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RuneScape is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by British developer Jagex Limited, programmed in Java. With nearly nine million active free players and 800,000 paying members, RuneScape is one of the top online games in the world. RuneScape was launched on 4 January 2001 and offers both free and subscription content. RuneScape is designed to be accessible from any location with an internet connection and to run in an ordinary web browser without straining system resources.

RuneScape takes place in the imaginary realm of Gielinor, which is divided into the Kingdoms of Misthalin, Asgarnia, and Kandarin, as well as the tropical island of Karamja, the Kharidian Desert, and the Wilderness, among others. Movement throughout RuneScape utilizes three methods: foot travel, vehicle assisted travel and magical teleportation. Each region offers different types of monsters, materials, and quests.

Players, shown on the screen as customisable characters, can see and interact with each other. They set their own goals and objectives, deciding which of the available activities to pursue as there is no linear path that must be followed. Players may engage in combat with other players or with monsters, complete quests, increase their experience in the available skills, or have a simple conversation with other players. Players interact with each other through chatting, trading, participating in mutual missions, and playing combative or co-operative mini-games.

History and development

RuneScape's first version began as a one-man project. Andrew Gower started working on the original game in 1998. This version was very different from the RuneScape of today. It had isometric graphics, and was originally titled 'DeviousMUD'. This version was never released to the public. In 1999, Andrew scrapped 'DeviousMUD', and started to work on a completely rewritten version. Despite being completely rewritten, this version was very similar to the first as it had isometric graphics but had name changes. This version was released as a public beta for approximately one week, and then withdrawn. After the beta failed, Andrew started yet again with a third attempt in October 1999. This time, his brother, Paul Gower, helped him. The isometric view was replaced in favour of both three-dimensional and two-dimensional graphic sprites. The game was renamed RuneScape and released to the public as a beta version on 4 January 2001. This version is still online today and is currently titled RuneScape Classic.

On 12 January 2006, play was restricted to members who had logged in at least once between that date and 5 August 2005. This meant that no other accounts that did not meet this expectation would ever be allowed the use of RuneScape Classic. On 27 February 2002, Jagex launched a service available to paying members. This allowed players to pay approximately £3.20 GBP ($5.00 USD, $8.00 AUD ) a month to obtain access to a more extensive variety of additional features. This service was optional while free content remained. While not a new version because the game still operated under the same game engine, this service significantly changed the focus of the game. As technological advances kept coming over the years, Jagex began to make massive changes to RuneScape. Although this revision was originally planned to be a graphical update, Jagex instead worked to completely rewrite the game engine. They introduced a version that consisted entirely of three-dimensional graphics, with other significant improvements. While in development, this version was named RuneScape 2. The name was later changed to RuneScape, but the name RuneScape 2 is still used to differentiate between it and RuneScape Classic. An incomplete beta of this version was made available to members on 1 December 2003, and the finished version was launched on 29 March 2004.

On 16 May 2006, Jagex upgraded RuneScape's game engine, improving many aspects of it including the chat system. This version appears to the player as the same RuneScape as before, since the upgrades are much more low key than introduced previously. This version focused more on the underlying programming. Most importantly, the amount of memory used while RuneScape runs was significantly reduced, allowing the game to be expanded and improved in ways without increasing its load time for most players. This is the current version of RuneScape being promoted by Jagex, and is the version most people associate with the word RuneScape.

Servers

Jagex maintains 133 servers in six countries. Servers are numbered and referred to as "worlds" by RuneScape players. Each of the 131 RuneScape servers has a capacity of 2,000 players, allowing 262,000 simultaneous players. The two RuneScape Classic servers are each limited to 1,250 players, allowing 2,500 simultaneous players.

RuneScape servers are located in the United Kingdom (20, including both RuneScape Classic servers), the United States (79), Canada (14), the Netherlands (6), Australia (6) and Sweden (8).

Graphics

RuneScape can be run with high or low detail graphics; high detail mode enhances texture and design, whereas low detail provides a cleaner cut look and can reduce 'lag' on older or less powerful computers. In February 2005, Jagex began the process of updating the graphical images in the RuneScape cities and the wilderness. Portions of the changes have been met with player dissatisfaction, while others have received accolades from players. Jagex plans ultimately to improve the graphics of the entire free-to-play area of RuneScape without causing more lag for people using dial-up Internet connections.

RuneScape places emphasis on allowing players to customise their characters by supplying a wide choice in character models. Unlike other games in the same genre, player characters must be human. Players can choose and change their gender as well as hairstyle, body type, and facial features. On-screen appearance is further optimised by wearing or wielding items, with each different item having a unique image. Appearance can also be radically changed with special equipment and during particular events. Players can be transformed by game characters or their surroundings into frogs, mushrooms, or small animals. Players using certain items can transform themselves into piles of stone, eggs, or monkeys, allowing them to avoid negative effects or gaining them access to otherwise unreachable places. Such "morphs" are temporary, and players cannot perform activities other than chatting while morphed. Players can transform themselves into imps, sheep, or rabbits by wearing armour or other items that conflict with their team god in the waiting area of the mini game Castle Wars.

Each activity that a character performs has its own distinctive animation, from walking down a city street to planting a seed in a farming plot to sewing leather into a pair of gloves. Players can also express particular emotions whenever they choose through the use of emotes. New players start with many of the available emotes, but others must be earned from quests or random events. Some emotes were able to be obtained only during past holiday events, and any player who did not participate in those events will never be able to obtain them.

Gameplay

Combat and skills

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 complete many quests. Combat level is usually referred to simply as "level". It is the only skill level visible to other players while in game. A player's combat level is calculated using the seven combat skills: attack, strength, defence, hitpoints, magic, prayer, and ranged. Other skills increase total levels and overall rankings for players, but not their combat levels.

Unlike similar games, RuneScape does not have character classes. Combat is simply subdivided into melee, magic, and ranged categories. Melee attacks are close range with or without weapons, magic attacks focus on using runestones to cast spells, and ranged moves use projectile weapons. Most of the game's weapons feature different strengths and weaknesses, and are midaeval and fantastical in nature.

Players are not bound to a specific category of combat, and they may freely change between the three forms of combat at any time simply by switching weapons, armours, or methods of attack. Players can even carry the weapons and armours of all three combat categories in their inventories, switching between or even combining the forms at will. Players can even activate prayers to deal damage in combat.

Skills are abilities that enable players to perform activities in the game. Players gain experience in a skill when they perform activities that utilise that skill, for instance mining a rock would increase the mining skill. In general, the higher level required to perform a task, the more experience points the player receives, and the more desirable the result. The combined skill level of a player partly symbolises the player's status in the game. The RuneScape hiscores tables can be viewed by all players, and players with higher overall levels are well known. RuneScape has twenty-two trainable skills in four categories: combat (attack, strength, defence, magic, ranged, prayer, and hitpoints); extraction (mining, fishing, woodcutting, thieving, and farming); processing (smithing, cooking, crafting, runecrafting, fletching, and herblore); and independent (firemaking, agility, construction, and slayer).

Interaction

Non-player characters populate RuneScape. Almost every NPCs in RuneScape can be attacked, although some, such as shopkeepers, cannot be engaged in combat by players. Attackable NPCs are generally referred to as monsters, whether they are human, animal, elemental, or demonic. Monsters range from common, low level creatures like chickens and ducks to unique, much more powerful monsters like the King Black Dragon, Chaos Elemental, or Kalphite Queen. Each type of monster has its own strengths and weaknesses. Demons, for example, have low defence against magical attacks while dragons have extremely high defence against magic. Monsters may also be aggressive (attacking any player who comes within range, regardless of level), non-aggressive (not attacking players unless provoked, regardless of levels), or partially aggressive (attacking only those players who are within a predetermined number of levels above or below their own level). This can make certain areas within the game dangerous to players depending upon their own combat levels.

Players can fight against other players in player versus player (PvP) combat in certain areas of RuneScape. The most common place is in the Wilderness, where players risk their lives as well as their items, challenging other players. Players can engage in PvP combat without risking their items in mini-games, such as Castle Wars and the TzHaar Fight Pit or in combat arenas in player's houses. In the Duel Arena, another mini-game, players must agree on the rules of engagement and the stake, before combat begins.

Quests in RuneScape are one-time adventures found throughout the realm of Gielinor. They serve a variety of purposes. The novice quests act as tutorials to acquaint new users with the various skills and abilities they will need in the game and are usually linear in nature. The harder quests are designed to challenge experienced players to resolve a world conflict, which might just open up a new area to be explored for fun or profit. Each quests include a reward, such as money, rare or valuable items, or an increase in skill experience. Most quests give the player "quest points", the number usually depending on the difficulty of the quest. A certain number of quest points is required to start certain quests, used to demonstrate a player's ability. Some quests are part of an overlapping storyline, the most famous of which is the Plague City story line, which has been in RuneScape for several years and currently contains seven separate quests. On 15 March 2006, Jagex released the one-hundredth RuneScape quest, Recipe for Disaster, which is a sequel to the first quest, Cook's Assistant.

RuneScape features mini-games for its players, which are activities somewhat like quests but that can be done multiple times. Mini-games take place in certain areas and normally involve a specific skill. Many mini-games involve cooperative efforts or allow players to compete with each other. Popular mini-games include Castle Wars and Pest Control.

Random events

Players often encounter random events that require player input. Some random events are simple, requiring a player only to click on an NPC or to leave the area temporarily; others require the player to navigate a labyrinth, answer a question, or imitate another NPCs actions. Players must respond to these events quickly and correctly in order to avoid a negative effect, such as being teleported across the map. Players correctly responding to random events can receive rewards or experience.

Random events deter players from macroing, which is the act of using a program to play the game with no human interaction. 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 leveling skills for long periods of time (referred to as grinding).

In the event of a broken Internet connection, players can be kicked off the server before they have a chance to remove their character from the game. In the time that the character is still active, random events could occur, killing or otherwise harming an innocent player. For this reason, random events are a controversial part of the game.

Community

Players of RuneScape represent a wide range of nationalities and ages; however, because the game is currently only available in English, almost all players speak English to an extent. Players who speak languages other than English tend to gravitate to worlds that are populated by other players who speak the same language. For example, some worlds have a greater percentage of players who speak Spanish, Dutch, or Lithuanian. It is not uncommon to see different languages on the chat screens throughout RuneScape.

A group of official forums created entirely by Jagex programmers is available to players on the RuneScape website. By accessing the forums, paying members are able to participate in game discussions, make arrangements to buy or sell items, and interact with the community. Free players can read the forums but are unable to post messages. 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. On 10 April 2006, the RuneScape forums underwent major code revisions.

Players can submit questions to any NPC in the game. Selected letters are answered in an update called Postbag from The Hedge at the end of each month. This feature of the site started on 26 September 2005 and has since become one of the most accessed pages of the site. From 24 September 2002 through 9 December 2004, players could submit questions to the RuneScape gods; however, the gods will no longer communicate so directly with mortal beings.

To support RuneScape's free-to-play content, Jagex displays advertisements above the playing screen to help pay for the free servers. On 13 July 2006, Jagex signed an exclusive marketing and distribution contract with WildTangent Games, which allows WildTangent to handle advertising in and around RuneScape. The deal also allows WildTangent to distribute RuneScape through the WildTangent Games Network, a distribution channel reaching over 20 million consumer PCs. 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. Since computer users may use advertisement blockers, Jagex has introduced a rule that prohibits players from blocking the advertisements in the free game, in order to encourage advertisers.

Criticism

Press reviews

According to BBC News, playing RuneScape as much as working on homework is not necessarily a bad thing. It can instruct players about working hard to achieve goals. Studies show that the nature of most games, including RuneScape, can teach teenagers vital skills as they enter the labour market. The Guardian stated that Runescape is one of the fastest growing out of all of the MMORPGs. Online RPGs are one of the few internet businesses that can entice people to pay for online content. Just RPG, an organization that reviews online role-playing games, says that "It's rare for something that's free to come with no strings attached, and is actually fun to boot." RuneScape does just that. The Yahoo Buzz Log states that the unrealistic roles of the characters in the MMORPG Runescape can provide good entertainment when people need a break. According to PC Gamer UK, RuneScape 2 should be a great success. "Available via your browser, the game can be fired up on a narrowband connection, in just a few minutes."

Player Comments

RuneScape has been criticized for several of its primary components, such as graphics and gameplay. Members of the RuneScape community argue that RuneScape's graphics are substandard. Because RuneScape is designed to run in a web browser and download quickly, its graphics will never compare particularly well with desktop PC games. Some disagree with this compromise, whereas others argue that the quality of a game does not depend solely on its graphics, and point out that the graphics actually compare quite well with other browser based games. Tasks in RuneScape are frequently criticised for being repetitive, requiring users to click repeatedly in the same pattern to train skills.Jagex designed the farming skill with this criticism in mind, but their efforts to make it less repetitive were criticised for making the process of levelling far too complicated. Learning the game for new players, however, is generally considered to be fairly easy. Players begin in a secluded area populated only by other beginners and are led on a set path where they learn the skills needed to succeed in Gielinor. Moreover, since it takes several hours to develop a character, many players regard playing RuneScape as a lifestyle, not a side activity. Playing RuneScape can be addicting, since players can play RuneScape more than they do anything else.

The community as a whole has also been criticized. Attempted scamming is common in RuneScape, although this exists throughout the MMORPG genre. Scammers use diverse methods to trick players into trading items for much less than they are worth or into revealing their passwords. Players attempting to take advantage of the game use illegal automated bots or scripts to play the game for them.Jagex has taken various measures to prevent cheating. They introduced random events that require immediate human response and provided safety warnings in the player trading system. In response, Jagex has banned over 15,000 accounts through an advanced macro detection system. RuneScape's chat filters have the ability to censor obscene words and letters though players are often able to use intentional misspellings, leetspeak, or symbols to bypass the filter. To combat this, Jagex made changes to the filter on 16 May 2006 that were successful in alleviating some of the problems, although other problems remain. The chat filters can occasionally block legitimate words; words that innocent players often type in for can be blocked just because of these problems. Some people are also annoyed with the enormous amount of words that are blocked, claiming that since the game has an age minimum of 13, mild swearing such as "damn" should be allowed.

Business aspects of the RuneScape franchise have fallen under criticism, as well. Players criticise RuneScape for not having enough free content or not updating the free content often enough. While RuneScape does have a considerable amount of free content, most weekly updates and features for high-level players are limited to subscribed members. Additionally, due to the limited customer support team employees and the ever-growing number of registered users, players have expressed dissatisfaction with Jagex's customer support. Jagex has attempted efforts to increase the size of their customer support team and has expanded their online Knowledge Base in order to alleviate some stress off the staff.

Most of the time the background music is a very simple tune. Music in the game enhances feelings and emotions to go with the scenery and the mood.There are sound effects included in the game as the player practices a skill, most of which become very annoying after a while.

Footnotes

1. "WildTangent Explores RuneScape" - GameDaily BIZ, 17 July 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
2. "Virtual gamers reveal themselves" - BBC News, 7 October 2004. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
3. RuneScape world map - RuneScape.com, retrieved 15 June 2006.
4. "How gaming is all work and no play" - BBC News, 14 March 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
5. "Nearly 5000 RS-classic accounts banned" - RuneScape Customer Support News, 12 January 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2006.
6. "The biggest update ever..." - RuneScape Game updates news, 13 February 2003. Retrieved 15 June 2006.
7. RS2 Launched - RuneScape Game update news. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
8. Game engine update - RuneScape Game updates news. 16 May 2003.
9. "6 new Australian servers online!" - RuneScape Technical News, 28 December 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2006.
10. RuneScape news RuneScape Game Update News, 22 Feb 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2006
11. Letter Archives - RuneScape.com. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
12. ^ "GameDAILY: WildTangent Explores RuneScape". CBS SportsLine. 2006-07-17. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
13. "WildTangent Sells Ads in Runescape Online Game". MediaBuyerPlanner. 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
14. "Runescape:Rules of Conduct:Rule 15-Advert Blocking". Jagex. 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-11. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
15. "How gaming is all work and no play". BBC News. 2006-03-14. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
16. "Rune to move". Guardian Unlimited. 2003-12-11. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
17. Gasperazzo, Wendy (2006). "Runescape". Just RPG. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
18. Hurd, Gordon (2006-05-08). "The Rundown on Runescape". Yahoo Buzz Log. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
19. Sutherns, Mark (2003-12). "Runescape 2: browser-based Goblin basher goes 3D". PC Gamer UK, issue 129. Future Publishing. p. 145. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
20. ^ Archae The Great (2002-03-19). "RuneScape: "It could be ALOT better but it's still fun"". Gamespot GameFAQs. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
21. Mihalick (2006-01-17). "Runescape". ONRPG. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
22. ciruiz88 (2002-06-14). "RuneScape:"Addicting as hell... but with room for improvements"". Gamespot GameFAQs. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
23. "Over 15000 RuneScape accounts banned for cheating" - RuneScape Customer Support News 19 January 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
24. Game Engine update - RuneScape Customer Support News 16 May 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2006
25. Jagex (2006). "RuneScape:Benefits for Members". Jagex. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
26. "New Improved Game Guide Released" - RuneScape.com, 13 March 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2006.
27. ^ Black_Cheese (2006-02-27). "RuneScape: "It's fun for a while, but it gets old pretty quickly"". Gamespot GameFAQs. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
28. Cloud8976 (2005-03-30). "RuneScape". GamersInfo. Retrieved 2006-08-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

• RuneScape - The official RuneScape website
• Jagex site - The official Jagex site
• Knowledge Base - The official RuneScape guide
• Forums - The official RuneScape forums

Wiki

• RuneScape Wiki

Official affiliates

• Miniclip (runescape.com)
• Mofunzone (runescape.com)

Fansite

• Rune HQ - Fansite with the most traffic

• Browser-based games
• Java platform games
• Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
• Miniclip games
• RuneScape