Runscape

RuneScape is a Java-based MMORPG operated by Jagex Ltd. With over nine million active free accounts and more than one million paid member accounts, RuneScape is rated among the most popular online games in the world. More than five million unique players access their accounts to play RuneScape at least once per month. 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.

Andrew Gower created DeviousMUD, the forerunner to RuneScape, in 1998, running a week-long public beta test. Rewritten and renamed, the first version of RuneScape was released to the public on 4 January 2001. Since its release, the game has been praised for its free-playing abilities and its availability on a web browser.

RuneScape takes place in the fantasy-themed realm of Gielinor, which is divided into several different kingdoms, regions, and areas. Players can travel throughout the gaming world on foot, by using magical teleportation spells or devices, or 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.

History and development

Three Screenshots from DeviousMUD, the forerunner to RuneScape, which was never released to the public.DeviousMUD, the forerunner to RuneScape, was created in 1998 by Andrew Gower. The game, which was never publicly released, used isometric graphics. In 1999, Gower completely rewrote the game, albeit with no improvements to the graphics or several other aspects of the game. This version was released as a public beta version for approximately one week before it was withdrawn.

As a Cambridge University undergraduate, Gower worked on a complete rewrite of the game with the assistance of his brother, Paul Gower. The isometric view was replaced by a mixture of both three-dimensional and two-dimensional sprites. The game, renamed RuneScape, was released to the public as a beta version on 4 January 2001 and was originally operated from their parents' house in Nottingham. In December 2001, the Gower brothers and Constant Tedder formed Jagex to take over the business aspects of running RuneScape.

On 27 February 2002, a membership service was made available, allowing players who choose to pay a monthly fee to access a variety of additional features including new areas, quests, and items. This service significantly changed the focus of the game.

A screenshot of RuneScape Classic.As RuneScape became more popular, Jagex began planning major changes. Although only a graphical update was initially planned, the developers opted instead to rewrite the game engine completely, introducing a version that consisted entirely of three-dimensional graphics, with other significant improvements. While in development, this version was known as RuneScape 2. A beta version of the new engine was made available to paying members on 1 December 2003, and the finished version was launched on 29 March 2004. Upon release, RuneScape 2 was renamed RuneScape, and the older version of the game was kept online as RuneScape Classic. RuneScape Classic was restricted to paying members who had recently logged in to the Classic servers on 12 January 2006, due to persistent cheating.

On 16 May 2006, Jagex upgraded RuneScape's game engine, primarily as a back-end upgrade rather than a visible graphical boost. In particular, the amount of memory required to run RuneScape was significantly reduced, allowing the game to be expanded and improved without increasing the loading time for most players. The engine was upgraded once again on 26 June 2007 to allow Jagex to add more complex content to RuneScape in the future.

On 5 July 2007, an article was released in which Andrew Gower told an interviewer he saw a release of RuneScape onto the seventh generation of gaming consoles (the Wii, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3) as "tempting", hinting that Jagex may consider releasing a version of RuneScape onto these consoles in the future.

Servers
RuneScape servers are located in seven countries; USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Australia, Finland and Sweden.There are about 140 RuneScape servers located throughout the world, which are numbered and referred to as worlds by players and by Jagex. The servers use Unix, Debian GNU/Linux, and Cisco IOS software, and they are located in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden and Finland. Historically, servers have been located in areas where they will provide the best connection for players in a cost-effective manner. Servers are moved as the need arises.

Each of the RuneScape servers allows 2,000 players to connect simultaneously, allowing a maximum capacity of approximately 280,000 players online at any given time. The servers are divided into free servers, accessible to all players, and member servers, accessible only by those players who choose to pay a monthly fee for additional content. Unlike many other MMORPGs, RuneScape characters are not bound to a particular server, but rather can switch freely among the servers each time they access the game.

In addition to the RuneScape servers, there are two members-only servers for RuneScape Classic, both located in the United Kingdom. Each of these is limited to 1,250 players, allowing a total number of 2,500 simultaneous RuneScape Classic players. Only players who played RuneScape Classic in the six months prior to 12 January 2006 can currently log onto the Classic servers.

Advertising
To support RuneScape's free content, advertisements are displayed above the playing screen on the free-player servers. On 13 July 2006, Jagex signed an exclusive marketing and distribution contract with WildTangent Games, which granted WildTangent the right to handle advertising in and around RuneScape in the United States. The deal also allowed 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 which may discourage advertisers, Jagex introduced a rule that prohibits players from blocking the advertisements in the free game.

Other languages
On 14 February 2007, Jagex released a German closed beta translation of RuneScape. As of 7 March 2007, it is in a public beta stage while errors in the translation of the game and website are still being corrected. Currently, there are two German language servers online, one for each the free and members versions of RuneScape.

Runscape