Tip.It Times Presents: I have the answer, Mr. Runescape!

[Kill_Thomas9]

Some times I forget that not everybody knows what smithing, smelting, and scimitars are. I have a much wider vocabulary than I would have had if it weren't for runescape.

[Celt23]

I've only learned extremely fast typing and a few random things I could of easily learned elswhere. The Rants forum on the RSOF has taught me how to debate well and it's helped a lot on other websites and RL.

 

 

 

Pretty much nothing else, it's meant to be entertainment, not edutainment.

[Umega]

The article could of added in "Economics" as well. Although, it works in the background of Runescape and it could of gone in with the maths section of the article.

[ponybeat]

I disagree with pretty much everything said in this article.

 

 

 

Increase in typing skill can easily be attributed to plain old computer usage which involves a lot of typing. As for teaching maths, all it is is basic addition/multiplication (and its as easy as windows+r and typing calc to get the calculator up).

 

 

 

And teaching history... what the hell? Objects used in the past != history. As another note, I'm sure many of you know now what a scimitar is, but I would hazard a guess that 80% of you pronounce it skim-i-tar, when the c is silent.

 

 

 

A good imagination doesn't necessarily make you a good writer either nor does immersing yourself in a fantasy necessarily make your imagination any better. Writing is a lot about conveyance of an idea or emotion, playing rs would do little to improve your skill in that area.

 

 

 

And as others have said, the RS forums are pretty much 10% coherant discussion/posting and the rest is either "bump" or a series of acronyms and bad spelling. I find that when I'm "debating" on the rants or suggestions forum that most people who I'm arguing with do not have the ability to string together a coherant argument.

 

 

 

In short, I do not concur.

[Toxicologist]

What a freakin' joke. The only remotely valid point is learning about historical weapons and you can get more in depth knowledge from cracking open a book once in a while. :roll: :notalk:

 

 

 

... You've got to be kidding me.

 

 

 

Ok, this is what I've learnt from Runescape:

 

 

 

Crossbows are one handed, fast firing weapons capable of being used with a shield, and acts pretty much like a gun.

 

 

 

In fact, crossbows are very heavy, are two handed, and fires about two shots per minute, unless you are considering the Chinese crossbow, which is considerably faster. They are also a pain to load.

 

 

 

Maces are weak weapons not worthy of attention.

 

 

 

In fact, maces are very powerful weapons capable of piercing armour.

 

 

 

Shortbows are more powerful than longbows.

 

 

 

Wrong. Longbows have far more range than shortbows do, and are far more capable of piercing armour. Why do you think English Longbowmen are so feared? And it takes lots of strength and training to wield a longbow.

 

 

 

I can go on and on.

[Celt23]

^ Chains in RS are strong against crush while in reality they are quite the opposite. Platemail began to be used more and more because of this. Warhammers are blocks at the end of short handles in RS, in reality they are shaped more like long ballpiens (sp?).

 

 

 

^^ The immature people can't last a second in a debate there, weeding out all but the mature people in the debates.

[UAvron]

Well, you might find it funny, but many "facts" about "monster zoology" that appear in Runescape are absolutely correct.

 

The information about Penguins is almost entirely accurate. With some twists one might find true information about Zoology even in the Varrock Museum. There are also points about Chemistry (Recruit drive quest for example) that are accurate enough to have some educational value. There is some information about Astronomy and Physics too, so it is clear that the writers of the game did their homework well.

 

From this point of view, Runescape is much more educational than most computer games.

[hejsej3]

some of it is correct. i have been faster to use my keyboard and almost know where everywhere the buttons are. the math can be correct but there is a calculator on my computer so use it instead. history maybe a little bit. and same like writing. and to the last. sorry about a little off topic. i have read an article about a guy who got a good job because he had played wow ( hate that game, steal rs's players). why that? it was because it was an online game where he could play with others so he know how to do it as a team

[Latinoking]

The only things useful of Runescape are:

 

 

 

1. Typing faster w/o looking at the keyboard

 

2. Meeting people around the world

 

3. Getting to learn other languages (not likely from english to ???? but hey you never know)

 

4. Learning how an economy works. I am simply amaze at how the market of Runescape works it kind of works like in real life except we have no stock market.

 

5. You can make goals and then finish them and learn the vaules of goal(s)

 

 

 

My ratings on this article: :thumbdown: :thumbdown:

 

 

 

Two thumbdown!

[kolko]

He did not add English as a language, RS learned me a lot about it

 

(I'm Dutch)

[mr42]

Yeah i had noticed this before. i got 3 extra marks in my Design + Technology exam (that i noticed) for knowing about bronz (90%copper 10% tin content) and the blast furnace yay for runescape!!!

 

 

 

(P.S. the Ring of life also works up to lv 30 (for the "did you know" section))

[Azzazeal]

Great article, I canb relatew especially to the writing one.

[Itsjustagame]

History (The Big One)

 

Though Runescape may be the Sultan of Fantasy, there is some real history to be found there. Who (besides a Lord of the Rings fan) would know what a scimitar was without Runescape? How would we know about Amour and Bows and arrows and quivers? People who play Runescape know a lot more in the subject of History and Medieval times that people who just read the textbooks. The textbook might say ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ãâ¦Ã¢â¬ÅBattle Axes were used by the Mongols in their raids throughout Asia and Europe.ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬ÃâÃ

[HexiledRazz]

i learned what a corridor, scimitar, and a bog was \

[NiX3]

I disagree with most of this article (except the typing bit)

 

 

 

but I don't agree with the people who say "runescape teaches nothing but typing speed" I think merchanting is one of the most educational activities in runescape. You get to invest in the runescape market for none to neglegible amounts of money and experiment. It teaches people about supply and demand etc. Like people know Dragon Chainmails are going to go down when dust devils are released etc. So they sell theirs off.

 

 

 

I think thats a very useful skill and could guide people onto making real life money. (Stock Market Anyone?).

 

 

 

Lets compare the Dragon Chainmail bit with something in the stock market. I think there was some law/act/something of the sort passed about online "pokering" and then the shares of companies which offered that service crashed (PartyGaming, 888) etc.

 

 

 

So I believe it teaches you to recognise trends in the market and trends in general. (Quests without walkthroughs? A bit tenuous i know, can't think of anything else off the top of my head). I really believe that Runescape can help people in real life. (PS. i'm not in denial)

 

(disclaimer: i may be wrong on some of the finer details but you get the point.... right?)

[Kaylaya]

I agree with some of the educational aspects of RS. One thing the editor did not mention was that RS XP training relates to real life. Is that everything U do increases your skills and ability to do it, the more U practise the better u get.

 

 

 

Sometimes the typing leaves a lot to be desired, not too many folk type successfully with one hand on the mouse. Some of the 'shorthand' results in a ?, not understood by the other party.

 

 

 

My kids are starting to realise one gains through diligent work and practise. So although a game, yes is can be veiwed as quite educational. I love playing myself. :thumbsup:

[shade1234]

I agree strongly with the typing point

 

Its easy to see how much my typing has improved over the time ive been playing and also the spelling has improved since i joined these forums. :XD: :thumbsup:

[Death_Dude74]

Meh. I think people underestimate that Runescape and games are not just about basic skills like math and typing. Interacting with a merchant to secure a better deal, learning to sell an item by attracting buyers, and researching strategy for accomplishing something are much more brought out from RS imo than math skills.

 

 

 

Take a look at the Barrows profit calculators people use: a great example of using Excel (and other spreadsheet technologies) to help a person. Access would be another useful tool for clans, etc. to keep track of members.

 

 

 

Another thing RS has taught many of us is banding together to solve problems. We could all do our math ourselves, or learn skills ourselves, or tackle the fight caves or barrows ourselves, but TIF has solved many of those problems with the solution of many people contributing.

[Celestrana]

Actually, there's a lot of (simple) mathematics that you can apply to RuneScape and to real-life such as using skilling-rates. For example, you're trying to cut 10K yew logs for another skill such as fletching or firemaking. To determine how long this will take you at your current level, you measure the period needed to chop 28 yew logs. Then to help make your chopping period more realistic, you take the average of 10 trips. This average can then be converted to a rate such as 35 yew logs per minute (this is an arbitrary value).

 

 

 

Using this rate, you can easily determine how many minutes you need to cut 10K yew logs and can use this rate to make quick estimates.

[Harrington]

LOL, the BBC quotes are hilarious...

 

 

 

"One of my favourite places on Rune is the Braxton Waterfall," said a 16-year-old player using the name Axegrrl.

 

 

 

"You can just sit back by the river and relax. I could watch the water for hours it's so pretty. Not that many people come here so it's a great place just to be, you know."

 

 

 

 

Yeah right... you sit and watch the amazing RS graphics for hours lol... doubt it.

 

 

 

We just come here to meet and chat, it's nice up on the cliffs looking over the ocean. I meet my sisters and we just hang out."

 

 

 

Also funny

[Evrae]

I must admit I'm disappointed by this article. It falls far short of the usually high standard of TipIt articles. The bit on mathematics is bordering on ridiculous. Even I find it takes too long to perform most calculations while trading. There are examples of where I use mathematics, but surely most people would use a calculator?

 

 

 

The main problem with saying 'Runescape taught me...' is that while there are many things that are factual, there are more that aren't. How can you identify which is which?

 

 

 

As for history, the author clearly doesn't know what history is about. When you get to any level in which you might take an exam, it is more about ideas than facts.

 

As for creative writing, read a few books. It will do you far more good. Instead of merely plot ideas you will learn how to actually write them down.

 

 

 

While it may be true that there are educational aspects to Runescape, this article made an incredibly poor case for them.

[svk]

 

Many of us, believe it or not, have had our general knowledge increased due to playing Runescape. ItÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢s like one of those video games that is supposed to teach you without you knowing, only better.

 

 

 

Typing

 

My typing speed has increased from 38 to 54 words per minute due to Runescape. [Run-on] I donÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ã¢ââ¬Å¾Ã¢t use the ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬Ãâ¦Ã¢â¬ÅSchool-recommendedÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬ÃâÃ

[ChickyBee32]

What a freakin' joke. The only remotely valid point is learning about historical weapons and you can get more in depth knowledge from cracking open a book once in a while. :roll: :notalk:

 

 

 

... You've got to be kidding me.

 

 

 

*snip*

 

 

 

I can go on and on.

 

 

 

That's why I said 'remotely valid.' I doubt that the majority of players who are using the 'runescape is educational' argument, would have heard of a mace or scimitar if it wasn't for the game.

[Alzhazgoroth]

I liked the article, eventhough most of it is kinda (short for kind of you know ;)) far fetched. But still entertaining, easily readable and it's true, my typing also really improved over the last years. (too bad I had a pause of two years and started playing one month ago :mrgreen: ) but still gaming has inproved my typingskills.

 

Well anyways, nice article. Keep 'm coming! :wink:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ps.

 

 

 

Tip it, please get a better thumbs up emoticon, I was so annoyed by it I used the ;) emoticon instead.

[thehate]

I wonder what that "Did you know?" section was about? it was badly outdated information, are those some quotes collected to use on those posts with not re-checking them? if gnome launching pods and other dragonstone jewellery include in "other" how do they work in 30 wilderness also?