The 15-Year-Old Modder Who Gave Kids Nightmarish Horns in ‘The Sims 4’

Image courtesy of elisaw12 "I think I'm gonna cry." "Kill it with fire." These aren't usually comments that would draw me closer to something, but when I saw the reactions to elisaw12's "Horns for Male Children" mod for The Sims 4, I had to know more.

Despite how many people are horrified by "Horns for Male Children," 58 people downloaded it. And they downloaded it, even with this description attached:

elisaw12, whose real name on Nexus Mods is listed as "NO," has crafted a handful of mods, mostly for Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Their most popular mod replaces Dogmeat, your dog companion from Fallout 4, with a child. That mod doesn't have proper voice acting, which means the kid runs around barking.

To learn more, I talked with elisaw12, a 15-year-old kid who told me he mostly plays Bethesda games and Rocket League,and despite his terrifying mod, when he plays The Sims, he usually has "normal families—get a few kids, that kind of stuff."

(This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.)

Waypoint: This mod is terrifying. What's your problem?

elisaw12: Haha! Long story short, I was fooling around in The Sims mod making program—it's a long time ago, don't remember anything about it—and I just edited the mesh and texture and came up with the idea!

You described these horns as "the best defense of the children race." Wait, children are a race now? Do I need to be worried about my daughter?

elisaw12: No, "human" children are not as dangerous as the other ones. You daughter will be fine….for now, at least. Await their arrival.

The rise of the child race aside, what makes these horns so powerful? Why is it going to protect them from being bullied?

elisaw12: Imagine you're on a playground and someone comes up to you and starts teasing you—stab them and leave them to die, no problem.

One of the people who downloaded your mod said "I think I'm gonna cry" and another said "Kill it with fire." How do you respond to these charges?

elisaw12: I take it as a compliment. I do this for fun, and I don't expect any "Good work!" comments because they're essentially shitposts.

OK, let's back up a bit. What prompted you to make this mod in the first place?

elisaw12: This was mostly a "testing the waters" mod and nothing serious.

When you're not making mods that make me want to keep the lights on at night, what does eliasw12 get up to? What are you interested in?

elisaw12: I do a lot of writing, I do lots of creative stuff, as well—Photoshop, acting, etc. I am also a gamer (most modders are), but I would love to continue modding lol.

You've made a few mods, but only one for The Sims. The other ones are for Skyrim and Fallout 4. What got you involved in modding?

elisaw12: When I play, I see opportunities and possibilities and/or impossibilities, something I can shape or change.

My guess is that more people would make mods if they knew how to get into modding. Where'd you start? How difficult was it?

elisaw12: Well, I did watch some tutorials, got the hang of it, and, well, yeah. On a scale of one to 10, it was like a six. It can be very frustrating at times, especially if you don't know what you're doing.

Is there something unique about modding for The Sims? Any particular hurdles that you had to overcome?

elisaw12: Modding for Sims was a pushover; there's a program there where you literally only need a few textures and some programs to make a 100% successful mod.

What's next for eliasw12? Are you working on any other mods?

elisaw12: I may or may not be making new mods. In all seriousness, IDK, but probably acting in the future (irrelevant but ok). But if the community likes my mods and wants more then, by all means, I will continue!

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