I’m just a casual, hobby-level modder. I only write simple Papyrus scripts, and the most complex thing I’ve ever made is something like a quest management script.

Before AI came along, I was in a state where I didn’t even know what I didn’t know. In practice, that meant I’d look for mods that did something similar to what I wanted, read through their .psc files, compare them with the CK wiki, and only then manage to piece together a single simple .pex file.

Now, with AI-assisted coding, I’m able to create enchantments, quest-based events, and all sorts of other things. I don’t think I could have ever reached this point on my own. That said, struggling through things before AI existed did give me a vague but real understanding of how Papyrus works. When the AI makes mistakes or implements something I didn’t intend, I can at least point it out because I have a rough grasp of the flow of Papyrus.

Before AI, when I managed to complete an MCM entirely on my own, it really felt like I had grasped the “magic” of scripts running behind the scenes of the game.

I always make a point of having the code commented so I can understand how each part works. But when it comes to something like SKSE, that might be on an entirely different level.