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RuneScape is a Java-based MMORPG operated by Jagex Ltd. With over nine million active free players and more than 850,000 paying members, RuneScape is rated among the most popular online games in the world. RuneScape offers both free and subscription content and 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 fantasy-themed realm of Gielinor, which is divided into the Kingdoms of Misthalin, Asgarnia, and Kandarin, the tropical island of Karamja, the Kharidian Desert, the Wilderness, and various other areas. Players can travel throughout the game world on foot, by using magical teleportation spells or devices, or on gnome gliders, mine carts, or other mechanical means of transportation. 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. 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. Players interact with each other through trading, chatting, or playing combative or cooperative mini-games.

Gameplay

New players begin in a secluded area populated only by other beginners, Tutorial Island. They are led on a set path where they learn most of the skills needed to succeed in Gielinor. After completing the tutorial, players can access information from tutors located in the towns they explore. These NPCs can replace some basic equipment items if necessary. Since it takes many hours to develop a character, many players regard playing RuneScape as a lifestyle, not a side activity. Playing RuneScape can be addictive, and some people play RuneScape more than they do anything else.

RuneScape has music, sound effects, and ambient noises throughout Gielinor to enhance gameplay. The music, while often a simple tune, 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. Players can turn the music and sounds off if they prefer.

Skills

Skills in RuneScape 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, 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 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-three 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, slayer, and hunter).

Combat

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, determined by applying a formula to the seven combat skills, is usually referred to simply as "level". Combat level is the only information about the player that is visible to other players while in game. Other skill levels increase total levels and overall rankings for players, but not their combat levels.

Combat is 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 are medieval or fantastical in nature and feature different strengths and weaknesses.

Unlike other games in the 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 all 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 the three combat categories in their inventories, switching between or even combining the forms at will.

Quests

Quests give players the opportunity to experience adventures within the realm of Gielinor. Most quests require specific experience in skills or combat. Quests are divided into four categories according to difficulty. Novice quests act as tutorials to acquaint new players with the various skills and abilities they will need to succeed in the game. Intermediate quests are designed for players who seek harder obstacles, while experienced and master quests are designed to challenge the game's most experienced players. Many master quests open up new areas of Gielinor to be explored.

Quests include rewards upon completion that depend on the difficulty of the quest. Rewards often include money, items, access to an area, or an increase in skill experience. Quest points are also awarded based on the difficulty of the quest. As demonstration of a player's prior accomplishments and ability, a specific number of quest points or the completion of specific quests are often required to begin a quest, enter a specific area, access some skills, or use special weapons. Some quests are part of an overlapping storyline, the most famous of which has been in RuneScape for several years and currently contains seven separate quests. There are currently about 20 quests available to free players and about 100 additional members quests.

Interaction

Many non-player characters (NPCs) populate the realm of Gielinor. Although some NPCs, such as shopkeepers, have game functions that require them to be unavailable for combat, most NPCs can be attacked. Attackable NPCs are generally referred to as monsters, regardless of their race. Monsters range from common, low level creatures like chickens and bears 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 combat level), non-aggressive (not attacking players unless provoked, regardless of combat levels), or partially aggressive (attacking only those players whose combat levels are within certain ranges). This can make certain areas within the game dangerous to players depending upon their own combat levels.

RuneScape 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.

Players can fight against other players in player versus player (PvP) combat in certain areas of Gielinor. The most common place is in the Wilderness, where players risk their lives, but more importantly 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 Pits, and in combat arenas or dungeons in player owned houses. In the Duel Arena, players must agree on the rules of engagement and the stake before combat between them begins.

Random events

Random events are short interludes that occur during the game, requiring some form of player input. They were introduced to deter players from using automated programs, known as macros or bots, to play the game with no human interaction. The use of such macros is forbidden and will 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).

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.

Three random events have been removed from the game by Jagex: The Watchman, Tangle Vine, and Dr. Ford. The purpose for their removal varies, from the event being too dangerous to players, simply causing a sum of graphical problems, or just being a major inconveniece to any player who gets that random event.

Membership

Membership is a pay to play service that gives access to additional features for those who choose it. Membership allows players to explore more of Gielinor beyond the free area of the map. This subscription adds more than twice the land and offers an extensive amount of additional content. Other benefits include more items, the ability to store additional items, weekly game updates, posting access in the official forums, and priority customer support. Game updates are mainly limited to paying members unless the update has a direct influence on a free aspect of the game.

Community

Players of RuneScape represent a wide range of nationalities and ages; however, because the game is currently available only in English, most players speak English to some extent. Players who speak languages other than English tend to gravitate to worlds populated by other players who speak the same language; some worlds have a greater percentage of players who speak Spanish, Dutch, French, German, or other languages. It is not uncommon, however, to see many languages on the chat screens throughout RuneScape. According to Constant Tedder, the company is starting to focus on translating RuneScape into different European languages, especially German.

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, play player-made forum games, 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.

Players can submit questions to any non-player character 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 September 26 2005 and has since become one of the most accessed pages of the site. From September 24 2002 through December 9 2004, players could submit questions to the RuneScape gods; however, the gods will no longer communicate so directly with mortal beings.

Players can submit their own original Runescape related artwork, a select few of which are displayed in a gallery on the RuneScape website. Media featured have included sculpture, comics, drawings, and paintings.

Many fansites have been established for RuneScape, 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.

Critical review

BBC News, reporting on a study by Brunel University, states that playing RuneScape as much as working on homework is not necessarily a bad thing. It can instruct players about working hard to achieve goals and that the nature of most games, including RuneScape, can teach teenagers vital skills as they enter the labour market. In December 2003, The Guardian described RuneScape as one of the fastest growing out of all of the MMORPGs, having a userbase half again that of EverQuest, (even if it is easier due to running in a web browser) and as "the best British offering." Just RPG states that "It's rare for something that's free to come with no strings attached, and is actually fun to boot", but also found that some elements of the magic system "can get really annoying". The review site 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%. 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." 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".

Criticism and response

To combat cheating and the use of macros, Jagex has taken measures such as introducing random events that require immediate human response and providing safety warnings in the player trading system. In response to automated scripts, Jagex banned over 20,000 accounts through a macro detection system. RuneScape chat filters have the ability to censor words and letter combinations that may be offensive to players. Players are often able to use intentional misspellings, leetspeak, or symbols to bypass the filter. To combat this, changes are continually being made by Jagex to the filters to block offensive language and to prevent non-offensive words from being accidentally blocked, most of which are successful in alleviating some of the problems.

Business aspects of the RuneScape organization have fallen under criticism. RuneScape has been criticised 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 updates and features for high-level players are limited to paying members. Jagex have increased the size of their customer support team and has expanded the online Knowledge Base to alleviate customer service problems.

References

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. Letters 16, RuneScape.com. Retrieved 3 November 2006.
4. RuneScape world map (Image). Retrieved 2006-06-15. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |distributor= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
5. ^ 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); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
6. 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)
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13. "Magic-The Basics". RuneScape Knowledge Base. Jagex. 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
14. "Ranged-The Basics". RuneScape Knowledge Base. Jagex. 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
15. RuneScape quests manual - A-M and N-Z. RuneScape.com. Retrieved 11 November 2006.
16. "mini-Games & Mini-Quests". Sal's Realm of RuneScape. 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
17. "Wilderness Survival Guide". Sal's Realm of RuneScape. 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
18. "Random Events Guide". RuneScape Tips. 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2006-10-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
19. Salmoneus (2006). "Random Events". Sal's Realm of RuneScape. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
20. Eeeeediot (2006). "Random Events". Tip.it. Retrieved 2006-11-19. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
21. "RuneScape Forums: Code of Conduct". RuneScape Forums. Jagex. 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
22. Letter Archives - Jagex. Retrieved July 31 2006.
23. "New Improved Game Guide Released!". RuneScape Website News. Jagex. 2006-03-13. Retrieved 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
24. "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)
25. "Rune to move". Guardian Unlimited. 2003-12-11. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
26. Gasperazzo, Wendy (2006). "Runescape". Just RPG. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
27. 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)
28. 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)
29. "Over 15000 RuneScape accounts banned for cheating" - RuneScape Customer Support News 19 January 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
30. Game Engine update - RuneScape Customer Support News 16 May 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2006
31. Jagex (2006). "RuneScape:Benefits for Members". Jagex. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
32. "New Improved Game Guide Released" - RuneScape.com, 13 March 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2006.

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 - A collection of articles primarily dedicated towards RuneScape

Fansites with the most traffic

• Rune HQ
• Rune Tips

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