jagex posts

Jagex cancels MechScape at significant cost, restarts anew

by Kyle Horner Oct 29th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, New titles, News items, Mechscape

Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard has indeed confirmed the cancellation of MechScape, although you wouldn't quite know it from his comments, which seem excited to be working on a different title with a new direction. This isn't the first time an in-development MMO has been rebooted in favor of a completely new direction, although Tabula Rasa at least kept its original name.

Why the sudden decision? According to Gerhard, MechScape wasn't able to avoid the same pitfalls of RuneScape. Of course, making such a move is going to cost Jagex millions, but their current financial success will be shouldering the weight. The new game -- known as Stellar Dawn -- should be coming in 2010 and will be based on the MechScape graphics engine.

The big changes planned for Stellar Dawn are content and combat focused, although no specifics were given by Gerhard. It's a bold move, no doubt, and sometimes this industry favors such decisions -- other times it punishes them significantly. Whether you look at this as stalled (Tabula Rasa) or prolonged (everything Blizzard) development, you have to admit it creates a notable amount of interest in Jagex's 2010 game.

Tags: 2010, blizzard, breaking, cancel, cancelled, eurogamer, jagex, mark-gerhard, mechscape, runescape, stellar-dawn, tabula-rasa

Jagex comes in 22nd on the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 list

by William Dobson Sep 22nd 2009 at 3:00PM

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser

With the hugely successful RuneScape in their stable, we've known that Jagex has been doing well for a long time now. They've already been recognized outside of the immediate gaming world on numerous occasions: Guiness World Records awarded RuneScape the title of the world's largest free-to-play MMO, and in 2008 the word RuneScape was typed into Yahoo! Search more than Lindsay Lohan and Naruto. The company's latest accolade comes via the Sunday Times Tech Track 100, where they were just ranked at number 22 on the list of the fastest growing private technology companies in the UK.

The Tech Track 100 report states that Jagex's sales have grown 84% a year for the last few years, from £5.2 million in 2005 to £32.3 million in 2008. This is the first time they've made it on to the list since the company was founded in 2001. Jagex CEO Mark Gerhardt made a statement about his company's achievement, sounding particularly proud (and rightly so): At Jagex we are passionate about the games we make and the technology we have created to develop and deliver our games; creating fun is just part of our DNA. Our values and passion have allowed us to grow one of the largest player communities in the world." The full Tech Track 100 list is available online in .pdf form.

[Via GamesIndustry.Biz]

Tags: browser, f2p, financial, free-to-play, jagex, mark-gerhardt, runescape, sales, sunday-times, tech-track-100

Sony, Turbine, Jagex, Blizzard, and NCsoft named in patent infringement lawsuit

by Seraphina Brennan Sep 16th 2009 at 4:30PM

Filed under: World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, Business models, News items, Runescape, Legal, Virtual worlds

It seems to be a World of Lawsuits (TM) recently in our industry. Bloggers are being sued for libel, NCsoft is being sued for patent infringement, Linden Labs is being sued for trademark violations, Turbine is suing Atari, and now five companies are all being sued over a patent dispute.

The Boston Globe has reported that Paltalk Holdings Inc. has filed a complaint in Texas against Sony Corp., Activision Blizzard Inc., Turbine Inc., NCsoft Corp., and Jagex Ltd. all for games that violate their patent on computers sharing data so that all users can see the same virtual environment. The games in question are EverQuest, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars, and RuneScape (in order of the companies as named above.)

What makes this lawsuit different from the standard patent shakedowns that we've been reporting on is that the patent has already been successfully used in court. Paltalk has already sued, and won against, Microsoft.

Tags: activision-blizzard, blizzard, breaking, everquest, guild-wars, halo, halo-2, jagex, lawsuit, legal, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, microsoft, ncsoft, paltalk, settlement, soe, sony-corp, turbine, world-of-warcraft, wow

New details surface about MechScape

by James Egan Aug 31st 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Mechscape

Ever since Massively first learned of Jagex's sci-fi follow up to RuneScape at GDC 2009, a project codenamed "MechScape" -- and that it will be more than "RuneScape in space" -- we've wondered what to expect from the game. Jagex has given us a few hints though: four distinct species; choice of alliances which affect player adventures; and the potential for cloning, player-built vehicles, perhaps even spaceship construction.

There's now more info out there about MechScape through a Eurogamer interview with the game's Chief Designer Henrique Olifiers. Eurogamer's Rob Purchese learned just how different a spin on MMOs MechScape might be. Olifiers said, "From the beginning we didn't want to make another RuneScape: it can't be another fantasy game, so no more elves... no more orcs, no more dragons." This sci-fi game will not share some of the standard MMO game mechanics we've come to expect.

Tags: chief-designer, eurogamer, game-mechanics, gdc-2009, henrique-olifiers, interviews, jagex, mark-gerhard, mechscape, mmo-industry, new-titles, rob-purchese, runescape, sci-fi

Jagex lets out a small bit of information on their upcoming title, Mechscape

by Seraphina Brennan Aug 7th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: At a glance, Sci-fi, Game mechanics, New titles, Browser, Mechscape

Getting Jagex to even speak the name Mechscape is hard enough in itself, but Kieron Gillen was able to glean some facts from the Jagex staff at the recent DEVELOP conference in Brighton.

While Gillen's Rock, Paper, Shotgun piece centered mostly on Jagex's newest website, FunOrb, and their dedication to retro gaming, he was able to sneak in a few questions and learn a few key facts about Jagex's next browser-based MMO. Mechscape is not Runescape in space, but more of an evolution of "How can we avoid past mistakes?" One of the mistakes that many developers make is putting fantasy MMO mechanics into a sci-fi setting according to Henrique Olifiers, the head of Mechscape.

"The reason why many Sci-fi MMOs haven't worked is because they're fantasy games dressed up to look like Sci-fi games," said Olifiers to Gillen.

To this end, Mechscape has turned to sci-fi titles such as Ascendancy and Masters of Orion for inspiration in regards to their game mechanics. In addition, Mechscape will not be featuring experience points or levels, much like another game we just talked about.

Olifiers has stated that Mechscape is in the final polishing phases of development, but he will not put a date down on the game just yet, citing the age-old, "It will be done when it's done."

Tags: browser-based, browser-mmo, fantasy, henrique-olifiers, jagex, kieron-gillen, mechscape, rock-paper-shotgun, runescape, sci-fi

Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard discusses future of free-to-play on consoles

by James Egan May 26th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, Runescape, Free-to-play

The free-to-play MMO business model as it presently stands in North America and Europe is still strides behind what exists in Asia, but F2P is clearly making inroads in the West. What's less clear is how the free-to-play business model will evolve in the coming years. We've come across an interview with Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard conducted by Rob Crossley for Develop, which points to a few directions that free-to-play may take.

It's safe to say Gerhard knows a fair amount about the state of free-to-play games; RuneScape boasts millions of players and is a major success story with this business model. Gerhard specifically highlights his views on bringing free-to-play MMOs to consoles. Technological hurdles aside, Gerhard focuses on the business model applied to consoles and the industry's resistance to the concept of truly free-to-play titles appearing on Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. You can read up about F2P meeting console MMOs in the Develop interview with Jagex's Mark Gerhard.

Tags: business-models, console-mmos, consoles, develop, f2p, fantasy, free-to-play, interviews, jagex, mark-gerhard, mmo-industry, rob-crossley, runescape

RuneScape art director on the Zanaris redesign

by James Egan Apr 22nd 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser

RuneScape is a game with a long history and one that's attracted millions of devoted fans over the years. That said, we think most would concede that RuneScape was getting a bit long in the graphical tooth. Improving RuneScape's graphics seems to be a priority for Jagex Game Studios from what we've read in the latest dev diary by the title's art director Mod Joe.

He writes about the redesign of the fairy area Zanaris, originally 'just a standard brown dungeon' which was later revamped to be blue, yet still didn't convey the 'magical' look the designers wanted. The first dev blog on the Zanaris improvements (of which two more are to follow) focuses on the concepts that needed to be re-worked, from the look of the fairies themselves to the environment they populate. Have a look at Mod Joe's development diary for more on the ways Jagex has worked to improve the look of RuneScape.

Tags: art-director, browser, dev-blog, dev-diary, development-diary, dungeons, fairies, fairy, fantasy, free-to-play, graphics, jagex, jagex-game-studios, jagex-ltd, mod-joe, runescape, zanaris

GDC09: What Jagex has in store with MechScape

by Shawn Schuster Mar 31st 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, real-world, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, Massively meta, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage, Mechscape

We've been hearing some new info this last week concerning Jagex and their latest MMO project. The company has enjoyed wild success so far with their free-to-play browser-based MMO RuneScape, and they hope to replicate that success with their sci-fi project entitled MechScape. We had the opportunity to sit down with a few members of the company's top development team for an interview during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco to discuss this new project and the current state of the company.

So what is MechScape? Well, first off, it's important to note that MechScape is not the game's name, only the project's code name. It is a sci-fi MMO project that has been in development since 2006. Although it will be running on the RuneScape HD engine, Jagex is very determined to point out that this game will not simply be RuneScape in space. It will have its own mechanics, its own storyline and a planet-based, non-linear game experience unlike anything they've tackled before.

Tags: featured, funorb, jagex, joystiqfeatures, mechscape, runescape, sci-fi

Jagex looking strong for 2009

by Seraphina Brennan Mar 30th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, News items, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser, Virtual worlds, Mechscape

Jagex, the developer of the popular free-to-play browser based MMO Runescape, is looking very good as they enter into 2009 with two of their best quarters behind them and a brand new game ahead. RuneScape has already been hailed as the largest free-to-play game in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records, featuring 1 million paying players and 5 million free players.

Besides giving Blizzard a run for "which company could fill a pool with money and swim in it," Jagex is also preparing a brand new MMO game, set in the confines of science-fiction and giant robots. MechScape, as the project is currently known, will feature deeper gameplay than its fantasy cousin to target a brand new audience. MechScape will be based from RuneScape's technology and will feature graphics of a higher caliber than RuneScape HD. You can look for much more information regarding this project in our GDC interview with Jagex, releasing tomorrow.

Tags: blizzard, free-to-play, guiness-book-of-world-records, jagex, mechscape, profit, quarter, runescape, runescape-hd, world-record

Jagex CEO tackles over nine thousand email questions about RuneScape

by Shawn Schuster Feb 18th 2009 at 10:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Forums, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser

Recently, the folks at Jagex had outlined their newest visions for the future of their free-to-play, browser-based MMO RuneScape. Afterwards, they encouraged any questions from the community, to get a better feel for what the players want or may be most concerned with. Little did they realize that they would receive nearly ten thousand questions from fans of the game.

So on the official RuneScape forums, they took 130 of the questions and answered them the best they could in a post that has reached 125 pages of responses so far. Some of the questions are game-related, but most in this batch are company-related. Jagex didn't simply answer the easy fanboy mail either, as you can see in even the first few responses. Check out the complete Q&A post by Mark "Mod MMG" Gerhard (and the 125-pages of responses!) as well as the newest Q&A follow-up concerning the Wilderness and real-world trading.

Tags: forums, jagex, q-and-a, runescape

First steps into the RuneScape experience

by James Egan Feb 9th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Reviews, Opinion, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser

The MMO section of Eurogamer covers most of the big titles on the market, but one that's less-focused upon by their writers is Runescape which, despite its long history, is still running strong today. Eurogamer's Jon Blyth was tasked with jumping into RuneScape and writing about his experience as a new player.

Blyth walks the reader through Tutorial Island, the early quests, but laments how difficult it was to make friends. He writes: "I've never had a problem with this before. I'm a charming sod, my amiable winking could win over the most fundamentalist terrorist. But RuneScape is beyond my skills. Every 'hi' was ignored. When I did get a response, it was quick and efficient. From my limited experience, it's a brutal and lonely world for the low-level adventurer." Ultimately, Blyth was left with a conflicted view of the game. In his own words, it got under his skin and left him wanting just a bit more despite its flaws, but the game's graphical limitations and controls proved to be a limiting factor in how much he enjoyed the RuneScape experience.

Do we have many RuneScape players among our readers here at Massively? If so, what is it about the game that has kept you playing over the years?

Tags: browser, eurogamer, f2p, free-to-play, jagex, jon-blyth, opinion, reviews, runescape

RuneScape introduces new phoenix combat pet and more

by Shawn Schuster Jan 8th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Patches, Runescape, Free-to-play

Mod Mark, the Lead Designer for Jagex's RuneScape, has written a new Behind the Scenes article for January in which he describes the changes coming down the pipe for RuneScape.

There's mention of a new phoenix combat pet that will have the ability to fire ashes at your enemies. The Achievement Diaries are also releasing this month; this time set in the peaceful Seer's Village and the surrounding areas. As with previous Achievement Diaries, this one was created to show the hidden or non-quest activities in the area. In addition to these large additions, some minor changes will be made to the game. Check out the complete article for more information on all changes that have arrived or will be arriving in the month of January.

Tags: behind-the-scenes, combat-pet, jagex, january, patch, phoenix, runescape

RuneScape's PvP loot system explained, rewards increased

by William Dobson Dec 11th 2008 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, PvP, Runescape, Free-to-play

The behind-the-scenes workings of RuneScape's player-kill loot is a lot more complicated than many people might expect. It's not simply a matter of looking for PvP battles and hoping to win the random-number-generator for a sweet item, as a recent developer post on the game's official website explained. In short, a value known as "drop potential" must be increased if you want better loot. This is achieved by spending time in PvP areas, while risking a certain amount of your own items. Some zones like the Wilderness are worth more to your drop potential, but you can probably expect a lot more action too. This system rewards the brave, and leaves the cowardly with junk-loot.

As well as elaborating on the mechanics of PvP drops, the post also mentions that two improvements have been made to the system. One is a shift away from having a larger number of items dropping, to fewer but more valuable items. The other is a simple increase to the value of the items dropped. These changes help with inventory management, and also mean that people are more likely to bother picking up what they've earned. Sounds like a good reason to get out there and see what sort of items you can find -- just make sure you've got the skills to pay the bills.

Tags: items, jagex, loot, player-versus-player, pvp, pvp-loot, rewards, runescape, the-wilderness

Why you should be playing RuneScape: Free Mad Skillz

by Alexis Kassan Dec 5th 2008 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Runescape, Free-to-play, Why You Should Be Playing

"Why you should be playing ..." is a free form column from Massively.com intended to inform you about our favorite parts of our favorite games. We want you to know why we're playing them, so you can know what to play.

RuneScape is about to celebrate its 8th birthday (January 4th, 2009). It's amazing that in this industry, where high-powered games come and go, a java-based in-browser game has not only lasted but absolutely thrived for this long. Why is that? My personal feeling is that it's got the skills to ... well, you know the rest of that saying.

This is a game for all those who have never tried a MMO before or never thought of themselves as gamers. It offers everything and requires nothing. No fancy system specs. No minimum levels for skill attainment. No epic armor (though it does help a bit if you venture into the dungeons). Not even a credit card. It offers melee, magic, crafting, and cooking all in the same game through the cunning use of skills - twelve of them in the free version, to be exact, and an additional nine if you're willing to pay about $6 US per month. Follow us on a quick tour of the skills you can get for free and what makes them the heart and soul of this game.

Tags: featured, jagex, rune-scape, runescape, skills, why-you-should-be-playing

RuneScape acquires former THQ Creative Director

by Shawn Schuster Oct 22nd 2008 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, Runescape

Since its launch in 2001, Jagex's RuneScape has steadily established a solid presence in the highly-competitive MMO market. Now into the millions of players across the world, the game is said to currently be at its highest surge in popularity. Building from that comes the news that Jagex has just appointed former THQ exec Vince Farquharson to head up their flagship fantasy MMO.

Farquharson' role at THQ included Creative Director and Development Director for three years, overseeing titles such as Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command and Broken Sword: The Angel of Death. He will focus on expanding RuneScape through content development and global distribution. This news comes almost exactly one year to the day after Jagex acquired former European PayPal CEO Geoff Iddison as their own CEO. We wish Farquharson and the rest of the folks at Jagex the best of luck with their future growth.

Tags: creative-director, jagex, runescape, thq, vince-farquharson