Runescapism

he grand world of Runescape. It is the very essence of life for many of the players, we just simply cannot do without it. Without Runescape where would we be, flash games on random sites? Like that would be fun. It has everything that every boy or girl could ever wish for - the magical ridges of the landscape, extravagant prairies in which cattle dwell upon, phantasmal realms of the dead, solitary islands filled with the majestic power of Runes, and to top it off, the whole thing is filled with total nubs.

Now, being a self proclaimed "Runescaper", I have to admit that I'm quite addicted to the term "nub", "noob" or "froob". Since when, and why the hell do we even use the term? Go out there and ask who haven't used it, if someone tells you that he never has, he's probably not telling the truth. After that, ask them for the definition of noob, they'll often tell you that it means a low level player, but they're also wrong there; it means new players. So technically, a 3 year old account that hasn't been played on since it got off the noob island isn't noob but people just call them noobs for the sake being able to call them noobs.

You read the title, you got a reason for reading an article, why am I going on and on about noobs? Well, it is because Runescape is supposedly the game that "nailed the term noob" as the individual X says. Most MMORPG players hate, especially ones that play a certain game (not naming any names here), our game along with us and what's more, most of us don't have the faintest idea about it. You go out there and tell a guy in another game that you play Runescape, and see the reaction; if you listen carefully enough, you might just be able to hear your "Reputation" going down to zero*. If you're cool-headed, you would be replying that you don't care about your reputation, but then it's not a great feeling to know that one more person in the world doesn't like you.

So why in the name of Eros do these people hate us? Obviously you will have no idea at the moment, so take the perfect strand of completely random words below in which one of the anti-monkey players of a certain game (what are they, fishies?) explains why he hates Runescape:

Runescape sսcks the people sսck the paying sսcks and the living sսcks

Now see what an admin at a gaming forum posts in his newbie FAQ:

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being Runescape, what is (Name of MMORPG)?
12,715.

Those were condensed versions, mind. To make you moodier by reading this article, let's look at the aspects of Runescape which make these people think that it's so stupid.

The customer service and the community of Runescape aren't exactly its strong points. They're often criticized for being ignored severely (and they are, compared to some games). Strangely enough, there was a time when the developers and the players actually talked together, living in harmony, but that's long gone now. When some people start Runescape, they say that they are disgusted with some of the players; that is perfectly reasonable, as quite a few of my old friends and I share the same view. Even I, the master of ignorance, get upset by some newbies. Sometimes, when playing a game of Castle Wars, there are saddos who try to ruin their team deliberately just because they like the other game god, evangelism in Runescape there. I would say that the problem with these disgusted people is not the fact they get disgusted easily, but that they stop trying right away, just ditching everything, and go off telling others that this game is rubbish.

Every single person to whom I try to introduce the game mentions the graphics. It is generally agreed that - even amongst the Runescapers - the graphics of the game is totally "different" from some other games. I quit the game once because of the graphics, but as you get to play more, you start to understand that graphics alone isn't everything in a game. The quality that is more important than the surface of the game is a warm, welcoming community, a special quirky feeling that you get only when you play the game, and above all, the number of combinations which you can use to build up your character. Even though Runescape might lack some of these (severely for the community part), I haven't seen a game in which you can be anything from a product of a minigame to a hard-working fisherman, correct me if I'm wrong.

Do you feel the same way as the people who think Runescape is a waste of time? From what they say, I'm apparently a lowlife with an IQ that is "lower then that of a monkey". To all you Runescapers out there, look who's talking, sitting inside a partition of what a real house is - at least I got a nice little account in a real game.
That's it from me for this month, for the rest of December, I'll probably be counting monkeys that say no to teamwork, thanks for reading.

* Mostly because they tell you so