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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.

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. "RuneScape Forums: Code of Conduct". RuneScape Forums. Jagex. 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
7. Letter Archives - Jagex. Retrieved July 31 2006.
8. "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)
9. "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)
10. "Rune to move". Guardian Unlimited. 2003-12-11. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
11. Gasperazzo, Wendy (2006). "Runescape". Just RPG. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
12. 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)
13. 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)
14. "Over 15000 RuneScape accounts banned for cheating" - RuneScape Customer Support News 19 January 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
15. Game Engine update - RuneScape Customer Support News 16 May 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2006
16. Jagex (2006). "RuneScape:Benefits for Members". Jagex. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
17. "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