I can remember back in the day, (in Runescape Classic times) when RS was one of the most popular games in my area, everybody had played it at some time or other, and me and all my friends competed with each other in game, etc etc.

 

 

 

However, nowadays, whenever I mention my playing Runescape or, (Heaven forbit :ohnoes: ) my Membership, I get laughed at, joked at, whatever. Noone (at least in my area) likes it anymore, and ridicule all who play it. Said people justify this with comments like "the graphics suck!" or "Too many kids", and yet when asked, they havent even played for a long time, up to maybe 2 years since last login.

 

 

 

So, the question is:

 

Has Runescape gotten a bad reputation? And if so, why?

 

 

 

 

 

Note: Above opinion came from my group of friends at school, aged 13 - 16.

 

 

 

Discuss.

I think it's always been this way - your friends probably just grew out of it and started agreeing with the crowd. The reason it's like that is because of the community of :ugeek: 's. Not everyone is like that - some people are really cool, but generally speaking Runescape doesn't really have that many "popular kids" playing.

 

 

 

Runescape is strongly associated with the stereotypical nerd.

Runescape is strongly associated with the stereotypical nerd.

 

 

 

Very true, and it's also a shame, because from what I've seen, Runescape is one of the more simple MMO's out there, and anyone can understand it (which may be part of the original appeal?)

 

 

 

Off Topic - Nice Avvy :thumbsup:

I mean think about it: back in the day was YEARS ago. If your group of friends at school are CURRENTLY 13-16, then some of them weren't even teenagers yet when they started playing RuneScape. When you're young, you're usually naive and aren't aware of how many great games are out there, so you usually fall in love with one of the first games you see (in this case - RuneScape). I'm willing to bet that your friends have all moved on, while you haven't. You fell in love with RuneScape and haven't yet lost your desire to play. Your friends have probably moved on to "Bigger and better things" (WoW, etc.).

 

 

 

It's not necessarily that RuneScape has gotten a bad reputation, it's just that there are so many other games out there with incredible graphics and a more mature crowd.

Some of them have undoubtedly moved on, yes, while others don't play MMO's at all, rather favouring quick ones on the huge gaming sites (or smaller ones that school filters don't block yet ).

 

Personally, I moved on to other games, complete with maturer* crowd and such, but came back here for the frequent updating, and fun atmosphere ;)

 

 

 

* I won't go into it, but in one of these games particularly, the crowd can be even worse than the 8 yr old beggards and such we have here :(

Runescape is strongly associated with the stereotypical nerd.

 

People seem to think your an utter nerd or a child for playing Runescape, very annoying but its a sterotype i cant see changing.

 

 

 

I think the biggest saving grace for runescape is its communitys such a tip it, they really are islands in a sea of some of the terrible gamers (not skill, but attitude), and as long as they stay nice places to interact with other runescapes the overall image of RS doesnt really bother me,

Well, if you look at it, on the surface it's a simple game with simple graphics. You look at it's competition, and they'd be complex games with near-realistic graphics.

RS has never really been very popular, but honestly, I don't care, because Runescape is more fun than playing 'better' games like WoW or loitering in the mall. :roll:

 

 

 

 

 

And as for the more 'mature' audiences in other MMOs, just look at some of the comments on gaming forums and the comments pages on youtube vids of 'Wow vS RS'...

I suppose Runescape would be the lesser of two evils. Compare these statements:

 

 

 

"I killed a few demons, got some cool equipment and sold it for a few million gp."

 

 

 

"I just killed 31 Level 101 Demons, got the Great Godsword of Gunthax, traded it for a Great Demon Mage Swordstaff of Air, which I then sold for more than the profit that I would get for my GGG, and got 3,106,534 gold pieces. I used this to level up my Rune Crafting skill, and now I'm number 5 in the whole world. IT'S NOT A GAME, IT'S MY LIFE!"

 

 

 

Do you get my point? It could be a life-taker-overer game where you buy stuff in real life to get stuff in the game, with an attached card and dice game, but the makers decided to make it a cool, not really very nerdy game which you get to KILL STUFF. People say it's nerdy, I say nothing and play it without anyone knowing. It doesn't change the way people see me, but if they knew they would see me as "The Computer Nerd". (Which they do, 100% in my IT exam...)

 

 

 

So, yeah. You could be out killing grannies with a gang and on 20 knives, or you could be on the computer sociolising and setting targets for yourself. You choose.

I must say one of the major reasons I love the way RS works is because it can be enjoyed on so many levels (not in-game!), from kids to adults. Mindlessly whacking at goblins can be a kid's perception of fun, yet to teenagers the thought of getting into a massive team and kicking something's butt for rares is quite a good one, and an adult may enjoy a quiet evening planting some crops and carrying on steadily woodcutting. You can enjoy the game in so many ways, at so many age/maturity levels. However, those who flame the game (I've been through it too lol, don't worry) perceive the game as cabbage graphics, full of idiots, and you spend your days cutting a tree in Lumbridge and killing Goblins.

 

 

 

And trust me, I've gotten far in a lot of the games whose players flame Runescape, and if they weren't so stuck up about their precious graphically perfect grindfest, they'd find that Runescape beats a LOT of games out there on gameplay and enjoyment - and now, with agreeable graphics to suit.

 

 

 

The reputation will never change, but it also doesn't matter.

Runescapes public opinion has dropped a lot. Some people know that I play at my school and I'm still popular..

 

 

 

Its just the idea of being in one place and doing the same thing for hours on end when the other kids are playing outside and having fun is what people make fun of it for..

 

 

 

- Rem.

 

:)

It was hailed as a great game back in classic, because frankly, the graphics in Classic wern't as bad as RS2 is now compared to other games. RSC was popular years ago because many people like the kiddy games that had bad graphics. Most also played it for the gamplay. Now, people expect more from games. They want good graphics, good gameplay, a good community, and good everything. They want only the highest gaming experience.

I suppose Runescape would be the lesser of two evils. Compare these statements:

 

 

 

"I killed a few demons, got some cool equipment and sold it for a few million gp."

 

 

 

"I just killed 31 Level 101 Demons, got the Great Godsword of Gunthax, traded it for a Great Demon Mage Swordstaff of Air, which I then sold for more than the profit that I would get for my GGG, and got 3,106,534 gold pieces. I used this to level up my Rune Crafting skill, and now I'm number 5 in the whole world. IT'S NOT A GAME, IT'S MY LIFE!"

 

 

 

Do you get my point? It could be a life-taker-overer game where you buy stuff in real life to get stuff in the game, with an attached card and dice game, but the makers decided to make it a cool, not really very nerdy game which you get to KILL STUFF. People say it's nerdy, I say nothing and play it without anyone knowing. It doesn't change the way people see me, but if they knew they would see me as "The Computer Nerd". (Which they do, 100% in my IT exam...)

 

 

 

So, yeah. You could be out killing grannies with a gang and on 20 knives, or you could be on the computer sociolising and setting targets for yourself. You choose.

 

 

 

What is a Gunthax, a swordstaff, a great demon mage swordstaff of air, and I'm pretty sure, no matter how crazy they are into a game, will ever say it's their life.

I suppose Runescape would be the lesser of two evils. Compare these statements:

 

 

 

"I killed a few demons, got some cool equipment and sold it for a few million gp."

 

 

 

"I just killed 31 Level 101 Demons, got the Great Godsword of Gunthax, traded it for a Great Demon Mage Swordstaff of Air, which I then sold for more than the profit that I would get for my GGG, and got 3,106,534 gold pieces. I used this to level up my Rune Crafting skill, and now I'm number 5 in the whole world. IT'S NOT A GAME, IT'S MY LIFE!"

 

 

 

Do you get my point? It could be a life-taker-overer game where you buy stuff in real life to get stuff in the game, with an attached card and dice game, but the makers decided to make it a cool, not really very nerdy game which you get to KILL STUFF. People say it's nerdy, I say nothing and play it without anyone knowing. It doesn't change the way people see me, but if they knew they would see me as "The Computer Nerd". (Which they do, 100% in my IT exam...)

 

 

 

So, yeah. You could be out killing grannies with a gang and on 20 knives, or you could be on the computer sociolising and setting targets for yourself. You choose.

 

 

 

What is a Gunthax, a swordstaff, a great demon mage swordstaff of air, and I'm pretty sure, no matter how crazy they are into a game, will ever say it's their life.

 

 

 

He was trying to make it sound as nerdy as possible I think, and you'd be suprised how many people see Runescape as basicly their life.

it has dropped a lot, but i know a few people at my school that still play it. as for being less popular than other games, look at the latest article on runescapes site! #1 most popular MMO in the world? the only thing i find funny is that one of the only differences between the so called "cool" games (such as halo 3) and the "uncool" games (W.o.W. and Runescape) is that one is a D&D based gameplay, whereas Halo is a First person shooter. You think there are some people in Runescape that make it their life? I know, off the top of my head, 2 guys at my school who play Halo 3 for up to 4 hours every night in order to get that next "Live" promotion. The stereotype about MMOs and roleplaying is absolutely sickening. :evil: But that is what it boils down to: the public perception, and their ignorant, unaccepting stereotypes. :wall:

People usually say the same reasons you cited: Too many young kids and the graphics are awful. Frankly, I would say it's the graphics, as there are young kids in many online games and it doesn't keep older players from liking a game.

 

 

 

Even with the new HD update, Runescape is a long way from competing with old games like Lineage II which had such better graphics 4-5 years ago.

 

 

 

I don't know if it's because Java limits graphic performance, but when I see that there are some games out there with incredible graphics, I do feel a little bad playing Runescape. It's as if we were playing in a game that would've been cool years ago; just not now.

 

 

 

Thank god the game content is creative, original and fun!

The fact is that when you play runescape, you come to a point that you decide if you like it or not. If you are a game nerd , you don't like f2P and wanna play P2P because you really play for the game itself. I'm still F2P because i play it for the community around the game. If you play it for the game itself and you don't become member , you start to hate it because you see that it's a very booring game.

 

 

 

I'm in a f2P clan. Most people in it are very funny people. Not the booring people ( mostly members ) who play rs for the game.

 

 

 

This is my opinion in this fact.