There aren't many games that have lasted as long as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:RuneScape. At nearly two decades old, its among the lon🔴gest running MMORPGs on the market, and it's one that has continued to innovate over the years. The developers recently released the Desperate Measures 🍸update, adding an abundance of new content to the game while also advancing the Elder Gods storyline.
We had the pleasure of connecting with the team responsible for the new content and walked away impressed by their dedication to the world of𒁃 Gielinor. In fact, rather than break up their responses and weave them into a narrative, we've decided to go ahead and post their answers in raw form, as we believe it better captures the team's passion. We discuss the Desperate Measures update, challenges they faced when adding the Ar꧟chaeology skill, and how RuneScape continues to thrive in such a crowded landscape.
Tell us a bit about the story behind Desperate Measures.
James Crowther (Lead Content Developer): Desperate Measures is going to reveal some very inte♛resting secrets about both the past and the player themselves. We’ll be using Archaeology to uncover the hidden history of the Dragonkin as well as their connection to the Elder Gods. This quest int✤roduces unique gameplay mechanics as well as new rewards which will help players in their Archaeological endeavours.
What type of players will enjoy this update? Is it primarily for those who enjoy the lore of RuneScape, or will casual players see the benefits as well?
James Crowther: Whilst obviously aimed heavily at our lore focused players, there’s🌳 some really fun moments in this quest as well. Casual players should be able to enjoy the quest and will de🎐finitely enjoy the rewards.
Tim Fletcher (Senior Games Designer): It's a big priority for us to create content that can be enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible. We group together huge, accessible lore bombs that everyone can get and add more obscure lore for the more invested audience. Finally, we add fun and varied gameplay🐟 sections that will keep even lore-allergic players entertained.
It seems like previous updates to the Elder Gods narrative have been fairly spread out. Will players be waiting a while for the next chapter? Any plans that can be discussed?
Dave Osborne (Lead Designer): We have been talking in earnest about the Elder Gods since the Heart of Stone quest, back in 2014, so you can rest reassure🍎dܫ that you won’t have to wait six years for future instalments! While Desperate Measures ties up some plot threads, it doesn’t tidy up the Elder Gods, and we’ve got plenty of plans in the works for the short term.
The biggest and boldest is the Elder God Wars Dungeon, which signals the rise of the Elder Gods in a multiplayer boss dungeon, and that’s being worked on now. We will also be taking a run up to it with quest work, new sk♑ill gameplay and more. We’re determined for the Elder Gods storyline to colour almost every game update up to the Elder God Wars Dungeon l🍸aunch.
Archaeology plays a big role in this update. How difficult was it to introduce a new skill to an established game? What unexpected challenges arose?
Dave Osborne: Oh, you wouldn’t believe! For a skill to be successful in RuneScape, it needs to change the way people play, and give them something they don’t already have. For a game that’s coming on to 20 years’ old, with another 27 skills vying forꩲ their attention, it creates a real design challenge! Once we realized that it was okay for Archaeology to be almost a game upon itself, with players shutting out the rest of the game as they delved, so many of those issues were resolved.
Every update has unforeseen problems, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think the biggest issue with this skill was overcoming the preconceptions that came with Archaeology. For some people it’s a boring, dusty concept, so we wanted to completely upend that, which is why you find yourself flying on artificial wings to dig sites in the🦹 sky, and other wizardry.
RuneScape remains incredibly popular despite tough competition. How has the game been able to thrive for nearly two decades?
Dave Osborne:☂ It feels bizarre to think that in Jan 2021 we will be 20 years’ old. We’ve always been led to believe that games are faddish and disappear within a few years, but we are definitely one of the exceptions🔥!
I think RuneScape was one of the first games to realize that cultivating its community is key. Players were coming to RuneScape as a chat room that just happened to feature goblins and dwarves. They were eager to form connections, so we aimed to build one between us, the developers of the game, and the players. Over the decades, we have involved them in development of the game through councils, polls and player designs; we have put our faces to the content through livestreams and Runefest conventions; and we’ve tried to think of the player with every decision that we’ve made on the game. All through that, players have formed clans and friends in the game, and those are all really strong bonds. If I’mꦛ being honest, we are very lucky to have our players, and - while it may be a bit of a cliche nowad🍸ays, where every game is player-focused - I genuinely think that our community is why we have become so evergreen.
Do you think the mobile version of RS has impacted the player population?
Dave Osborne: Not negatively. In fact, even more so than the mobile version of OSRS, we are finding that our players use RuneScape Mobile as a cross-play tool. It’s giving active players a great reason to play on the go and make a little bit of progress when they might not have had time 🎃before.
Anything else you'd like us to share with our readers?
Dave Osborne: I just hope you and your families are all do🐲ing well! None of us are completely comfortable working in th🦋e situations we’re in, and we’re all in the process of adapting.
I guess❀, for those who have used RuneScape as a place to escape to, we can make a small difference by offering something new and wonderful to play pretty regularly. To make that happen we’re shifting how we do things to focus on monthly new updates, and - while it won’t change the events that are ongoing - it at least gives you a little something to try out, play or immerse in.
We'd like to thank David, Tim, and James for taking the time out of their busy schedules tܫo take part in this interview.
Desperate Measures is now .