' I think that's really important, and I think a lot of mods or even big games [don't] do that. They are games by committee, and I think those games depend on marketing. "
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This is a big deal. Lots of mod contributors are there to make the game THEY want to make. Without a $$ motivator, it just takes one or two of those "No, it's gonna be THIS way" top down calls before they lose interest.