The Resurrection of RuneScape

Not many years ago, Runescape was one of the most respectable games around, or at least so in the online games category.

Such a thing can be easily verified: if you go around in other game forums, most people have played Runescape. It’s almost an experience in common to all online gamers. So, it would make you think Runescape’s the best and the most popular game around, no?

In part it is, with over 130 million accounts created and over 1 million paying members. Now, if you go to other game forums, you will also notice how most of the people that played Runescape said it was cool at the beggining, but started being a waste of time, and that it is one of the worst games they played.

A bit contraditory, don’t you think? Not quite, actually. The game is getting more and more updates directed to the masses.

That is what 2008 was, and what 2009 will be like.

Notice in 2008:

Unbalanced Trade Removal – This was obviously made for the masses, not the veteran runescape players, confirming a tendence started in the late 2007, with the Grand Exchange, the Assist System, more mini-games, the moving of the Party House to Falador and making Duel Arena F2P. All this to take bots out of the game, and scammers along. Of course veteran runescapers are used to those, but nobody coming from another game would stay for long with so many scammers and bots.

Summoning – What better way to captivate player than the perspective of the constant launching of new skills? Of course, this one was also responding to all the vets asking for this skill, so it may have served both purposes.

Coinshare – This, although satisfying all players, even higher levels, was obviously meant for the lower ones, as well as Lootshare.

Quick Chat – Mainstream service much? This one has also served both, since lots of players were muted, and this is a way they can talk.

High Detail – The big star, the ray of sunshine for Runescape’s 2008. All you runescape players are identified to the fact that lots of people wouldn’t play the game because of its graphics. Any doubt about the target of this update? Making it more cartoonish and HD certainly brought quite some new players.

PvP Worlds – So, they brought new players onto the game, while the old ones left because of the removal of the wildy. We couldn’t expect the new ones to stay for long without pvp. That’s the heart of online gaming. For me at least, the World Wide PKing was a bit disappointing, but indeed a nice addition.

Now, if you read the BTS for 2009, you will notice the main focus will be correcting the annoying features of the game. Mainstream gamers care not for the deepness of the game, but for the details. The details sell games. (look at NBA games, how many of you think that the simple thing of putting publicity on replays will not automatically make hundreds of people think the game’s GREAT?) When leveling up and up and up, players start multi tasking (*dling* Auto logger timing)…

Now, you can take your own conclusions. Happy gaming everyone. ( :

Note- These are my opinions, I am in no way saying they are correct, and you don’t have to agree. If you don’t, stick with contructive criticism.