Jump to content

I wrote a piece on Runescape


Aidan25

Recommended Posts

Yes, I’m referring to that game that every single teenager has played at least once in their lifetime. The enormous fantasy world of Runescape with millions of players logging in daily from every ends of the Earth brought many memories to those who played it. Starting from either 1999 or later on in 2004, every player past or present has something to say about the game that made up the majority of their childhood. One of the most popular online chatrooms with a 3D interface where endless opportunities awaited those who had the courage to embrace Runescape for what it was worth. We can all relate when someone mentions “rune armour” or “wilderness” as Runescape pops into our mind instantaneously and the memories come flooding back with a huge blast of nostalgia at the same time.


 


You either found out about Runescape from a friend, sibling or even from another website and when you first heard about it, you were very eager to give this new popular game a go. I remember quite clearly when I was about 6-7 in about 2003-04  and I saw my older cousin playing a game on a desktop PC with Windows 2000 and my other cousin and I watched him for a bit and then asked him what he was playing. It was Runescape. It looked cool to both of us so our young brains thought, “Why don’t we give this a go?” We both made accounts and that’s where our journey started. My cousin and I played Runescape for another 8 years because of the immense replay value and longevity of the enjoyable moments we had had with the game. We’re no different to the other players who spent countless amounts of time on this glorious masterpiece. Waking up before school and pulling all-nighters to level up and aim to be the best Runescape player there was, was definitely worth it with no regrets at all.


 


Creating an account took a few minutes but at the time you were probably thinking, what was a World? You chose any random one and were directed to the famous Java applet screen and then the nostalgic Runescape theme began to play. Those colourful flames intrigued your interest in this new game called Runescape that you had recently found out and made you even more excited to try it out. You then logged in and blindly started your everlasting, incredible Runescape journey.


 


Remember where your journey started? Yeah. That good old place called Tutorial Island. -waits for tears to roll down face. Here’s a trip down memory lane for ya: www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3YxgBrnorI Tutorial Island was nothing you’d ever seen before. The tunes of the Newbie Melody have ever since stuck in my mind and listening back on it reminds me and many other old school Runescape players of our younger years where life wasn’t as difficult as it is nowadays. The sweet notes, different tunes and various sections of the MIDI music piece by Ian Taylor collectively visually represent an entire Runescape journey in the space of 3 minutes and 43 seconds. It’s as if you’ve been transported back to the early 2000s where life was so much easier. It will make you cry once you listen to it but don’t be ashamed, it’s normal to let out emotions. Going back to Tutorial Island, you were a “noob” and there was nothing you could do about it. Taking those first baby steps before advancing to the mainland where everything happened, basically laid the foundations for what was going to pretty much take over your life for a number of years. Learning how to smelt a bronze bar took half an hour and learning how to cook some bread dough wasn’t easy. Burning your first Runescape meal on a fire you made yourself wasn’t such a disappointment once you found out everyone did the exact same thing. Who knew you could shoot a bow and arrow and kill a giant polygon-created rat in less than 5 seconds? The start of an enormous journey lasting decades all started in the simple and magnificent Tutorial Island. It will always remain in our hearts, no matter how old you are or how long ago you started.


 


Then came Lumbridge. Nothing else needs to be said. The prelude to an unforgettable experience where you had no idea what was going on or what to do. The town that every single player knew and could come back to if they were lost. To be honest, arriving in Lumbridge was extremely intimidating for new members. A new interface appeared with the similar menus shown to you during the tutorial but now a chat box appeared with hundreds of people speaking to each other at once. It was so difficult to understand what they were saying in all this Runescape jargon that you’d stand there for half an hour reading what players tended to say. “Where am I?” was the first question you asked when arriving in Lumbridge. But no one would hear you because so many other players would be engaging in their own private conversations. After a while, you’d hear someone reply “This is Lumbridge, Swans Sydney” and you’d instantly ask them what Lumbridge was and eventually be shown around. Remember those beginning steps where you were taken to the cow farm, chicken coup and then Varrock? Yep, you sure do. There was always someone who offered to help show you around and give you a mini tour of the Free To Play side of Runescape. They’d then become your first ever online friend and someone who would stick with you for most of your Runescape journey. The first thing you did was use the bronze sword and shield you had been given to fight the goblins across the bridge. Once you killed your first goblin, you picked up the dropped items and realised you were $3 richer than you were before. The scenery to you looked amazing for a game of its time and all you wanted to do was discover everything.


 


Then came Varrock. These weird names weirded you out but you never forgot them. Varrock was your typical market and central hub for shops. Players doing all sorts of weird things in the middle circle around the waterfall with the Romeo and Juliet quest-guy always wandering around in the masses. People advertising their clans, buying and selling certain items and even dropping things. These were called “drop parties” and you’d go to them whenever you could to possibly obtain that rune armour you had heard about so many times from numerous people. Once you made your first 1000gp/1k, you’d be the happiest person alive but you’d lose it quickly somehow. Probably by giving a first-try in merchanting. Varrock was always a place that you could return to if you were lost, you wanted to walk to Falador or you wanted to try your luck in PvP in the “wildy”. Both of Varrock’s banks were always populated and had members selling and buying items. This was how Runescape’s economy was before the Grand Exchange for those of you who joined after its addition. The colours of different armour, weapons, capes would strike your attention and you’d long to know how to obtain similar items. Sooner or later, you found out that being a Member had more perks than being a f2p player. Your parents didn’t let you pay $10-$20 for a monthly membership but that didn’t let you down, Free To Play was good enough. After a while, you’d want to return back to Lumbridge in order to train as you were only a Level 3 but you’d have no idea how to. You then messaged your newfound friend and he’d be rushing back to you near the waterfall as a green dot on the mini-map. You then right-clicked him and pressed “Follow”. In a minute or two, you’d be back fighting cows and collecting cowhides in Lumbridge.


 


After a bit of training, you’d meet others lurking around who you’d sporadically spark a conversation with and find out where they’re from, how long they’ve played Runescape from and their interests. These people would also give you advice and even scam you into going into the wilderness, killing you and stealing all that you had in your inventory. This would be heartbreaking as you’d have no idea what to do once you saw the message: “Oh dear, you are dead.” and had returned back to Lumbridge. Lumbridge had now become familiar to you but you had now kept only 3 of the items you had before. Now you knew not to go to north and over the hedge into the “wildy”. These experiences would indeed teach you life lessons about not trusting every person who gives you an offer that is too good to be true. Runescape was a life changing game, that’s the least I can say. Speaking to these people would teach you how to play the game and get the most out of it. People would give you things because you were a noob and you’d keep these new items until others replaced them.


 


As you learned more about the game, quests became completed and your knowledge in the different skills enhanced your Runescape experience. Beating Elvarg made you literally piss in your pants. Learning how to fish, cook, light a fire, kill dragons, make jewellery moulds, mine different ores, make weapons for yourself and many more made the game be as enjoyable as it was. While grinding skills, those non-diegetic tones would always play through your speakers and later in your mind after hearing them countless amounts of times while traversing through the world of Gielinor. You’d even choose your own that were your favourites and play them instead of the songs being automatically selected. New songs would be heard and they’d replace your old favourites if you liked them more than others. The repeat function would soon become your best friend.  These songs would later become nostalgic and listening to them now brings back all those golden memories.


 


While cutting down trees in Draynor Village or fishing lobsters in Karamja, random NPCs would appear and give you special items or take you to very mysterious places. These were called “random events”. If you’ve forgotten, there was a mime one, Evil Bob, lederhosen and a few others that would help you look cooler among your group of friends and enhance your skills. You’d play Runescape for that extra little bit just to catch these random events. Reaching the highest combat level would become your main priority. Levelling up Attack, Strength and Defence or even Magic and Range would make you stand out from the crowd and be able to fight tougher NPCs and Runescape players. Later on, you’d become a member and fight in the Duel Arena, Wilderness, Pest Control and all the other mini games. The amount of things you could do on Runescape was endless and there was always something to keep you occupied.


 


Even simply reciting your fishing level while fishing for swordfish and lobsters in Musa Point/Karamja entertained you. It was a long process getting to and from Port Sarim, Draynor Village’s bank (as it was the closest) and walking back to Port Sarim with your fishing supplies bought from Gerrant and paying 30gp to travel to a desert island in order to fish. You’d sit there for hours fishing for lobsters with your lobster cage or swordfish with a harpoon and later sell them for a reasonable market price to earn an income. Maybe you were a miner and you’d go to Al Kharid or the Dwarven Mine to excavate the rare ores, smelt them in a furnace and create items for people to buy. Or maybe you were a woodcutter and spent most of your days chopping Willows in Draynor Village and later moving onto Yews near Falador or east of the Grand Exchange in Varrock. The higher combat level and skill levels you had, the more you stood out from others and your friends. Although, it wasn’t all about skill grinding.


 


Quests gave an incentive of following the whole Runescape story. There were about 12 in Free To Play and another 300 or so in Members. If you were stuck, you’d search up a guide on the internet on websites like Sal’s Realm or YouTube or you’d simply ask another player to give you assistance. People were willing to help back then and that’s why Runescape’s community was so vibrant and majestic. The interesting places and characters you would meet during quests fascinated you and drew you towards the fantasy-side of Runescape. You then thought knights and wizards were f**king awesome when spoken about with friends and all you ever spoke about was Runescape. Sometimes it took you months to complete quests but they always opened you up to new places and opportunities that helped enhance your experience.


 


Too many amazing and unforgettable things happened on Runescape that I cannot write about them all here. But when Runescape 3 came out, you most probably distanced yourself from the game. The new add-ons and unnecessary features drew your attention away from a game you payed the highest respect to for a number of years. It was a sad time but life moved on. It was as if you left your child in an empty house with no one to look after him. But it was for the best, your time was over with Runescape and it was for most of the older players. Friends you met 6-8 years ago are now 6-8 years older and are now more mature than they were back then in the early days. Time flew and you didn’t even realise it.


 


Being in the moment was what made Runescape an amazing game and something that will always remain in our hearts. All your friends, classmates and even work colleagues at one point or another had an experience on Runescape. It doesn’t matter how long they played it for, they still enjoyed it to their own extent. Nowadays, people say Runescape is gay and stupid but really, we all played it and enjoyed it at the time. It is now a dusty box sitting in our sub-conscious mind that can be opened at any time and when opened, the memories flood back. You either loved or you hated Runescape but it impacted an entire decade and generation of children in the 2000s. It’s truly remarkable that a game on the internet can bring so much happiness and joy to a large group of people. That’s the beauty of Runescape. Jagex (before they f***ed everything up) and The Gower brothers deserve a huge pat on the back for a job well done and for making an everlasting impact on a large portion of the world’s population. The last 30 seconds of the Newbie Melody wave goodbye to those illustrious memories and put our childhood into a cardboard box in our minds.


  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.