Into a new generation: We talk to RuneScape 3 devs
We talk to RuneScape Design Director Mark Ogilvie about RuneScape 3
Q: RuneScape has always had rich story and questing, why have you decided to shake things up now with the killing of Guthix?
We felt it was time to bring the 5th Age to a close. The other Gods out there have been nibbling away at the side of the game for a long time, and a lot of the quest content that we have been doing recently has been building up to this stage, where the other Gods have been able to have a greater influence on what is going on. Everything, all of the last 12 years’ worth of content has been building up to the World Wakes quest and the death of Guthix.
It wasn’t just something we came up with one day on a whim; we have been planning this for some time. The idea of the Gods coming back and of the players being the world guardians, again, it makes the players the most important character, it makes them the hero. In a world that is constantly protected by the edicts of Guthix, they are always able to sit back and go, “Ah someone else will come and save the day”. That is not the case anymore, they are the champions, and they are the world guardians. It is their future.
Q: Jagex has made some massive changes to the game throughout its lifetime, some of them sparking protests. More recently, Jagex has run referendums to decide rollbacks and/or changes in the game, which has proved very popular. How much power are you looking to give members in the design of the game?
We are going to be handing huge amounts of power to the players; we want RuneScape to be the most player directed game on the market.
Q: You have mentioned during one of your Q&A videos that the render distance is not going to increase with HTML5, because that would put Java users at a disadvantage. Is it likely we will see the Java client improve to accommodate this, or will it be a case of waiting until the Java client is phased out?
I am not sure yet to be honest – we are discussing those things at the moment. I don’t want people to choose their client based on gameplay advantages it gives them; I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. However, we are aware that we can render things a lot further away – it is great having a long draw distance, but is kind of odd when you are a bit closer and goblins and demons pop into existence. It is something we are looking at now. I would say we have to wait until the Java client is phased out, but we are looking at other fixes in the meantime.
Q: How different will the two versions of RuneScape be? For example, with the changes to the UI, will that be consistent across both platforms?
The gameplay will be the same in the way you access it; only the way that you experience it will be different. Better draw distances, shorter load times, an intractable and modifiable interface system; it means that the window that you will be looking through to the rest of the game world will be different, but the game world will be the same.
Q: Looking into the future, what new kinds of content will we be seeing?
Lots of new content, but right now, I am really not sure what shape it is going to take. It really depends on how the players react to the things we will be doing in the coming months. Stay tuned!
Heading into the 6th Age, the Battle of Lumbridge is upon us, a massive world event that will shape players' adventures in Runescape.
From there, the story will be told by the players themselves. While the launch of RuneScape 3 is a massive change, it is not the final one. For example, the new skill Divination will be available a month after RuneScape 3 launches.
So what are you waiting for? Head on over to Runescape.com and create a free account to experience a new generation of RuneScape.