Posts tagged Jagex at Massively

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Posts with tag jagex

Runescape's runaway success and brand new HD graphics

by Michael Zenke Jul 1st 2008 at 5:00PM

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

Today's the day for Runescape fans across the globe: the high details version of the game is now officially in Beta testing. Subscribers can jump into the full-screen, widescreen supporting, actually-pretty-darn-good-looking version of Runescape at will. Free players will be able to get the pretty after the Beta test is over. Full details on the new version are available in the official FAQ. If you're looking to get subscriber benefits, now's the time to do it. Folks signing up for the pay-version of the game will be paying about a buck more every month for the priveleage after the 4th of the August. All of these details are on the game's shiny new website, which they've rolled out for this special occassion.

If it seems like Jagex and Runescape have been in the news lately, you'd be right. The runaway success of this game is amazing to see, and the folks at Next Generation have a several-page exploration of the web-based game's histor y. The site talks with Paul and Andrew Gower, founders of the company, about their ambitions to take the accessibility and fun of a MUD and bring it to the web.

Make sure to click through below the cut for a full video presentation on the brand new HD experience.

Continue reading Runescape's runaway success and brand new HD graphics

Tags: jagex, patch, runescape, runescape-hd, runescape-high-detail, upgrade

Runescape High Detail to debut at E3

by William Dobson Jun 25th 2008 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Runescape, Free-to-play

Jagex, the developer of Runescape, has confirmed to IGN that they will be showing the next iteration of their popular free-to-play MMO at this year's E3. They have dubbed this version Runescape High Detail, referring to the game's fancy new graphical option.

Not a whole lot else is known about the the upgrade, other than what was reported by Jagex when they first talked about the high definition version of the game. This earlier news does make mention of a full-screen option which many fans should be pleased about. Thankfully, E3 and Jagex's grand unveiling are not too far away now, and we'll be able to see what this all looks like in action.

Tags: e3, f2p, free-to-play, jagex, runescape, runescape-3, runescape-high-detail

Jagex developing new MMO, seems not to care

by Akela Talamasca Jun 19th 2008 at 3:30PM

Filed under: MMO industry, News items

Here's a strange one for you Runescape fans. Geoff Iddison, CEO of Jagex, said that the company is working on "Nextscape", a new MMO to be released March 2009. This news, revealed at the GameHorizon Conference in Newcastle, England seemed almost beside the point compared to what Iddison really wanted to say about his company.

"We've got an infrastructure behind Runescape which is the real silver of the Jagex, the value of the company," he said. "It's not the game, the game is going to come and go." Now, granted, this was at a developer's conference, so he's not there to hype the next big project necessarily, but talking up your infrastructure is like saying "Forget about my personality and skills, my skeletal and circulatory systems are where it's at!" While we're sure things are great at Jagex, we'd like to have heard a little more about the game -- you know, the reason that infrastructure exists.

Tags: gamehorizon-conference, geoff-iddison, infrastructure, jagex, nextscape, runescape

"Free-To-Play" model pulls in a dollar per user in the west

by Colin Brennan Jun 16th 2008 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Business models, News items, Free-to-play, Casual, Virtual worlds

One dollar per user per month may not sound like a huge revenue for any game, but when you start thinking in the terms of the user base of games like Habbo Hotel, Club Penguin and RuneScape you start to realize how much a dollar is really worth.

Lightspeed, a venture capital firm, recently did a few calculations to come up with the figures of how much revenue is generated by a single user in today's most successful free-to-play, microtransaction supported MMOs. What they came up with is a pretty interesting look at how much a "successful" MMO will make. For example, Habbo Hotel pulls in around $1.30 on average for each of their active users per month, while RuneScape pulls in 84 cents per active user per month.

The one figure that stood out from the pack was Second Life, which pulled in 9 dollars per user per month thanks to things like land ownership and the premium subscription that land owners have to buy to be able to own property. Even with Second Life in the mix, it's interesting to see that these types of MMOs don't make much per user, yet still can pull in great amounts of revenue by entertaining huge player bases.

[Via Kotaku]

Tags: club-penguin, disney, economy, free-to-play, habbo-hotel, jagex, kotaku, lightspeed, linden-lab, microtransaction, runescape, second-life, sl, subscription-based

Runescape cheater exposes his 'black market' organization

by James Egan Jun 14th 2008 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Exploits, Game mechanics, Making money, Runescape, Legal

PlayNoEvil points out an interesting blog entry on cheating in Runescape. The poster, who wishes to remain anonymous, describes himself as a retired Runescape cheater who devoted five years to the 'darker side' of the game. He states, "This article details all the intricacies of Runescape and cheating and what really goes on behind the scenes, I assure you that it will surprise you."

The poster, identified only by the name ThirdEyeOpen, lays out how cheaters and buyers operated as a would-be organized crime ring. 'Welcome to the Dark Side' is his chronicle of how he began his Runescape cheating career, and how it all ended. He recounts being 'interrogated' online by Jagex Ltd. about his activities, and how the subsequent account banning led to a malevolent wish to get even. His anger eventually snowballed into the creation of an organization of similar-minded individuals, mostly other teenagers, who accumulated a fair amount of real-world currency through exploits in Runescape before cashing out altogether. It's an interesting read -- perhaps a bit disturbing in the sense that he views cheating as a kind of playstyle -- but worth checking out all the same.

Via PlayNoEvil

Tags: black-market, bug, cheat, exploit, game-mechanics, jagex, jagex-ltd, legal, playnoevil, runescape, virtual-currency, virtual-item

An interview with Geoff Iddison of Jagex

by Shawn Schuster May 14th 2008 at 3:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual

Recently, it was announced that former PayPal and eBay executive Geoff Iddison was taking over as CEO for Jagex, best-known for their browser-based fantasy MMO RuneScape. Then we heard about the launch of Jagex's latest project FunOrb in February of this year. In a recent GamesIndustry.biz interview with Geoff Iddison, we learn more about his projected role with this new casual games portal and what he thinks about the future of the MMO market.

Of course Jagex plans on keeping up with RuneScape also, as they've just rolled out a German version last year, and plan on introducing another European language version later this year. With FunOrb, they're tackling the casual market, as so many other companies are doing lately as well. While the casual market is an inevitable direction for these companies, we hope their investment in RuneScape proves that the more dedicated market is not being shunned in the process.

Tags: ebay, funorb, geoff-iddison, interview, jagex, paypal, q-and-a, runescape

RuneScape February preview shows off new music, dungeon graphics

by Michael Zenke Feb 8th 2008 at 6:00AM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Patches, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser

The RuneScape site looks ahead to what will be added to the game throughout February. Just as they did back in November, the folks at Jagex lay out the big updates coming to the fantastically popular free-to-play browser-based RPG. This month the two big additions are a brand new music system and a graphics update for the Edgeville Dungeon.

The music system sounds particularly noteworthy, with players able to unlock tracks achievement-style. Netting all 500(!) gives you access to a unique emote. The new graphics for the dungeon, on the other hand, are a follow-up to a brush-up that the overground area of Edgeville previously received. Other additions include a new Construction puzzle, a spring-time event involving rapidly breeding rabbits, and a new farming amulet.

Tags: behind-the-scenes, jagex, runescape

Runescape cracking down hard on RMT

by Michael Zenke Dec 18th 2007 at 6:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics, Patches, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser

It's the season for talking about holiday events and ... virtual world trading, apparently. The free-to-play browser-based game Runescape has combined both in its recent website updates. A post from last week indicates that they're making some hard choices in an attempt to put a stop to botters, scammers, and gold sellers. Their solution, which they acknowledge won't be making them any friends, is to no longer allow unbalanced trades.

It will be tough for law-abiding players, but it will also be tough for us, as we will certainly not be gaining money or members with this update. Instead, we are doing this for the good of the game, which is as dear to our hearts as it is to you. Soon, the hard part will be over and done with. The unbalanced trade changes will be made in January and we certainly don't plan any more hard changes in the foreseeable future.

Their first post on the topic is deliberately vague, but a follow-up outlines the specifics of the January trade fixes.

We're planning to raise the 3,000gp staking/trading limit for certain players. This will be proportional to the number of Quest Points you have, with the top-end being ten-times what it is now! This should still offer protection from cheats, while also giving you more flexibility in your staking and trading activities.

They've also put up the yearly Christmas event, featuring the Queen of Snow, snowball fights, and a Snow tournament. The big present for this year, apparently, is going to be safe trading in the new year.

Tags: balance, economy, jagex, rmt, runescape, trading

One Shots: It's an epidemic!

by Krystalle Voecks Nov 27th 2007 at 2:04PM

Filed under: Screenshots, Runescape, One Shots

In our never-ending quest for game news and views, some of the writing staff have been heading out to the four corners of the MMO market. This generally means logging time into games we wouldn't normally play. Much like Eloise, I recently headed into the world of RuneScape, and admittedly found much the same experience with some of the players. Now this isn't to say I didn't like it at all; personally I found the stalkers and beggars downright hilarious. Of course, I also freely admit that I have a weird sense of humor.

So today, I share with you the above screenshot I took to show what happened to me literally not 30 seconds after I'd completed the tutorial and landed in the main RuneScape world. "Money plz" he repeated to me about 15 times as I spoke with the kindly old man who was helping me find my first quest. "money need kthx." All the while I was howling with laughter at someone hitting the very obviously just-spawned me up for cash. A quick ignore and I was on my way, but it raises the question -- how do you handle the inevitable beggars and annoyances? Do you give them an earful, or just laugh at them for being so utterly stereotypical?

Do you have a story to tell, or a screen to share from the far-off corners of the MMO multiverse? If so, send them to us at oneshots@massively.com. Your image and story could be featured next for us to all enjoy -- or cringe at.

Tags: beggar, browser, featured, free-to-play, jagex, java, oh-no-you-didnt, one-shots, rune-scape, runescape, silly, stalker

A first look at RuneScape

by Eloise Pasteur Nov 27th 2007 at 12:01PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser, Hands-on, Massively Hands-on, First Impressions

I so nearly titled this the top 6 reasons why I don't like RuneScape.

Liking, or not liking, a game is, of course, deeply personal. You may well find the reasons for disliking RuneScape that I list here as reasons to make you play the game, more power to you if you do. A quick straw poll around the Massively team has revealed that others have more positive views of RuneScape. But on with my list:

I find the interface cluttered, badly designed and hard to use;
I dislike the way you chat to the NPCs;
I find the other players largely rude, often unreasonably aggressive and distasteful;
Losing almost all your equipment each time you die is frustrating;
Handling skills and experience in them is horrible on so many levels;
Why, oh why, do they handle the free-to-play structure so badly?

More details on these under the fold.

Continue reading A first look at RuneScape

Tags: featured, First-Look, hands-on, jagex, RuneScape

Runescape November behind the scenes

by Michael Zenke Nov 2nd 2007 at 9:45AM

Filed under: Fantasy, Economy, Patches, Crafting, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser

The official Runescape site has up a lengthy look ahead to what's in store for players in November. As always, the web-based title is focusing on player-submitted feature suggestions. The result is number of brand new features and gameplay possibilities, including:

An 'assist' system that will allow players to use skills on items in other player's inventory, without risk of the item being stolen.
Another quest in the line involving Zanik and the Land of the Goblins will pit your skill and knowledge as a player against a task requiring stealth and subterfuge.
Minor tradeskill improvements, like a measure of how close you are to level and the ability for blacksmiths to work on an entire pack of materials.
Changes to the Duel Arena, including 64-player tourneys and the capability to track your Tournament rank.
A 'Grand Exchange' that will sell in-game items to all players across all servers.

And more, of course .. the world of Runescape never stops moving.

Tags: duel-arena, grand-exchange, jagex, runescape

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