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Jagex: RuneScape on mobile will make the MMO a "second-screen experience"

L

LordOfLore

Banned
Link.

UK developer Jagex has announced a major push into the mobile space by bringing both versions of its flagship MMO RuneScape to smart devices.

Old School RuneScape, a retro-style affair based on older builds of the online RPG, will be released for smartphones and tablets this winter, with the more modern version of RuneScape to follow at a later date.

These are not separate mobile ports, either. Both games will allow cross-platform play with their PC counterparts and will even be interoperable, meaning players can log off from one device and instantly pick up the action on another.

We caught up with Jagex's director of communications Rich Eddy to find out more about the studio's strategy and how it is preparing to enter the increasingly competitive mobile marketplace.

"We want to take RuneScape to where people are playing, whether that's in its current MMORPG form or a spin-off franchise - that's something you'll see in the future," he tells GamesIndustry.biz. "Going onto new devices for new territories is one of the key things we're pushing towards at the moment.

"The first logical approach is to take the title to mobile because our players have grown up. RuneScape has been around for 16 years. People have different amounts of time than they did [16 years ago], and different ways of playing. Some people who were PC players are not now, but we can offer that same experience on a mobile device that people can dive in and out of. It's about making an MMO a second-screen experience."

Of course, while the original RuneScape was one of the earliest browser-based MMOs, when it comes to mobile the game is spectacularly late to the party. Companies have been delivering massively multiplayer experiences on smart devices for years, with some mobile titles even approaching the scale of World of Warcraft. However, few of these games have had a significant impact, instead overshadowed by more accessible multiplayer outings like Clash of Clans. How then can Jagex expect to see success from a 16-year-old game?
Click to expand...

More at the link.
 
R

Ruff

Member
kpP1vdJ.jpg
 
F

Finale Fireworker

Member
I don't understand how all the different versions of RuneScape work or how they interact with each other. Can anyone explain that to me? I played from 2006 to 2009. Back then, there was RuneScape and RuneScape Classic. Classic was something only ultra-hardcore nostalgia fans played and everybody else just played RuneScape.

Now it seems like there is RuneScape Classic, RuneScape 2007, and RuneScape proper? Are they all treated as separate games?

I tried to recover my account last month and they ask for way more information than any lapsed highschool player like myself would have. :( It was a bummer. I always kind of thought I would go back someday but it hurts to think all that stuff is gone forever. I grew up in there.
 
R

Ruff

Member
Finale Fireworker said:
I don't understand how all the different versions of RuneScape work or how they interact with each other. Can anyone explain that to me? I played from 2006 to 2009. Back then, there was RuneScape and RuneScape Classic. Classic was something only ultra-hardcore nostalgia fans played and everybody else just played RuneScape.

Now it seems like there is RuneScape Classic, RuneScape 2007, and RuneScape proper? Are they all treated as separate games?
Click to expand...

Yes, 2007 is a branched off version from before the "Evolution of Combat" stuff mainly that keeps the old style. It gets it's own updates. Classic is just the old 2d-ish version that they keep online. None of them interact with the other AFAIK.
 
C

Croash

Member
Cor blimey, mate! I can never escape this game.

Incredible how big this project has become. 17 years later, still rocking.

Also wave2: ~~~ buying 10k willow logs 35gp each !! ~~~
 
X

Xenoboy

Member
Finale Fireworker said:
I don't understand how all the different versions of RuneScape work or how they interact with each other. Can anyone explain that to me? I played from 2006 to 2009. Back then, there was RuneScape and RuneScape Classic. Classic was something only ultra-hardcore nostalgia fans played and everybody else just played RuneScape.

Now it seems like there is RuneScape Classic, RuneScape 2007, and RuneScape proper? Are they all treated as separate games?

I tried to recover my account last month and they ask for way more information than any lapsed highschool player like myself would have. :( It was a bummer. I always kind of thought I would go back someday but it hurts to think all that stuff is gone forever. I grew up in there.
Click to expand...

They are treated as separate games. 07 doesn't get many new updates, so RS3 is the one gettting it all. No one plays classic because you have to have an account that was made in that era.
 
H

His Majesty

Banned
Finale Fireworker said:
I don't understand how all the different versions of RuneScape work or how they interact with each other. Can anyone explain that to me? I played from 2006 to 2009. Back then, there was RuneScape and RuneScape Classic. Classic was something only ultra-hardcore nostalgia fans played and everybody else just played RuneScape.

Now it seems like there is RuneScape Classic, RuneScape 2007, and RuneScape proper? Are they all treated as separate games?

I tried to recover my account last month and they ask for way more information than any lapsed highschool player like myself would have. :( It was a bummer. I always kind of thought I would go back someday but it hurts to think all that stuff is gone forever. I grew up in there.
Click to expand...

- Runescape Classic: First version of the game released in 2001, not being updated anymore but players can still play it provided they registered their account during one of the previous reopenings.

- Runescape: In 2004 Jagex released Runescape 2, simply called Runescape now. Has gone through a lot of changes over the years but this is still the flagship title. Fancy graphics.

- Old School Runescape: In 2013 Jagex dug up a version of Runescape (August 2007) and released it as Old School Runescape due to massive demand from the community.

Runescape really was a one of a kind experience. I doubt there will ever be an MMO as awesome as this one again.
 
R

RockmanBN

Member
Xenoboy said:
They are treated as separate games. 07 doesn't get many new updates, so RS3 is the one gettting it all. No one plays classic because you have to have an account that was made in that era.
Click to expand...

Any member can play classic, but it isn't supported nowadays so hitting is rampant.

Also this is real in a way now, sort of.

UtI4uo3.png
 
A

AntChum

Member
Neato. Every couple years, I return to RS for a month or two and am always impressed by its evolution. I kind of miss my secondary school days of smithing steel platebodies by the dozen and selling them on to the Varrock armour shop. (Not the most effective source of income, I know.)
 
B

BumperLips

Member
Xenoboy said:
They are treated as separate games. 07 doesn't get many new updates, so RS3 is the one gettting it all. No one plays classic because you have to have an account that was made in that era.
Click to expand...

07 is getting plenty of updates. Most are adjustments and some are stopped due to polling but they've been pulling out new stuff consistently for a while now (new mining guild expansion just happened, and brutal black d adjustment)

Team size difference is what causes RS3 to have more (also cash shop bull).

And I'm pretty sure they have periods where you can log into classic to secure your account. Just happens every now and then.
 
T

Tagyhag

Member
I'm so glad I'm not playing anymore, this would have solidified my addiction.

I've wasted too many hours on this game and have zero to show for it (Aside from faster typing I guess) I'm not doing it again.
 
1

13ruce

Banned
Holy shit that is huge. But i quit this game it affected my life too much in my early teens. i still maxed my main account tho for full closure some years ago.

Also never playing MMO's again cuz it does not go well with my ADHD.

It is a great game tho very addicting if you like it.
 
L

Lucifon

Junior Member
They timed the announcement of this almost exactly alongside the release of Albion Online - definitely not a coincidence.

Albion also supports playing on mobile with Android at launch and iOS soon.
 
N

_Nemo

Member
Runescape on phones...what a time we're in. Too bad the community of 2006 is no longer there.

Also I wonder if new bots will show up for phone, if that's even possible.
 
M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
What I remember most about RuneScape is me getting too deep in the shit by wandering into the Desert, Swamp, Snowy troll area and the Jungle and desperately trying to stay alive by juking and hiding. That sounds like a nightmare on mobile
 
M

MetroidPrimeRib

Banned
chrisPjelly said:
I can't fucking believe a game I played in elmentary 10 years ago is STILL having another resurgence
Click to expand...

What they did with Old School RS is pretty unprecedented as far as I can tell. They revived a 1.0 version of a game and managed to keep it as popular as the current incarnation. Not only that, they keep it updated on its own terms with its own content.

I guess the closest comparison would be the StarCraft 1 remaster, or people sticking to Street Fighter II releases during the Alpha/3 days.
 
I

IceMarker

Member
Man, I haven't touched Runescape since 2002. A mobile version of all things might make me pick it up again, though I understand Runescape "1" and Runescape 2 are pretty different from what I gather, at least not as big as the gap between 2 and 3.
 
S

Sciz

Member
I can't go back, but I'm glad RS is still thriving. One of a kind.

edit: More relevant to the subject at hand, the click and forget nature of a lot of RS's gameplay really does make it well-suited to the sort of person who's fiddling with their phone while watching something else on the TV. Mobile's a good fit for them, more so than the incessant requests for a console port ever were.
 
J

Jaraghan

Member
Not even going to lie, I am majorly pumped for this. Haven't played Runescape since 2007, and I have fond memories of it.
 
D

Dec

Member
chrisPjelly said:
I can't fucking believe a game I played in elmentary 10 years ago is STILL having another resurgence
Click to expand...

The game has never gone anywhere. They are more successful now than they were then. That is because of microtransactions, but the game has always had a good amount of players as well.

You just don't hear about it much on GAF.
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
Hmmmmm....

I quit the game many years ago after that beta of the crappy new combat system, a string of trash new holiday events and all the cosmetic store crap, but I can't say I'm not slightly tempted to try it on phone. Well, that is if my old account is still perfectly intact.
 
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