Runescape Game Play

I was replying to a post on a Runescape fansite forum about a player who had died during the Monkey Madness quest, he was mortified that he had lost his items and could not get back to his grave to recover his items, his gripe was not the value of his items but the fact that Jagex did not allow him sufficient time to recover his items from his grave before it dissapeared.

As you can imagine he met with quite a lot of hostility from other players about the fact that it is a hard quest for low level players and not being able to recover your items was a risk of the quest, it then got me thinking.

Most of the players on the forum were long term players, they remember the days when losing items was an everyday possibility, a stroll in the wilderness, extinguishing your lamp in a dungeon or not concentrating when fishing could part you from your items, the days when death meant some vulture would have a treat at your expense.

Things have changed now, death is less common, if you die you can collect your items from your grave in 99% of Runescape locations, Runescape has become idiot proof, danger is safely tucked away in little corners with warnings about everything from entering caves without a light and the removal of predatory randoms.

If a player has not been subject to the dangers of Runescape, if they are not aware that their safety was their responsibilty and trust in the provision of signs and warnings by Jagex for their protection then why should they expect to be in a situation where they can lose items.

Jagex have made a generation of players who expect to be hand fed and pampered on their Runescape career, it is not the fault of new players that they are upset when (In their eyes) errors occur in the game that force them to lose wealth, Jagex have made the game too easy and safe, players should still be taught that their safety is their responsibilty, I made a post at the beginning of this blog (here is a link for your information) about people taking responsibility for their actions, its a bit dated but the lesson is still very relevant.

I am not saying that Jagex have made mistakes, their hand has been forced by players who buy RS gold (real world trading) and the people who supply the gold, I do think the issue of accepting responsibility should be handed back to the player.