The Maestro of Modding Sandi Montaño
Explicit content warning
04/03/25 • 57 min
In this inspiring episode of The Fourth Curtain, we sit down with Sandi Montaño, a self-taught modding phenom who went from stay-at-home dad to one of the most downloaded indie creators in the gaming world. With over 31 million downloads of his content for games like ARK: Survival Ascended and Hogwarts Legacy, Sandi proves you don’t need a degree—or even a formal background in game development—to make a major impact.
If you’re a game developer, modder, or creative looking to break into the industry—this is a must-listen.
What started as a project to entertain his daughter has turned into a successful business. We discuss Blender, community needs and geometric growth this week!
[00:00:40] Modding During Nap Time
Sandi shares how he taught himself game modding using textbooks during his daughter’s daily naps—no school, no YouTube, just pure grit.
[00:02:15] 31 Million Downloads & Counting
Alex and Aaron react to the jaw-dropping number of downloads Sandi has achieved—and how it all started as a creative project with his daughter.
[00:10:00] How a Simple Structure Became a Business
Sandi explains how he began creating ARK mods specifically for his daughter, which unexpectedly turned into a full-time business.
[00:17:45] Modding Hogwarts Legacy with SQL
Sandi talks about stepping into Hogwarts Legacy modding and the unexpected challenge of learning SQL to build new features.
[00:24:40] How He Tests New Ideas (The Smart Way)
Sandi walks through his efficient system of prototyping floor and wall structures, using community feedback to determine what becomes a premium mod.
[00:29:10] Modding for Relaxation—and Revenue
Sandi reflects on how modding became both his creative outlet and a surprisingly profitable business, even allowing him to hire help.
[00:35:15] Explaining Your Job as a Modder
He shares how surreal it was when his barber turned out to be a fan using his mods—and the tricky task of explaining his job to others.
[00:46:00] Advice for Aspiring Modders
Sandi encourages anyone curious about modding to just get started—highlighting persistence, experimentation, and community feedback as key ingredients to success.
Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life!
Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin
Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com
Join our Patreon for early, ad-free episodes plus bonus content at https://patreon.com/FourthCurtain
Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe
Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain
Follow us on Twitter: @fourthcurtain
Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com
Audio Editor: Bryen Hensley
Video Editor: Sarkis Grigorian
Producer: Shanglan (May) Li
Art: Paul Russel
Community Manager: Doug Zartman
Featuring Liberation by 505
In this inspiring episode of The Fourth Curtain, we sit down with Sandi Montaño, a self-taught modding phenom who went from stay-at-home dad to one of the most downloaded indie creators in the gaming world. With over 31 million downloads of his content for games like ARK: Survival Ascended and Hogwarts Legacy, Sandi proves you don’t need a degree—or even a formal background in game development—to make a major impact.
If you’re a game developer, modder, or creative looking to break into the industry—this is a must-listen.
What started as a project to entertain his daughter has turned into a successful business. We discuss Blender, community needs and geometric growth this week!
[00:00:40] Modding During Nap Time
Sandi shares how he taught himself game modding using textbooks during his daughter’s daily naps—no school, no YouTube, just pure grit.
[00:02:15] 31 Million Downloads & Counting
Alex and Aaron react to the jaw-dropping number of downloads Sandi has achieved—and how it all started as a creative project with his daughter.
[00:10:00] How a Simple Structure Became a Business
Sandi explains how he began creating ARK mods specifically for his daughter, which unexpectedly turned into a full-time business.
[00:17:45] Modding Hogwarts Legacy with SQL
Sandi talks about stepping into Hogwarts Legacy modding and the unexpected challenge of learning SQL to build new features.
[00:24:40] How He Tests New Ideas (The Smart Way)
Sandi walks through his efficient system of prototyping floor and wall structures, using community feedback to determine what becomes a premium mod.
[00:29:10] Modding for Relaxation—and Revenue
Sandi reflects on how modding became both his creative outlet and a surprisingly profitable business, even allowing him to hire help.
[00:35:15] Explaining Your Job as a Modder
He shares how surreal it was when his barber turned out to be a fan using his mods—and the tricky task of explaining his job to others.
[00:46:00] Advice for Aspiring Modders
Sandi encourages anyone curious about modding to just get started—highlighting persistence, experimentation, and community feedback as key ingredients to success.
Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life!
Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin
Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com
Join our Patreon for early, ad-free episodes plus bonus content at https://patreon.com/FourthCurtain
Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe
Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain
Follow us on Twitter: @fourthcurtain
Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com
Audio Editor: Bryen Hensley
Video Editor: Sarkis Grigorian
Producer: Shanglan (May) Li
Art: Paul Russel
Community Manager: Doug Zartman
Featuring Liberation by 505
Previous Episode
Exploding Kittens' Elan Lee Stacks the Deck
Our guest is Exploding Kitten's Elan Lee. Starting with animating breath for the film Titanic, he went on to create the world's first alternate reality game, The Beast, at Microsoft. Later he gamified Nine Inch Nails and voter registration and went on to launch the most successful Kickstarter ever for Exploding Kittens, redefining family game night. This episode features great stories and a world exclusive product announcement - this week!
[00:06:30] From ILM to Xbox
Elan shares his early work on Titanic and Star Wars, including hand-animating breath and neck seams for Jar Jar Binks—yes, really.
[00:18:30] The Xbox Origin Story
Elan recounts joining Microsoft during the secretive beginnings of Xbox and working with gaming legend Jordan Weisman on the launch lineup.
[00:30:45] Creating the First ARG with Spielberg
How AI: Artificial Intelligence inspired Elan to pioneer alternate reality games, turning storytelling into an interactive experience.
[00:35:00] Nine Inch Nails and “The Game That Calls You”
Partnering with Trent Reznor, Elan built an ARG that included thermochromic CD ink, cryptic websites, and secret concerts.
[00:41:30] The Clothing Line That Taught U.S. History
A secret-encoded T-shirt line that secretly retold the story of the American Revolution—gamified fashion meets education.
[00:49:00] Why Exploding Kittens Happened
After stepping away from screens, Elan turned to physical games and launched Exploding Kittens, which raised $9 million on Kickstarter.
[00:54:45] Inside the Chaos of Fulfilling 700,000 Orders
How Elan went from a 200-copy side project to full-scale game production, leaning on friends (and Cards Against Humanity) to survive.
[01:01:30] Teasing the New Exploding Kittens Board Game
Elan reveals an exclusive about a brand-new 3D board game version of Exploding Kittens coming soon—with a mechanic that took two years to perfect.
Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life!
Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin
Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com
Join our Patreon for early, ad-free episodes plus bonus content at https://patreon.com/FourthCurtain
Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe
Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain
Follow us on Twitter: @fourthcurtain
Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com
Audio Editor: Bryen Hensley
Video Editor: Sarkis Grigorian
Producer: Shanglan (May) Li
Art: Paul Russel
Community Manager: Doug Zartman
Featuring Liberation by 505
Next Episode
Outer Wilds' Alex Beachum's Cool Weird Emotional Prototypes
Our guest Alex Beachum turned his thesis project into the mind-bending smash Outer Wilds. Inspired by greats such as Zelda and Antichamber, it blazed new ground by having a nonviolent (though definitely mortal) player. We discuss emotional prototypes, four distinct mysteries and the IGF - this week!
Highlights
[00:00:30] Emotional Prototyping: Designing with Feeling Alex Beachum discusses the idea of building an emotional prototype for a game, capturing the vibe before mechanics—like roasting marshmallows as the sun explodes. This became the emotional core of Outer Wilds.
[00:17:30] The Origin of the Supernova Mechanic: The moment that inspired the iconic supernova loop in Outer Wilds—watching planets explode in slow motion—originated as a student prototype focused on ambiance and inevitability.
[00:09:00] Building a Space Game Without Combat: Alex wanted to make a space exploration game without combat, inspired by Apollo 13 and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The idea was pure exploration—“not to conquer, just to understand.”
[00:10:30] How ‘Outer Wilds’ Was Almost a Roguelike Originally envisioned as a roguelike with randomized elements, Outer Wilds shifted to a fixed solar system with a time loop to better serve its story and design goals.
[00:08:00] Zelda, Myst, and the Indie Inspirations Behind Outer Wilds: Beachum references Zelda, Myst, and Antichamber as key influences. The design philosophy emphasized knowledge as power, like discovering rules you could’ve used all along.
[00:53:00] The Ship Log: Making Mystery Manageable: Alex explains the design of the ship log, which breaks the story into four “curiosity webs” so players can uncover the mystery in any order. A masterclass in open-world narrative structure.
[00:39:00] From Stop Motion to Indie Stardom: Alex recounts how his childhood love of stop-motion and magic tricks evolved into a passion for visual storytelling and game design, eventually leading to Outer Wilds.
[00:42:30] Working with Family: Sibling Storytelling: Alex collaborated with his sister Kelsey Beachum, the writer of Outer Wilds, on the narrative. Their sibling dynamic added cohesion to the game’s emotional and story depth.
Thank you for listening to our podcast all about videogames and the amazing people who bring them to life!
Hosted by Alexander Seropian and Aaron Marroquin
Find us at www.thefourthcurtain.com
Join our Patreon for early, ad-free episodes plus bonus content at https://patreon.com/FourthCurtain
Come join the conversation at https://discord.gg/KWeGE4xHfe
Videos available at https://www.youtube.com/@thefourthcurtain
Follow us on Twitter: @fourthcurtain
Edited and mastered at https://noise-floor.com
Audio Editor: Bryen Hensley
Video Editor: Sarkis Grigorian
Producer: Shanglan (May) Li
Art: Paul Russel
Community Manager: Doug Zartman
Featuring Liberation by 505
The Fourth Curtain - The Maestro of Modding Sandi Montaño
Transcript
Sandi: [00:00:00] I took advantage that my daughter took her long naps every day. So that's when I would just read a textbook, an hour a day, highlight important parts, learning how to blueprint and, and regine, you know? And that's just how I taught myself.
Alex: That was Sandy Montano, indie mod creator, talking about how he taught himself how to create for arc.
Yeah, reading books. Reading. Its reading a textbook.
Aaron: He didn't go to school. I said it, Alex, you didn't think I
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/the-fourth-curtain-385653/the-maestro-of-modding-sandi-monta%c3%b1o-88904850"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to the maestro of modding sandi montaño on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy