Development Diaries |
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On the sixth June 2006 Jagex released a brand new and exciting update to RuneScape in the form of the Development Diaries. The diaries were implemented to allow the RuneScape community to see just how much work goes into updates for the game. This ranges from the introduction of a whole new skill right down to the minor details of creating a new weapon.
Throughout the history of the game, there are generally complaints from the users whenever Jagex releases a new update. This could be one player making a big deal about a slight imbalance to the combat triangle caused by a new melee weapon, a quest that many perceived as a sheer bore or just about anything else found that a few people aren’t pleased with. This ultimately makes Jagex less willing to continue developing new weapons and the suchlike. With the new Development Diaries, Jagex hopes to show players just how much hard work the staff puts forth to make the game great. That is not to say that Jagex doesn’t want to receive feedback from players, and they themselves can be quoted as saying they trawl through the forums after an update to look for player reactions; however Jagex creates these updates to make the game better for the RuneScape community. Constructive criticism is a positive thing for the game, but the majority of the community finds unnecessary ‘ranting’ counterproductive and actually does more damage than good. An important factor for Jagex was to judge the reaction of RuneScape’s most dedicated fansites and their reactions to the Development Diaries. The first Development diary released was an in-depth look at the upcoming mini-game, Impetuous Impulses. This mini-game, under the control of Mod Chihiro, took an impressive twenty-eight weeks to develop. Although this mini-game was only intended to be a small update, it shows just how much attention to detail goes into the creation of new updates to the game. The diary itself is written in a style that is both informative and comic, with hilarious quotes from Jagex mods such as Mod Chiriro’s "Ninja and Dragon [imps], just ‘cos they're cool." By writing articles in this style, they have appeared to be much better taken in by the RuneScape community, who, for the most part, have done nothing but sing Jagex’s praises for this update. In terms of the mini-game itself, it took a team of fourteen Jagex staff members, including input from both Andrew and Paul, to make the mini-game work. In fact, so much development went into the project that the actual game engine had to be changed for it to be possible, Andrew himself made this change to the interior of the game. The majority of RuneScape players can probably be accredited as being ignorant to the amount of work that Andrew actually does. However, it is a very positive thing to see that even after all these years, he is still willing to work on all aspects of his game. During the process of creating this new update, it appears through the diary that Jagex uncovered many problems along the way. What is most interesting about this fact is the way which Jagex turned these problems to their advantage and allowed them to implement a whole host of updates surrounding what appears to be one small mini-game. Impetuous Impulses, with its focus on small creatures, gave Jagex the chance to apply some real detail. Imps cannot be expected to drop items that are larger than themselves. This would give players scope to ridicule the game and once again damage the morale of the hardworking staff behind the project. These factors led to the involvement of Paul Gower, another senior game designer. Again, I doubt many players would have realized before the diaries that Paul was so involved in the finer details of the game, such as monster drops. The most important thing in any update for RuneScape is the reaction of its community. RuneScape attracts millions of players worldwide and therefore has many dedicated communities and fansite’s. The general reaction to this update throughout the RuneScape community was a positive one, with many players and fansite members praising Jagex for their hard work. That is not to say that some players did not find criticisms; however, it can not be expected that everyone will be pleased in such a large community. One player on the RuneScape forums found the time to write a lengthy post condemning the manga style cartoons and bad jokes. The main problem here was that, even after Jagex had received many positive comments about the cartoons, they still felt obliged to remove them at one players request in order to please them The opinion of this one character is particularly important due to the reaction of RuneVillagers and Tip.It members who felt this would be a good way for Jagex to combat the whiners within the game. Those people who always complain, no matter how much work has gone into the update. Members of RuneScape Community also felt that the so called whiners should read the article to appreciate just how long a small mini-game takes to implement and how much work goes into such and update. Willowguy from Rune Village can be quoted as saying I hope less people will whine now; making a game is not that easy," a fitting quote to sum up the reaction to the game at its current stage. RuneScape is an ever changing game with an ever changing community. In the past, people would praise Jagex after a new update, no matter what it was. Recently, a growing number of people have been endlessly voicing a lack of satisfaction. This update provides an insight into the world of Jagex and the game itself. The general consensus is that this update is a positive move for the game and will hopefully end the relentless whining of some players. |
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Written By: Richboi0 Edited By: Knux Coded By: Gamestar |