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It has been suggested that Runescape minigames and Talk:Runescape minigames be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2006.

RuneScape is a Java-programmed MMORPG by developers in Jagex Limited. With over nine million active free players and more than 850,000 paying members, RuneScape was rated among the most populous 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, or by using magical teleportation, gnome gliders, fairy rings, and other methods of transport. Each region offers different types of monsters, materials, and quests to challenge players.

Players are shown on the screen as customizable 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 can also interact with each other through trading, chatting, or playing combative or cooperative mini-games.

PENIS!!!!!!!

PENIS!!!

Membership

To access more of the game world, players may upgrade their account by purchasing a subscription. Commonly known as "membership", this is a Pay to Play service that gives access to additional features. The premium fee attached to membership ranges from $5.00 to $9.99 USD per month. Payment options vary from using a credit card, making a phone call, sending a text message, and sending cash by mail. The cost of this subscription has been $5.00 USD per month since its conception, while additional costs are influenced by any third-party that handle the transactions.

Membership allows players to explore more of RuneScape 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, regular game updates, access to 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 only available 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 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.

Fansites have been established for RuneScape. Jagex does not support or recognize any of the fansites and has introduced the Knowledge Base to provide players with an alternative, official site to get the information they want or need.

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 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 macro programs, 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 has 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, Jagex is continually making changes to the filter, 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 has increased the size of their customer support team and has expanded the online Knowledge Base to alleviate customer service problems.

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. 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. Cite error: The named reference MemberBenefits was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. "RuneScape Forums: Code of Conduct". RuneScape Forums. Jagex. 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
8. Letter Archives - Jagex. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
9. "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)
10. "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)
11. "Rune to move". Guardian Unlimited. 2003-12-11. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
12. Gasperazzo, Wendy (2006). "Runescape". Just RPG. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
13. 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)
14. 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)
15. "Over 15000 RuneScape accounts banned for cheating" - RuneScape Customer Support News 19 January 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2006.
16. Game Engine update - RuneScape Customer Support News 16 May 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2006
17. Jagex (2006). "RuneScape:Benefits for Members". Jagex. Retrieved 2006-08-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |month=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
18. "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

Fansite

• Rune HQ - One of the fansites with the most traffic
• Rune Tips - The other of the fansites with the most traffic

• Articles to be merged from December 2006
• Browser-based games
• Java platform games
• Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
• Miniclip games
• RuneScape
• Online games