Arma 3 and its predecessors are model citizens for moddability. Bohemia's milsim is practically a platform more than a traditional game, a vehicle for 3D modelers and mission makers. In 2014 and 2015 the company ran Make Arma Not War, a yearlong contest meant to encourage modders to put stuff on Steam Workshop, which now contains tens of thousands of missions, tweaks, and objects for Arma 3.
Add to that pile these familiar bricks from Mondkalb, who's actually an animation lead at Bohemia Interactive Simulations, a separate group that makes VBS. Yesterday Mondkalb put "Operation Blockhead" on Steam Workshop, a mod that contains a handful of unique Lego civilians as well as some simple Lego bricks that you can insert into Arma's high-fidelity world. It's a modest mod, but the contrast between blocky men and Arma's photorealism is wonderfully weird:
Mondkalb says that his intention was "mostly to demonstrate how versatile the engine is." The mod is a fully independent character setup, including "original animations, ragdoll, weapons, clothes swapping, head and face textures, lip movement and of course hats." The plastic characters don't inherit all of Arma's mechanics—crouching and prone didn't seem to work when I tried it in the Eden Editor. I love the ragdoll effect on the characters, though.
Hopefully someone will take these assets and run with them. Lego Island fans—and I know you're out there—here's your cue to get to work on a total conversion set on Arma's 100 square-kilometer Tanoa terrain.
You can subscribe to Operation Blockhead on Steam Workshop or find it on Google Drive.
