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RuneScape
RuneScape logo
Developer(s)Jagex Ltd.
Publisher(s)Jagex Limited
EngineProprietary engine
Platform(s)Java Platform: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris
ReleaseRuneScape Classic:
4 January 2001
RuneScape 2:
29 March 2004
Genre(s)Fantasy MMORPG
Mode(s)Multiplayer

RuneScape is a Java-based MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) operated by Jagex Ltd. It has approximately nine million active free accounts[1] and more than one million paid member accounts,[2] and is rated by Mmogchart.com as being among the most popular online games in the world.[3] More than six million players play RuneScape at least once per month, and the number of accounts is currently growing at around 35% a year.[4][5] RuneScape has both a free version and a premium version that requires a monthly fee of $15 US dollars , as to access more content and features. RuneScape can be accessed from a web browser, which is considered the main reason for its popularity, because many people can access it. There are many countries that can play, including Germany, Sweden, u.s., and Britain. [6]

Andrew Gower created DeviousMUD, the forerunner to RuneScape, in 1998. Rewritten and renamed, the first version of RuneScape was released to the public on 4 January 2001. Since its release, the game has been praised for its free-playing abilities and its availability on a web browser.[citation needed] RuneScape takes place in the fantasy-themed realm of Gielinor,[7] which is divided into several different kingdoms, regions, and areas.[8] Players can travel throughout the gaming world on foot, by using magical teleportation spells or devices, or mechanical means of transportation.[9] Each region offers different types of monsters, materials, and quests to challenge players.

Players are shown on the screen as customisable avatars. They set their own goals and objectives, deciding which of the available activities to pursue. Like many other MMORPGs, there is no linear path that must be followed. Players can engage in combat with other players or with monsters, complete quests, or increase their experience in any of the available skills.[10] Players interact with each other through trading, chatting, or playing combative or cooperative mini-games.

History and development

File:Devious2.png
Three screenshots show DeviousMUD, the forerunner to RuneScape, which was never released to the public.

DeviousMUD, the forerunner to RuneScape, was created in 1998 by Andrew Gower. The game, which was never publicly released, used isometric graphics. In 1999, Gower completely rewrote the game, albeit with no improvements to the graphics or several other aspects of the game. This version was released as a public beta version for approximately one week before it was withdrawn.[11]

As a Cambridge University undergraduate, Gower worked on a complete rewrite of the game with the assistance of his brother, Paul Gower.[12] The isometric view was replaced by a mixture of both three-dimensional and two-dimensional sprites. The game, renamed RuneScape, was released to the public as a beta version on 4 January 2001[13] and was originally operated from their parents' house in Nottingham.[12] In December 2001, the Gower brothers and Constant Tedder formed Jagex to take over the business aspects of running RuneScape.[13]

On 27 February 2002, a membership service was made available, allowing players who choose to pay a monthly fee to access a variety of additional features including new areas, quests, and items. This service significantly changed the focus of the game.

File:RSClassic.png
A screenshot shows RuneScape Classic.

As RuneScape became more popular,[citation needed] Jagex began planning major changes. Although only a graphical update was initially planned,[14] the developers opted instead to rewrite the game engine completely, introducing a version that consisted entirely of three-dimensional graphics, with other significant improvements. While in development, this version was known as RuneScape 2. A beta version of the new engine was made available to paying members on 1 December 2003, and the finished version was launched on 29 March 2004.[15] Upon release, RuneScape 2 was renamed RuneScape, and the older version of the game was kept online as RuneScape Classic. On 12 January 2006, Jagex banned more than 5000 Classic accounts due to cheating. At the same time, RuneScape Classic was closed to new accounts and restricted to paying members who had played Classic at least once since 3 August 2005, and once every six months after that.[16]

On 16 May 2006, Jagex upgraded RuneScape's game engine, primarily as a back-end upgrade rather than a visible graphical boost.[17] In particular, the amount of memory required to run RuneScape was significantly reduced, allowing the game to be expanded and improved without increasing the loading time for most players. The engine was upgraded once again on 26 June 2007 to allow Jagex to add more complex content to RuneScape in the future.[18]

On 5 July 2007, an article was released in which Andrew Gower told an interviewer he saw a release of RuneScape onto the seventh generation of gaming consoles (the Wii, the Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 3) as "tempting"; however, he states that there are no current plans to do so.[19]

Servers

RuneScape servers are located in seven countries; USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia, Finland, and Sweden.

There are about 150 RuneScape servers located throughout the world, which are numbered and referred to as worlds by players and by Jagex. They are located in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, and Finland.[20] Servers are located in areas where they will, at the given time, provide the best connection for players in the most cost-effective manner. Servers are moved or added as the need arises.[21]

Each of the RuneScape servers allows 2,000 players to connect simultaneously, allowing a maximum capacity of approximately 280,000 players online at any given time. The servers are divided into free servers, accessible to all players, and member's servers, accessible only by those players who choose to pay a monthly fee for additional content. Unlike many other MMORPGs, RuneScape characters are not bound to a particular server, but rather can switch freely among the servers each time they access the game.[22] Some servers are given suggested activity labels, allowing players performing tasks that require or are made easier by group participation, such as mini-games, to more easily find each other.[23]

In addition to the RuneScape servers, there are two members-only servers for RuneScape Classic, both located in the United Kingdom. Each of these is limited to 1,250 players, allowing a total number of 2,500 simultaneous RuneScape Classic players.

Advertising

To support RuneScape's free content, advertisements are displayed above the playing screen on the free-player servers. On 13 July 2006, Jagex signed an exclusive marketing and distribution contract with WildTangent Games,[1] which granted WildTangent the right to handle advertising in and around RuneScape in the United States. The deal also allowed WildTangent to distribute RuneScape through the WildTangent Games Network,[1] a distribution channel, reaching over 20 million consumer PCs.[24] WildTangent has stressed that this agreement will not change the way RuneScape is presented and that they plan to make the presence of the advertisements, vital to RuneScape, as non-invasive as possible. Jagex moderators have stated that there will be no in-game advertisements.[1] Since computer users may use advertisement blockers which may discourage advertisers, Jagex introduced a rule that prohibits players from blocking the advertisements in the free game.[25]

Other languages

On 14 February 2007, Jagex released a German open beta translation of RuneScape. Currently, there are four German language servers online: three of them are free, and one is members only.[26][27] These servers are presently located within Sweden and Finland.

Membership

Players have the option to pay a monthly membership fee for additional game content and extra features. Members have access to additional quests, skills, game areas, items, and mini-games. They also receive more storage space for their items, faster customer service, the ability to vote in most player polls, and the ability to post on the official forums. Many of the regular game updates only affect members.[28]

Members can log on to separate members-only servers with no advertisement banners. Although members can still use free servers, they cannot access content, items, or areas that require membership; this also prevents members from entering free worlds when standing in an area available only to members. Membership applies on both the English servers and the German servers.[27]

Gameplay

New players begin in a secluded area populated only by other beginners, Tutorial Island.[22] They are led on a set path where they learn most of the non-member skills needed to succeed in Gielinor, the realm of RuneScape. After completing the tutorial, players can access information from tutors located in the towns they explore. These non-player characters, or NPCs, can replace some basic equipment items if necessary, as well as giving new players and advanced players appropriate information about their respective skills.

Geography

The Geography of RuneScape is varied in many ways. From the Ice and White Wolf mountains to the Kharidian Desert, it is different and can be damage-inflicting or beneficial.

The RuneScape world is made up of many different countries, including the eastern-most country of Morytania to the large island named Lunar Isle in the Northwestern-most areas.

Sound

RuneScape has music, sound effects, and ambient noises throughout Gielinor to enhance gameplay. The music is designed to enhance mood and help to define the underlying cultures of the various locations around Gielinor. Sound effects, such as the "sploosh" heard when a lobster trap is submerged in water, are heard as players train their skills. Ambient noises, such as the cry of seagulls flying over the ocean, occur in logical places. As different locations are visited by the player, new music for that area is unlocked, and can be played back later. Players can adjust the volumes of the music, sound effects, and ambient noises independently of each other. [29]

Graphics

File:Runescape equipment armours decorativearmour-gold.gif
A player wearing some of the interchangable equipment available in RuneScape.

RuneScape can be run with high or low-detail graphics; high-detail mode enhances texture and design, whereas low-detail provides a cleaner look and can reduce lag on older or less powerful computers. RuneScape's graphics have gone through two major overhauls, the latter of which has yet to be completed. The first update was the release the of RS2. The second, gradual overhaul began in February 2005, starting with several towns in the free-to-play area. When the engine was updated on May 16, 2006, allowing graphics of higher quality than ever before, the pace accelerated. So far, most of the free-to-play area has been updated, as well as some member's only areas and a large number of NPC's.

RuneScape features a deep character-customisation system. Unlike many games in the genre, player characters are always human; however, players can choose their gender and appearance from a variety of hairstyles and colours, body types, facial features, and default clothing options.[22] On-screen appearance is further optimised by wearing or wielding items, with each different item having a unique image. Standard weapons of the same class, such as swords, use the same set of animations in combat; however, a few special weapons have their own, distinctive animations that differ from those of other weapons in their category.

Players' appearances can be changed using special equipment or during particular game events. Transformations into frogs, mushrooms, Easter eggs, and other objects and animals can occur, depending on the circumstances. These "morphs" are temporary, and sometimes allow players to avoid negative gameplay effects or access otherwise unreachable areas; however, they restrict certain activities that human characters are normally allowed to perform.[30]

Players can also express emotions through the use of emotes, which are specialized animations that can be performed at will. New players start out with most available emotes; some, however, must be earned through gameplay.[31] Certain emotes are also released during holiday events.

Skills

File:Runescape skills-barbarian fishing-withoutaharpoon.gif
A player catching fish with her bare hands in RuneScape.

Skills in RuneScape are the abilities that enable players to perform activities in the game. Players gain experience in a skill when they perform activities that utilise that skill, such as mining ore from a rock to increase the mining skill. In general, the higher the level required to perform a task, the more experience points the player receives, and the more desirable the result. The total skill level of a player partly symbolises the player's status in the game. The RuneScape hiscore tables can be viewed by all players, and players with higher overall levels are well known within the RuneScape community. Upon reaching the highest available level in a skill (99), members may obtain a special cape, referred to as a "Cape of Achievement" or a "Skill Cape", which can be used to perform an action related to that skill. This cape allows the player to briefly become a level 100 in their skill.

The skills available for free players are Attack, Defence, Strength, Hitpoints, Ranged, Magic, Prayer, Mining, Smithing, Fishing, Cooking, Firemaking, Woodcutting, Crafting and Runecrafting . The skills available for members are Agility, Herblore , Thieving, Fletching, Slayer, Farming, Construction and Hunter.

Certain skills, such as strength and hitpoints, increase the player's prowess in combat. Some skills, such as woodcutting and fishing, enable the player to collect raw materials that can be processed into usable items using other skills, such as fletching and cooking. The items created can be used by the player or sold to other players in game for a profit. Other skills allow players to kill certain non-player characters, build their own houses, move around the map with greater ease, steal from NPCs and various stalls and chests located in-game, cook their own food (helpful in combat), create their own potions, create runestones and fletching (vital for certain combat skills), grow their own plants, and hunt NPC animals.[32] A Barbarian Training system was devised early in 2007, which opens new secrets in various skills, including firemaking and herblore. However, certain skill levels are required to learn these new abilities.

Since 5 November 2007, players can request assistance from other players, allowing them to use the other player's skills. The person requesting assistance receives all items made in this way, but the player whose skills are being used gains the experience. The Assist System is limited to certain skills, and does not allow help in combat skills, thieving or prayer. The maximum amount of experience a player can earn by using this system per day is 30,000. The System automatically turns off if either player exceed twenty paces of each other. It was originally planned as a way to eliminate the risk involved in a similar activity, which involved giving items to a higher level player and allowing them to craft your items.

In December 2007, Jagex announced the introduction of a new skill named Summoning, planned to be released in January 2008.

Combat

File:Runescape weapons specialattacks darklight-weaken.gif
A player and an NPC engage in combat.

RuneScape features a real-time combat system. Combat is an important aspect of the gameplay in RuneScape, as it is one of the most direct ways of gaining wealth and is needed to start and complete many quests. Combat level is a rating on how powerful a player or NPC is in combat. For players, it is determined by applying a formula to the seven combat skills. [33] Players engage in combat by right-clicking on an NPC or player and selecting the "attack" option. A player will automatically continue fighting until they have killed their opponent, die, or leave the fight by running away or teleporting.

Unlike most games in the MMORPG genre, RuneScape does not require players to choose a character class. Players are not bound to a specific category of combat, and they may freely change between the three styles of combat at any time by switching weapons, armours, or the form and focus of attack. Players can carry the weapons and armours of the three combat categories in their inventories, switching between or combining the styles. Many player killers use "pure" characters, which are min-max characters designed to have as low a combat level as possible by not training certain combat skills. This allows them to more easily kill other characters at their level, which are not "pure".

Combat is subdivided into melee, magic, and ranged categories. Melee attacks are close range with or without weapons,[34] magic attacks focus on using runestones to cast spells,[35] and ranged attacks use projectile weapons.[36]. These combat types make up the "Combat Triangle." Melee attacks are especially effective against players or NPCs using ranged equipment, whereas it is weak against mage equipment. Ranged attacks are strong if used against a mage, but is weak against the armour used in melee. And finally, magic attacks will do much damage if used against an armoured player, but will not be useful against rangers. Most of the game's weapons are medieval or fantastical in nature and feature different strengths and weaknesses.

Players die when they receive enough damage from combat, poison, or obstacles to cause their hitpoints to fall to zero. It is possible to recover some hitpoints lost in battle by eating food or beverages, while players can also use potions to boost their combat ability. Players who die reappear at one of three respawn points (Lumbridge, the most common, Falador, or Seer's Village (Also known as Camelot)) with all their skills, including hitpoints, restored to normal levels; however, they drop all but the three most valuable items they were carrying at the time of death. The introduction of the gravestone allows the ability to keep items safe for some time, allowing enough time for a player to reach them and remove their items. The amount of time a gravestone remains extant depends on the type of gravestone used, which the player can select through various NPCs. A special prayer increases this to four items, but recent player killing, denoted by a skull above the player's head, decreases this to no items, or just one with the prayer.[33]

PvP Combat

Player versus player combat, often abbreviated as PvP, is performed similarly to any other combat form in RuneScape, with the only difference being that it can only be performed in certain "minigames". Bounty hunter, Clan Wars and the Duel Arena are available to free players, and the other minigames can only be accessed by members.

Bounty Hunter is currently the only minigame that lets players kill others and collect loot from their drops, while several more are planned. Players are marked with a skull upon entering, which is colored according to the market value of the items held. Upon entering, players are assigned a target to kill. If the player kills somebody else other than their assigned opponent and picks up his/her loot, they will be given a three-minute penalty, during which the player can not leave the arena or log out.[37] The change was designed to prevent 'Real world traders' using the Wilderness as a covert way of exchanging items or money.

Another minigame, known as the Duel Arena, allows two players to fight each other in a duel. A second, related minigame, known as Duel Tournaments, allows up to sixty-four players to set up tournaments, with large amounts of gold as a prize for the winner[38][39]. Dueling is available to all players, though tournaments are members-only. Duels can either be nomal or staked. In normal dueling, no players bet any items or gold, and thus do not lose anything upon death. In staked duels, players can bet up to 3,000 gold or any items up to the value of 3,000 gold. The player that kills the other player in the duel collects the staked reward bet by the other player. Unlike death in normal circumstances, dying in a duel does not result in loss of any items other than the ones staked, and players simply reappear outside the arena. The Duel Arena gives the option to set limits, determined at the start of the duel or tournament, about what is allowed in the arena, such as disallowing potions or preventing the use of certain combat styles or skills. There are also options to prevent movement and add obstacles to the battlefield. Tournaments always have an entry fee which varies depending on the number of players and how successful a player has been in previous tournaments.

Clan Wars is another minigame with player-versus-player capabilities, except that only clan members (groups of united players who behave like an organization) may battle each other. A Clan War is started after one clan leader challenges another clan leader to a battle at the special Clan Wars Arena, located near the Bounty Hunter minigame in the Wilderness. Each member of the clan must then fight against a rival clan member of a different clan. A defeated clan member can no longer compete in the battle, and has the choice of either watching the battle or leaving the arena. The minigame does not allow the loss of any item or staking but is purely for fun. The battle ends when every member of the opposing clan is defeated.

Quests

Quests are storylines that players can choose to complete. Quests often require players to have minimum levels in certain skills or a minimum combat level to complete them. Some quests require players to work together. Quests are grouped into four categories based on requirements and difficulty. Novice quests effectively act as extended tutorials for new players. Intermediate quests are designed to challenge players on a relatively basic level, while experienced and master quests aim to challenge the more experienced players. Many master quests open up new areas of Gielinor for players to explore.[40] Once a player completes all quests in the game, another achievement cape, commonly referred to as the "quest cape", can be purchased from an NPC. Wearing this cape allows the player to perform a special emote.[41] Many quests require players to kill particularly powerful monsters. A new quest is released each month.

Upon completing quests, players receive rewards that vary depending on the difficulty of the quest. Rewards often include coins, items, access to a new area, or an increase in skill experience. Quest points are also awarded for completing most quests. Some quests require the player to have a specified number of quest points or to have previously completed certain quests before beginning the quest. Quests form the storyline of RuneScape, and many quests are part of overlapping storylines that become more difficult as the player progresses through them. The longest of these is an incomplete seven-part series known as "Plague City", after the first quest in the series. The storyline takes players through a massive conspiracy and unlocks areas inhabited by elves. It is the oldest storyline in the game, with the first quest being released in 2002. .[42][43] Jagex has stated that it is the closest thing RuneScape has to a central storyline. [44]

Interaction

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The King Black Dragon is one of the strongest monsters players can fight.

Many NPCs populate the realm of Gielinor. Although some NPCs, such as shopkeepers, have game functions that require them to be unavailable in combat, most NPCs can be attacked. NPCs that can be attacked are generally referred to as monsters, regardless of their race. Monsters range from common, low-level creatures, such as chickens and bears to unique, and often much more powerful monsters: for example, the King Black Dragon, Chaos Elementals, Tz-Tok-Jad, Kalphite Queens, or God Wars Dungeon Generals. Each type of monster has its own strengths and weaknesses. Demons, for example, have a weak defence against magical attacks, while most dragons have extremely high defence against magic. Monsters may either be aggressive or non-aggressive. Non-aggressive monsters simply ignore players unless they are attacked. Aggressive monsters may attack all players or may only attack players with combat levels below a specified level, depending on the circumstances or location. Also, most monsters encountered in the Wilderness will attack a player, regardless of level. This can make certain areas throughout Gielinor dangerous or inconvenient to players with lower combat levels.[45]

RuneScape also features independent mini-games for its players. Mini-games take place in certain areas and normally involve a specific skill. Mini-games usually require players to cooperate or to compete with each other. Popular mini-games include Castle Wars, which is similar to the real-life game Capture the Flag, and Pest Control, a highly combat-focused mini-game. Most of the mini-games are available only to paying members.[46]

Players can fight against other players in player versus player (PvP) combat in certain areas of Gielinor. One such place is the "Bounty Area" in the Wilderness, where players risk their lives and their items fighting other players.[47] Players can engage in PvP combat without risking their items in mini-games, such as Castle Wars and the TzHaar Fight Pits, and in combat arenas or dungeons in player owned houses. Players engaging in PvP combat in the Duel Arena must agree on the rules and any items to be won by the victor before their battle.

Random events

File:Runescape randomevents mime.gif
A player participating in a random event designed to deter macros.

Random events are short interludes that occur during the game, requiring some form of player input.[48] They were introduced to deter players from using automated programs, known as macros, autoers, or bots, to play the game with no human interaction. The use of such macros is explicitly forbidden and can result in the permanent ban of accounts found to be using them. Postings in the RuneScape forums by Andrew Gower suggest that random events were designed not only to hinder macroers but to alleviate the monotony that can occur while levelling skills for long periods of time (referred to as grinding).[49]

Some random events are simple, requiring a player only to click on an NPC or to leave the area temporarily; others require more sophisticated actions from players, who must respond to these events quickly and correctly to avoid a negative effect, such as being teleported across the map or taking damage. Players are usually rewarded for responding correctly to random events.[50]

Holiday Events

Every Easter, Halloween, and Christmas, Jagex hosts a holiday event somewhere in Gielinor. Any players who successfully complete a holiday event receive an exclusive item; if lost, these items can be re-acquired from Diango in Draynor Square. A few items released in early holiday events could be traded between players, but since they could only be acquired during the single event, these items now sell for large amounts of gold on the player market.[citation needed] Because of this, holiday items issued from Easter 2003 and on cannot be traded. Holiday events also allow the player to access newly developed 'emotes' or pieces of software which allow the players avatar to engage in a gesture designed to show emotion. Most holiday events usually involve some task for the player to attempt, while some were created simply for enjoyment.

Economy

RuneScape's economy is based largely around items produced using skills. Raw materials are collected using the extracting skills, such as fishing, and are processed into more advanced materials with processing skills, such as cooking. The products produced by processing skills, such as armour or food, are often sold and used by players in combat. Some players engage in arbitrage, commonly referred to as merchanting, in order to turn a profit in game by buying and selling items. Historically, inflation and deflation have caused some instability in the game economy. Deflation is caused by the large number of resources put into the game by macroing, and also because the more expensive items, such as certain weapons and armor, lose value over the time since their release into the game due to the fact that they become more prevalent, and newer items start being used. This has a huge impact on the day these items are released, with their prices being in the tens of millions for the first few hours, and then decreasing to a few million by the end of the day. The prices of rare items (items that were released in RuneScape Classic for holidays and can no longer be attained by any means other than buying from another player) tend to increase over time. For example, party hats were very inexpensive when they were released and are now worth hundreds of millions. Construction had temporarily stabilized the inflation in the prices of rares due to the fact that it was very expensive and popular with high level players, but the popularity of construction has declined and rares are continuing to rise. [51] With the introduction of the Grand Exchange, the economy of the RuneScape has now veered into a new phase of collaboration with Jagex.

Grand Exchange

The Grand Exchange, one of the two main methods of exchanging goods (the other being direct trades between players), is almost like an auction house, with the difference that prices are not allowed to vary freely by much in a short time.[52] It can be used to exchange items for coins across servers. Players can offer to buy or sell items for game money, as long as the offer is within five percent of the item(s)' market price. The market price of an item is decided by the Jagex Staff taking care of the Grand Exchange and they adjust the prices based on the offers placed on the item. Then, the Exchange automatically pairs the player's offer with a corresponding offer, if any exist. Players can place their offers to buy or sell items and then return to game play and the system notifies them when their items have been bought or sold, wherever they may happen to be at the time, and they may go to the nearest bank to collect their items or gold. Players often place offers at the mininum sum allowed by the price restrictions to speed up the process, which resulted in widespread deflation soon after the release of the Exchange. The Exchange itself is a large stone ring-shaped area northwest of Varrock, one of the larger towns in RuneScape. There is a booth in the centre where players can place offers or access their bank.

Since its release, the Grand Exchange has now become one of the most popular pieces of content in the game, signifying a new phase in the economy of RuneScape. Further updates are planned to involve the Grand Exchange with other activities, as well as improve its current performance.

The Grand Exchange has also met with criticism, with some players arguing that the introduction of the exchange will destroy merchanting, an avenue of money-making used by players as an alternative to leveling skills. This criticism has continued even after its release, as players argue that this allows Jagex to control the prices of items, which drastically reduces free will in the game.

Community

RuneScape players represent a wide range of nationalities and ages. Most players speak English to some extent. Players who speak languages other than English tend to gravitate to servers populated by other players who speak the same language; some worlds have larger numbers of players who speak Spanish, Dutch, French, German, or other languages. It is not uncommon, however, to see many languages on the chat screen throughout RuneScape. A German translation of RuneScape has also been released. [26][27]

A set of official forums created entirely by Jagex programmers is available to players on the RuneScape website. On the forums, players are able to participate in game discussions, play player-made forum games, make arrangements to buy or sell items, interact with the community, as well as post suggestions for further game improvements.. Free players can read the forums, but posting on them is reserved for paying members. The RuneScape forums are quite diverse, allowing thousands of players to access them at any given time. Each forum has its own specific list of rules enforced by forum moderators.[53]

Players can submit questions via an e-mail address listed on the website to any non-player character in the game. Selected letters are answered in an update called Postbag from the Hedge, typically at the end of each month. This feature began on 26 September 2005 and has since become one of the most accessed pages of the site. Beginning 24 September 2002, players could submit questions to the RuneScape gods; however, this feature was discontinued on 9 December 2004.[54] Players can also submit original RuneScape related artwork, some of which is displayed in a gallery on the RuneScape website. Media featured have included sculpture, comics, drawings, and paintings.[55]

Many RuneScape fansites have been established by players, none of which are supported or recognized by Jagex. In order to provide players with an alternative, official site to get the information they want or need, Jagex introduced the Knowledge Base,[56] which offers information on gameplay, the main RuneScape rules, and account security.[57] However, at least one major fansite has criticised Jagex for not recognising fansites' contributions to the development of its game.[58]

Rules and cheating

Jagex has put in place a number of rules for player conduct, such as rules against offensive language, scamming, and bug abuse.[59] To enforce the rules, RuneScape uses three types of moderators: Jagex moderators, abbreviated as "J-mods" by players, who are actual Jagex employees; player moderators, simply abbreviated as "mods", who are trusted ordinary players who enforce the rules in the game; and forum moderators, abbreviated as "Forum-Mods", who are trusted players who police the game forums. On the forums, Jagex moderators are identified by gold crowns and backgrounds on their posts while forum moderators have green crowns and backgrounds; in game, Jagex moderators have gold crowns next to their names in chat while player moderators have silver crowns. In addition, any player has the ability to report rule-breaking using a "report abuse" feature; misuse of this feature can result in action being taken against the reporter.[60] The effectiveness of Jagex's hunt on abusers has been debated in an article posted on Twitchguru.[61]

There are also rules prohibiting the use of third-party software to play the game, known as macroing and the sale of game items for real money, known as real-world or real-money trading[59] In the early days of the game, most cheaters were individual players using special programs that exploited weaknesses in the game's client-server communications by sending false data to the server. In response, Jagex made direct interaction with the client very difficult. Players then began using macro programs to automate mouse clicks for repetitive tasks. Random events, requiring human reaction and decision making, are one method Jagex employs to attempt to disrupt such programs. According to Jagex, many cheaters are now based in game sweatshops in East Asia, making gold to sell to players for real-world money, an issue in many other MMORPGs. In response, Jagex issued a statement condemning real-world trading, which had already been against the rules. In the statement, they also claimed that they were seizing billions of gold and banning thousands of accounts every week for cheating. Nevertheless, real-world trading and macroing activities still continue.[62][63]

To prevent real-world trading, Jagex dramatically altered several popular features, such as the duel arena and the Wilderness. On January 2nd, 2008, Jagex released an update designed to remove unbalanced trades. This update introduced a 3000 gp limit on trades, meaning that players can no longer pay 3000 gp more or less than the item's market price. However, this 3000 gp limit can be increased if a player has a certain amount of "Quest Points."[64]

Reception

A study by Brunel University claims that playing RuneScape can be beneficial to players. The study concluded that the nature of games like RuneScape can teach teenagers vital skills that they will need as they enter the labour market, including working hard to achieve goals.[65] An article on Twitchguru claims the opposite, that the skills and lessons learned in Runescape are not suitable for children.[66] As of December 2003, RuneScape was one of the fastest growing out of all of the MMORPGs, having a userbase fifty percent larger than that of EverQuest.[67] The game is praised for its free play abilities. JustRPG summarised the game with "In short, the game of Runescape is a fun, addictive game, and while the graphics may not be perfect, for a game written in Java, they aren't bad. The skills are varied, the community is alright, and it'll eat up your time if you aren't careful," giving it a score of 83%.[68] The Yahoo Buzz Log states that "while it may not be as easy on the eyes as some other popular online RPG games, like World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, or EverQuest, RuneScape is still a lot better way to kill time than pushing around cells in a spreadsheet."[69] PC Gamer UK in December 2003; states that while the "traditional RPG values of questing, slaying monsters and developing your character in a familiar medieval setting" won't "have the big boys trembling in their +2 Boots of Subscriber Gathering," this is offset by the game's accessibility through a web browser, "compounded by a version of the game that allows free adventuring before players upgrade to a members account," describing the game as "an unsurprising success."[70]

References

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  6. ^ "Game On!". PlayStation Society. 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
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  9. ^ Eeeeediot (2007-12-02). "Getting Around Guide". Tip.it General Guides. Rune Tips. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  10. ^ Wingfield, Nick (2006-10-05). "The Knights of Networking; Online Fantasy Game RuneScape Has Dull Graphics, but It's Free, Luring Millions to Play, Mingle". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. p. B.1. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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Official sites
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