I tried to fight for RuneScape's sharksuit, but Jagex were having none of it - "it's for the greater good"

Consider the shark jumped

"We privation to enactment Runescape backmost connected the map," subordinate manager of plan Ryan Philpott says. But, reader, I request you to cognize the outgo of this metaphorical cartography. Over the years, the Monty Python-infused medieval satellite of RuneScape has expanded successful galore directions. It's gained caller landmasses, professions, raids, and characters, but besides galore many galore odder cosmetics. Some of them, similar the delightful sharksuit, locomotion a distinctly non-medieval path.

Philpott says these are a problem. The meanie.

For the archetypal 10 years, Philpott explains, RuneScape had a wide style, "you could spot it's precise medieval fantasy". However, arsenic Jagex leaned into monetisation, they introduced a batch of features that muddied those waters. Philpott points to the sharksuit, a cosmetic added successful 2015 that could initially lone beryllium acquired done Treasure Hunter, a microtransaction-funded event.

Image credit: Jagex

Now, I similar the Shark outfit, I deliberation immoderate cosmetic that turns your sportfishing animation into a shark with legs scoffing down food is simply a bully thing. But I don't play RuneScape, truthful my sentiment connected this substance counts for nought. Philpott takes a antithetic line, saying the squad should person asked "Does this acceptable successful the game?" earlier messing with its much consecutive medieval phantasy theme.

"Maybe successful the marketplace astatine the time, the thought of dressing up arsenic a shark sounds chill successful concept, but is it chill for RuneScape?," Philpott continues, shaming my emotion for the sharksuit with each passing word. "And implicit the past 10 years there's loads of those small things. There are quality cosmetics successful the satellite that don't lucifer the satellite anymore. We privation to crushed everything again."

There are players telling Jagex that the crippled "'doesn't consciousness similar my RuneScape anymore'", Philpott says. "We privation to beryllium the RuneScape we ever were. Getting this crippled backmost to precisely what we consciousness successful our heart, is precisely wherever I privation to go."

It's an unusual occupation for Jagex, considering the developer already has a mentation of its MMO that appeals precisely to the subordinate who wants the older crippled flavour: Old School RuneScape. "It's often spoken astir arsenic 'You shouldn't play RuneScape due to the fact that of X, Y, and Z, you should play Old School," Philpott says. "But Runescape is an astonishing game."

If Jagex tin 'declutter' RuneScape, arsenic the precocious published roadmap calls it, Philpott thinks the benefits of the classical MMO volition radiance through. "You don't person an astonishing plot if it's afloat of weeds. But if you region the weeds, it's similar 'Damn, look astatine this'," Philpott says. "Making an MMO contiguous is nigh connected impossible. You merchandise an MMO, adjacent if you spent 5 years making it, players privation to play 16 hours a day, right? They privation to implicit the contented wrong the archetypal fewer weeks. We person 25 years of content. This is simply a full bundle that nary 1 other successful the manufacture is offering."

Image credit: Jagex

This satellite decluttering is conscionable 1 of galore changes Jagex are readying for the coming year. The squad are besides modernising combat, updating the UI, overhauling the creation assets of antithetic regions connected the satellite map, and opening the process of balancing the crippled to bring everything backmost into kilter aft 25 years of expansion. It's an ambitious plan, particularly arsenic they mean to merchandise caller contented alongside each of these updates to older material.

I did inquire however they've landed connected what clip play fans mean by 'My RuneScape'. After all, surely it's antithetic for each player. A subordinate who archetypal started playing and enjoying RuneScape 25 years agone volition person a precise antithetic mentation of the crippled they're missing compared to idiosyncratic 15 years ago, oregon adjacent 5 years ago. A subordinate mightiness emotion the disparate clash of medieval phantasy and fantastical phantasy that comes from a quality successful a sharksuit talking to idiosyncratic dressed arsenic a knight. In cutting that worldly retired of the game, could they hazard alienating players?

"It's tricky to determine," Philpott says. "We've been RuneScape 3 since 2013. We've been RuneScape 3 longer than we haven't. Finding the close clip play is hard and we mightiness get it incorrect to immoderate degree, but we privation to springiness it a bloody bully shot." He goes connected to constituent retired that erstwhile the squad floated the anticipation of removing Treasure Hunter, the microtransactions strategy added to RuneScape successful 2014, the video positing the alteration reached further and was received much positively than thing the squad has enactment retired before. Jagex judge determination are radical who privation to rejoin RuneScape oregon could observe it but lone if they marque those changes.

And, to radical similar me, who deliberation a sharksuit is beauteous nifty, Philpott has immoderate hard words: "Some of the changes we're going to marque mightiness marque immoderate of our existent players little than happy, but it's for the greater bully of the crippled agelong term. It's conscionable the quality of change. We've shied distant from that successful caller years, but agelong word [it hurts the game] and we privation RuneScape to past different 25 years. We privation to person that 50th twelvemonth anniversary."

Sorry, shark lovers, I tried. I truly did.