diff --git a/engine/Makefile b/engine/Makefile
index 6d9ab38..fbad43f 100644
--- a/engine/Makefile
+++ b/engine/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 CC = gcc
 PREFIX = ./
 BINARY=timesynk
-OBJS = main.o c_extra.o state_menu.o ui/elements.o sdl/timer.o sdl/r_soft.o sdl/r_gl.o sdl/interface.o sdl/sdl_extra.o sdl/spritesheets.o sdl/font.o resources/badfont_large_png.o resources/badfont_medium_png.o resources/ui_png.o resources/menu_bg_png.o data.o
+OBJS = main.o c_extra.o state_menu.o ui/elements.o sdl/timer.o sdl/r_soft.o sdl/r_gl.o sdl/interface.o sdl/sdl_extra.o sdl/spritesheets.o sdl/font.o resources/badfont_large_png.o resources/badfont_medium_png.o resources/ui_png.o resources/menu_bg_png.o data.o llist.o fio.o
 DEBUG = -g
 CFLAGS = -Wall -c $(DEBUG)
 SDL_LFLAGS = -lGL -lSDL -lSDL_image
diff --git a/engine/fio.c b/engine/fio.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..11bb4dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/engine/fio.c
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+#include "fio.h"
+#include <dirent.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+
+/*
+================================
+struct LList *dirToLList(const char *dir_name, int opts)
+
+This function takes a given directory path and attempts to populate a linked list(LList) with the contents of the directory (excluding ".." and "."). The opts argument must be provided with F_DIRS, F_FILES, or both F_DIRS|F_FILES. This limits the items added to the linked list to only directories, only files, or both.
+
+================================
+*/
+struct LList *dirToLList(const char *dir_name, int opts) {
+  struct dirent *entry;
+  DIR *dir = opendir(dir_name);
+  if (dir == NULL)
+    return NULL;
+
+  struct LList *start = NULL;
+  struct LList *llist = NULL;
+  struct LList *llist_last = NULL;
+  while ((entry = readdir(dir)) != NULL) {
+    if (strcmp(entry->d_name, ".") == 0 || strcmp(entry->d_name, "..") == 0)
+      continue;
+    int entry_size = strlen(entry->d_name)+1;
+    // ugly
+    char file_path[strlen(dir_name)+entry_size];
+    strcpy(file_path, dir_name);
+    file_path[strlen(dir_name)] = '/';
+    memcpy(file_path+strlen(dir_name)+1, entry->d_name, entry_size);
+    // ok, let's get file properties and see if we want it
+    struct stat file_stat;
+    stat(file_path, &file_stat);
+    switch(file_stat.st_mode & S_IFMT) {
+      case S_IFDIR:
+        if (~opts & F_DIRS)
+          continue;
+        break;
+      case S_IFREG:
+        if (~opts & F_FILES)
+          continue;
+        break;
+    }
+    // if we got here, then the entry is valid
+    llist = newLList();
+    llist->data = malloc(entry_size);
+    llist->size = entry_size;
+    memcpy(llist->data, entry->d_name, entry_size);
+    if (start == NULL)
+      start = llist;
+    if (llist_last != NULL)
+      llist_last->next = llist;
+    llist_last = llist;
+  }
+  closedir(dir);
+  return start;
+}
+
+/*
+================================
+int fileExists(const char *filename)
+
+A simple function that checks if the given filename exists.
+================================
+*/
+int fileExists(const char *filename) {
+  struct stat buffer;
+  return (stat (filename, &buffer) == 0);
+}
diff --git a/engine/fio.h b/engine/fio.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eaa0bf4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/engine/fio.h
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#ifndef FIO_H
+#define FIO_H
+#include "llist.h"
+#define F_DIRS 1
+#define F_FILES 2
+
+struct LList *dirToLList(const char *dir_name, int opts);
+int fileExists(const char *filename);
+#endif
diff --git a/engine/globals.h b/engine/globals.h
index 1eb1c30..1ed50b4 100644
--- a/engine/globals.h
+++ b/engine/globals.h
@@ -3,11 +3,14 @@
 #include "ts_event.h"
 #include "state_menu.h"
 #include "../data.h"
+#include "llist.h"
 
 struct Table *g_settings;
 
 int g_running;
 
+struct LList *g_modules_list;
+
 /* video-related globals */
 void *g_screen; // void pointer for SDL_Surface or others, set by interface
 int g_video_width;
diff --git a/engine/llist.c b/engine/llist.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1098d7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/engine/llist.c
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/****** llist.c
+  This file contains the functions for accessing and manipulating the linked list struct, LList.
+******/
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include "llist.h"
+
+struct LList *newLList() {
+  struct LList *llist = malloc(sizeof(struct LList));
+  llist->size = 0;
+  llist->next = NULL;
+  llist->data = NULL;
+  return llist;
+}
+
+int freeLList(struct LList *llist) {
+  if (llist->data != NULL)
+    free(llist->data);
+  free(llist);
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/engine/llist.h b/engine/llist.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d21a8e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/engine/llist.h
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#ifndef LLIST_H
+#define LLIST_H
+struct LList {
+  int size;
+  struct LList *next;
+  void *data;
+};
+
+struct LList *newLList();
+int freeLList(struct LList *llist);
+#endif
diff --git a/engine/main.c b/engine/main.c
index 2e6fcaf..6a333bc 100644
--- a/engine/main.c
+++ b/engine/main.c
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #include "globals.h"
 #include "interfaces.h"
+#include "fio.h"
 
 int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
   // let's load in our config file
@@ -19,6 +20,18 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
     addTablePairInt(g_settings, "v_framecap", 0);
     addTablePairInt(g_settings, "tickrate", 40000000);
   }
+  // let's search for modules!
+  if ((g_modules_list = dirToLList("modules", F_DIRS)) == NULL)
+    printf("ERR: no modules found\n");
+  printf("modules:\n");
+  struct LList *llist = g_modules_list;
+  while (llist) {
+    if (strcmp((char*)llist->data, getTablePairValueString(g_settings, "module")) == 0)
+      printf("* ");
+    printf("%s\n", (char*)llist->data);
+    llist = llist->next;
+  }
+
   // initialize our interface system (ncurses, SDL, etc.)
   if (interfaceInit() == 1) {
     return 1;
diff --git a/engine/settings.tsc b/engine/settings.tsc
index 2ef66b4..16cb841 100644
--- a/engine/settings.tsc
+++ b/engine/settings.tsc
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+;; module options
+; name of last module loaded
+module xibalba
 ;; video options
 v_width 1024
 v_height 768