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The Tip.It Staff had the pleasure of interviewing a Jagex employee, Mod Edu, about the insider sessions at RuneFest! Before reading the interview, we would encourage you to read up on the various insider sessions here and here.
Enjoy!
- Tip.It: Will video recording devices be allowed during the insider sessions?
Mod Edu:You just want to show off that brand new spiffy phone you’ve got, right? The word is that you will able to do your own home made recordings with your home camera or phone and that’s fine. Just don’t hire a cameraman or an expensive cool-looking kit as we will be recording some of these sessions ourselves.
- Tip.It: Which insider session do you personally think will be the most exciting?
Mod Edu: Let me look at the menu…
(jeez, how am I supposed to pick?! So many options…)
Question time, no doubt. Always am a fan of debating and this should easily turn out to be one of the most active sessions. I’m expecting to see a lot of buzz from people coming out of there and some very weary developers.
Not that I’ll get to see it: I’ll be taking care of some tip.it admins at that time
.
- Tip.It: Do you think that the RuneFest insider sessions will end the usefulness of the classic adventures of Postie Pete and his visits to the Chaos Elemental?
Mod Edu: No idea. Last time I saw Postie Pete he was going to visit the Chaos elemental. Let me check..
Oh… *gasp*
I’m afraid I have some bad news kids
[On a more serious note, RuneFest isn’t stopping Postie Pete]
- Tip.It: Jagex originally said that RuneFest will not be a time to talk about bots, but now we hear that there will be a "Breaking Bots" insider session. Why the change of mind? Or was this simply some miscommunication and was it planned all along?
Mod Edu: It’s fair to say that we hadn’t initially planned to hold an Insider Session on Bots but our intention has always been to hold the sessions that the audience want to see. So, with Bots being something that a lot of people have very strong feelings about and want to discuss, we were happy to fit it into the schedule.
- Tip.It: During the "Breaking Bots" insider session will you be releasing exclusive details and specifics about your plans for combating the issue? All responses with regards to bots have been vague thus far. Do you feel that the information given will satisfy the players' hunger for information?
Mod Edu: That’s a really good point! It’s something we’re very mindful of but it’s true that it will be a bit of a balancing act at times.
- Tip.It: Will 'A Decade in Gielinor' be focused on just game content, or will it additionally discuss the changes in design direction of the game design and Jagex's interaction with the players over the decade?
Mod Edu: I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing the precise session plan yet but I would certainly imagine that it will cover stuff like game design changes and challenges faced.
- Tip.It: Is the 'The Biggest Update' insider session specifically about the Clan Citadel update, which in its official press release was called "the biggest expansion of the year and our largest ever community update" by Daniel Clough the VP of RuneScape, or will it be covering the entire series of Clan updates which Clan Citadels served as a capstone for? ( http://www.jagex.com...tadelsLaunch.ws )
Mod Edu: It will be covering the entire series of clan updates as a whole rather than just the citadels.
- Tip.It: Will the significant portion of your dedicated fanbase who are unable to attend Runefest be able to voice their selection for which of the skill updates is presented during the 'You be the Judge' session?
Mod Edu: It’s going to be up to the RuneFest audience to pick which update idea makes it into game. Although they’re a very small proportion of the community, like the forum audience, they’ll be a nice cross section of the community so should provide a good representation of general feeling. Whichever idea makes it into game, I’m sure it’ll make a worthy addition!
- Tip.It: Will both sessions of 'A Character is Born' be working on the same character design, or will the sessions be designing a seperate character?
Mod Edu: Designing a character from start to finish is such a momentous task. It’s actually a achievement to boil it down to less than two hours!
Whether you go on Saturday, on Sunday or both days, you will play a part in the process and make sure your voice is heard.
- Tip.It: Will the character(s) made during the 'A Character is Born' sessions be taking up a recurring role in the game similar to the Signature Heros, or will they be a one off character, who is used once and doesn't get featured elsewhere?
Mod Edu: He/she/it has not been created yet and you’re already so curious. They will play an integral role in RuneScape so you’ll be able to see them regularly.
- Tip.It: During 'Question Time' there will likely be far more questions than there is time to answer them. As such, how do you plan on picking which questions get answered? I.e. Will attendees write down their questions ahead of time on a list? Will there be a line to ask the question? Or will people just be picked randomly to ask questions during the session? etc.
Mod Edu: Yes, we will pick the questions. Actually, here are the two best ways to get picked:
- Post here: http://services.rune...36,885,63237527
- Go to RuneFest and get picked. Yes, we’re leaving this one to chance to make sure everyone has a fair shot at asking a question.
- Post here: http://services.rune...36,885,63237527
- Tip.It: Additionally, do you have any suggestions for those who wish to ask a question during the 'Question Time' session?
Mod Edu: Make the question interesting and the answer more complicated than yes/no. It needs to make us think and it needs to be interesting enough to interest people listening into the session.
I think my question “Can I haz phr33 stoof pl0x?”didn’t quite pan out for the session but I’m sure you will find better ones.
- Tip.It: Will questions about future content be allowed during the session, such as the release dates of long awaited items (the black pickaxe for example)?
Mod Edu: Developers are mysterious creatures and will want to surprise you.
However, there’s no harm in asking if there’s an item you’re dying to play with: http://services.rune...36,885,63237527
- Tip.It: Will the 'Greatest Glitches' insider session be focused on big ticket gameplay bugs as opposed to the small bugs that show up elsewhere?
Mod Edu: We are showing “greatest” glitches, not “world’s most insignificant” glitches. Only the really bold and terrible glitches. Those so bad it makes you count up to 2 in binary.
These aren’t your bed bugs.
Scary stuff.
- Tip.It: During the 'Greatest Glitches' session, will there be any discussion on how bugs are prioritized for being resolved following the release of the content? Some content gets fixed within a week of release while others, such as those wacky Miscellanians and their creative fencing techniques, never seem to get fixed.
Mod Edu: Oops, you are in the wrong room!
You want to go into a Q&A with the QA team. That’s in room 2.
Yes, there’s a room 2 with tons more insider sessions: http://www.runefest....der-sessions-2/
- Tip.It: Will the infamous Rotten Potato incident be making an appearance in the 'Greatest Glitches' session?
Mod Edu: You never know.
- Tip.It: Could you perhaps give us a hint at the dark secrets you plan to reveal in the RuneScape 2012 session? Perhaps it has something to do with the end of Brassica Prime's world domination plot involving his massive army of Cabbage Knights and Cabbage Spawn?
Mod Edu: [They’re on to us. Ok, who spilt the cabbage?]
Brassica Prime? No idea what you are talking about ♪
But you should be afraid, very afraid.
And eat your vegetables: you are doing the world a great service by getting rid of the cabbage menace.
- Tip.It: Can you give us an idea of what points of development the three quests for the 'The Stories to Come' insider session are at, and therefore the chances of the actual details provided matching the Quests when released?
Mod Edu: They’ve chosen three quests that are in very different stages of development. The RuneScape detective mystery will be released in the weeks after Runefest, the high-level firemaking quest is in the process of being developed, while the addition to the ‘very popular quest series’ is at a concept stage. We’re not likely to talk about details that will change in those quests before release, just as we’re unlikely to talk about things that would spoil the quest for you! Hopefully that wets your appetite a little .
- Tip.It: Regarding the 'Future of RuneScape Combat Workshop,' are there any particular reasons for looking into changing the way the combat system works, when it has not even been a full year since the last major modification? (14-Dec-2010 - Damage Soaking and New Hitsplats)
Mod Edu: Speaking to the combat gurus, they felt that the combat system could do with a overhaul to evolve it into the second decade of this millennium. The session will be all about looking at the legacy of combat, where it can be improved and ultimately where we want it to be.
This session is going to cover a much larger update in scope than damage soaking and well worth attending if you care about RuneScape combat.
- Tip.It: Is there a particular list of what members of the QA Team will be taking questions at the QA Q&A, as it would help have an idea of what to ask if we had an idea of what content they had worked on?
Mod Edu: Our super secret plans reveal that…
- Mod Bellie
- Mod Hunter
- Mod Cocoa
- Mod Tomh
- Mod Slayer
.
- Mod Bellie
- Tip.It: Will the 'Game Design Workshop' be a discussion of the major decisions in designing RuneScape or will it be a more general examination of game design?
Mod Edu: It will be a general examination of design questions : a great session for anyone wanting to learn more about the topic!
- Tip.It: What portions of the graphics creation process will the "Graphics - Tools" insider session be covering in particular? For example: Concept, creation, feedback & revison, final use... Or dare I ask: all of them??
Mod Edu: One of artist masters here assures me you’ll be looking at everything from A to Z: concept, modelling and animation. I’ve also been assured that it will be a Halloween themed session.
Feedback and revision will be a small part of the session but if you are really curious, feel free to go and ask questions straight from the artists themselves!
- Tip.It: For the suggestions during 'The Future Sounds of Lumbridge', what level of detail in the suggestions are you looking for? Such as, something as simple as making more varied music like Bill Blakely's Accordion piece (For those unfamiliar with him, he is the musician to the south of the Nature Grotto), or things as specific as "Expand the penguin musicians into a 5 man band with Flippers McGraw on Vocals, Ping and Pong on Cowbell and Bongos, and random penguins on Cymbals and Kazoo".
Mod Edu: The audio team here is extremely enthusiastic and welcome any suggestion you can possibly throw at them ; ). Slight preference on their part for the general audio feel in RuneScape but if you have any specific requests, they are there to “listen”♪
- Tip.It: Do you have any details on the first 'Design a Dominion Tower Boss' Insider session, as there does not seem to be one listed?
Mod Edu: Keen eye for detail there ; ). Yes, there’s a part two session but no part one – what’s up with that?
Unless… we somehow sneakily have a secret part one session hidden somewhere at RuneFest.
We wouldn’t do that though, would we ♪ ?
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