RuneScape is a Java-programmed MMORPG developed by Jagex Limited. With over nine million active free players[1] and more than 850,000 paying members, RuneScape is rated among the most popular online games in the world.[2] 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,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] Players can also interact with each other through trading, chatting, or playing combative or cooperative mini-games.


History and development

Andrew Gower began work on the forerunner to RuneScape in 1998. This game, never released to the public, had isometric graphics and was titled DeviousMUD. In 1999, Gower began to rewrite the game. Despite being completely rewritten, the second version was very similar to the first with the same graphics. This version was released as a public beta for approximately one week before it was withdrawn.[6]
As a Cambridge University undergraduate, Gower began work on a complete rewrite[7] with the assistance of his brother, Paul Gower. The isometric view was replaced by three-dimensional and two-dimensional sprites. The game, renamed RuneScape, was released to the public as a beta version on 4 January 2001.[8] The game was operated from Gower's parent's house in Nottingham.[7] In December 2001 , the Gower brothers and Constant Tedder formed Jagex to take over the business aspects of running RuneScape.[8]

On 27 February 2002, Jagex launched an optional service. To access additional features, players could choose to pay a monthly fee of £3.20, $5.00 US, or €8.40 per month when paid by credit card. Players can also pay through online services such as PayPal, by check or money order, or with their telephone number by paying additional fees to the payment provider.[9] While not a new version, because the game still operated under the same game engine, this service significantly changed the focus of the game.
In addition to the use of Java as the programming language and platform used to develop RuneScape, Jagex has developed their own scripting language, known as Runescript, to aid in development of the game.[10]


As technological advances kept coming over the years, Jagex began to make massive changes to RuneScape. Although they planned only a graphical update,[11] 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 called RuneScape 2, although it has become simply RuneScape, with the original version being called RuneScape Classic to differentiate between them. A beta version was made available to paying members on 1 December 2003, and the finished version was launched on 29 March 2004.[12] On 12 January 2006, play of RuneScape Classic was restricted to paying members who had played the original version frequently. All other RuneScape Classic accounts were permanently banned and access for the creation of new accounts was removed from the servers.[13]


On 16 May 2006, Jagex upgraded RuneScape's game engine, primarily as a back-end upgrade rather than a visible graphical boost.[14] Most importantly, the amount of memory required to run RuneScape was significantly reduced, allowing the game to be expanded and improved 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 over 130 servers in seven countries. Servers are numbered and referred to as "worlds" by RuneScape players. Each of the many RuneScape servers has a capacity of 2,000 players, allowing over 260,000 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 (including both the RuneScape Classic servers), the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, and Finland.[15]
Jagex primarily uses UNIX and LINUX servers. The company also uses Debian Linux distribution and Cisco IOS. The Java programming language is used as well.[16]

Graphics
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. In February 2005, Jagex began the process of updating the graphical images in the RuneScape cities and the wilderness. Jagex plans ultimately to improve the graphics of the entire free area of RuneScape without causing more lag for people using dial-up Internet connections.[17]
RuneScape places emphasis on allowing players the ability to customise their characters by supplying a wide choice in character models. Unlike many games in the genre, player characters must be human; however, players can choose their appearance from a wide range of hairstyles, body types, facial features, clothing options, and gender.[18] 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 certain activities which normally can be done in human form.

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 most of the available emotes, but others must be earned from quests, random events, or holiday events.

Standard weapons, such as swords and daggers use the same set of animations when fighting or performing other activities, whereas special weapons, such as Darklight, Silverlight, and Wolfbane, have singular animations which differ completely from the animations for the other weapons of their category.

New players begin in a tutorial populated only by other beginners. They are led on a set path where they learn most of the skills needed to succeed in Gielinor. 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.[22]

Jagex has included music, sound effects, and ambient noises throughout Gielinor to enhance gameplay. The music, while often a simple tune,[23], 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.[24]


Skills and combat

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; tasks with lower requirements often become faster to perform as skill levels increase as well. The combined skill level of a player partly symbolises the player's status in the game. The RuneScape hiscores tables can be viewed by 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).[25][26]

The sword Darklight is one of many weapons obtained in a quest available in RuneScape.

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". The highest combat level is 126 and it 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.[27]

Combat is subdivided into melee, magic, and ranged categories. Melee attacks are close range with or without weapons,[28] magic attacks focus on using runestones to cast spells,[29] and ranged moves use projectile weapons.[30] 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 give players the opportunity to experience an adventure within the realm of Gielinor. Quests are assigned from non-player characters where players are presented with conflict associated with the game's storyline. Most quests require specific experience in skills and 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 in the game. Intermediate quests are designed for players who seek harder obstacles, while experienced and master quests are designed to challenge RuneScape's most experienced players, while they often open new areas to be explored. There are only a few master quests, and only very experienced and well-prepared players can expect success in completing these. These quests have strict requirements and contain complex long storylines that can involve the completion of challenging obstacles.

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, use special weapons, and more. 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.