Fan Fiction in the realm of the RPG

Why is the existence of fan fiction in the RPG important to its being a form of modern novel? The existence itself is telling. Popular novels and more notably, authors (Jane Austen is a great example) receive much attention from the often cult-like community and have their worlds and stories expounded upon. How does fan fiction of the novel fit in with that of the RPG? The main relation between game modifications (mods) and fan fiction is that both are, as mentioned above, manifestations of a community-based reaction to a work that has become popular. Does this take away from the legitimacy of a novelist or a novel? Looking in the RPG context, is legitimacy lost? With the existence of copyright laws, the answer is no.

Graphical changes on a large scale--the world

Graphical changes on a smaller scale--personal objects

The original novel will always remain as it is, with the fan-created material existing in a separate space. Mods of RPG games are a little different, as they come in the form of someone's code that a player puts into a space where the game can read and incorporate the new data. These are usually just changes in the artistic elements of the RPG, as adding to the story is a lot of work. However, due to dedicated fans, story mods also exist, two examples of popular games being Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim.

Looking at reader-created additions to novels and fiction historically, it would be interesting to look at the words of Mikhail Bakhtin. In his writings concerning novels titled The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays, he says this:

European novel prose is born and shaped in the process of a free (that is, reformulating) translation of others' work. -M. M. Bakhtin 

While he wasn't talking about the culture of fan fiction or modding, the idea that novels are freely translated is not a new one. Whether by interpretation in the mind or by actual writing new things, readers have become writers throughout the world, and they have added a sense of community in humanity to the usually isolated novel experience.

A somewhat silly example, but still one player's addition to Skyrim

Finally, just as fan fiction applies to more than one genre, modding is not by any means limited to RPGs; in fact, I would check out this post to learn more about modding culture in general.