One of the United Kingdom’s own video games is turning 25 years old. Anyone who sat through a dull computer class at school likely knows exactly which game it is. It is RuneScape, a point-and-click MMORPG. Not only has it stayed popular for decades, but it has also seen surprising growth recently. The big question everyone asks is: why is this happening?
It is no secret that making MMORPGs is difficult. Keeping them alive and full of active players is even harder. Only a select few have managed to survive through the rise and current slowdown of live service game development. Despite this, RuneScape has weathered the storm well, standing alongside other classic MMOs that have stood the test of time.
To understand what allowed Old School RuneScape to remain such a big part of the MMO world, we spoke with design director Kieren Charles and senior game designer Elena Nordmark. We wanted to learn more about their philosophy and how they keep players coming back.
EG: Why do you think this version of RuneScape has persevered for so long, especially given how dangerous the MMO landscape has been over the years?
Charles: I think honestly the core of it is how carefully we have cared for the game. But most importantly, we put the community first. The OSRS community polls all its content. This means the community gets a say in what comes into the game. An addition needs 70 percent “yes” votes, otherwise we simply will not do it.
The poll is important because it gives players some influence on the direction of the game. This is a type of game where you could spend thousands of hours, or years and years. So, you need to feel secure before you give that sort of time to a game. The polls give you that automatic trust and faith in where it is going.
The cause and effect it has on us, and the way we work, is that it encourages us to talk to our players. We talk to them all the time! Take the sailing project, our first skill in years. That was three years of talking to players before we got to that point. It would have been very easy for us to stay behind the scenes and just develop something, then release it. But we had to take our players through that same journey. We do that with all of our content. We tell players what we are going to build and get feedback on it that genuinely helps shape it in the form of a poll.
So, we have got a relationship built. It is amazing the impact you see on how our players talk about us, not just as developers but the product itself. It stands out. It is refreshing in the industry, I think. Personally, I would love to see more studios do that. Break down those walls and bring players into the development cycle.
Nordmark: What resonates with me is the topic of respecting players’ time as well. That is something the community keeps us accountable for, making sure we do it through the polls. But that is a design principle that we have really stuck to throughout OSRS history. We make sure we do not invalidate their grinds. It is quite a time-consuming game, and we have stuck to that! The reason that is fine is because we do not immediately invalidate that grind. If you spend 100 hours trying to get a sword, that sword will be useful next month. You take a break from RuneScape and come back in a year? That sword will still be good. That mentality means that players stick around.
They say you never leave, you just take really long breaks from RuneScape? I think part of the reason why is that it comes down to that. We respect their time, and in turn they stick around.
Charles: We release content every week, but we do not release something tomorrow that invalidates things that came before it. One of the most iconic points in your progression is getting your fire cape, beating Jad in the Fight Caves. That content came out 20 years ago, but it is still a fixture that is important in your player journey. The game has just gotten bigger, and better, without taking things away.
We have got an advantage. We are hitting our 25th anniversary right now, so that means we have got so much content. It is all additive. The game is more alive, it is more full. There is more to do, and all of it is important.
EG: We have seen some interesting industry trends when it comes to older MMOs in particular. Newer releases have struggled to retain an audience while older MMOs like OSRS, but also World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, and Eve Online, have not only remained popular but also grown in some cases. Why do you think that is? Is it just down to community engagement and evergreen content?
Nordmark: To some extent, sure. I always think of Old School as nostalgic to most people, but the truth is we got a lot of new players as well. Especially in the last year, we have seen a lot of players try the game out for the first time. So, to me, it means while nostalgia might tempt people back, it is those design principles and dedication to adding new content that keeps them around. The idea of re-experiencing something back in the day is really cool, but it will not keep you around. New experiences that give that similar feeling might.
EG: Can you say how many new players did start playing last year?
(PR stepped in, said that the game saw a 30 percent increase in players last year, though no specific figure on how many of those were new players, rather than returning ones.)
EG: I looked ahead to this interview and have seen there are over 200,000 players in Old School RuneScape right now, during work hours over multiple time zones. What percentage of players play OSRS while at work?
Charles: (laughs) I do not even know the answer but it is certainly a lot!
Nordmark: I do not think we have ever asked!
Charles: You could probably have a guess based on employment rates and hours played sort of things, but we have not actually looked at it. But if this is anything to go by, it is a good proportion of our staff who are AFK something like fishing or gemstone crab whilst at work.
EG: Or salvaging right? That is a new one! I mean, if you look at the average age of MMORPG players, there must be a really sizable number of players who do have full-time jobs who are playing OSRS on their phone, or those like me who are fishing in the background right now, it must be a significant portion.
Charles: I would imagine so. Putting the game on mobile has enabled more people to do something. I have seen people escape social situations. Going to the pub and not really wanting to socialise, then doing agility laps on their phone to keep themselves entertained. It is great the game can offer that. I think for RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, this is a thing pretty unique to the game.
If you are keen to learn what the future of Old School RuneScape is looking like, you can watch the Old School RuneScape Winter Summit. It is set to take place on the 25th January on the official RuneScape stream for some insight into major content updates coming to the game.
