jagex-game-studios
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Test your luck with RuneScape's Squeal of Fortune
It's time to step right up and spin the... squeal? Jagex Games Studio, creator of the ever-popular browser-based title RuneScape, announced in a painfully punny press release today that a new minigame known as Squeal of Fortune has been added to the game. As anyone familiar with the game's real-life namesake may have guessed, the minigame is a game of chance that involves spinning a wheel for fabulous prizes. Of course, RuneScape puts its own twist on the classic game show by somehow involving the squishing of goblins. We're not sure we want to know. At any rate, players can win all kinds of prizes from Squeal of Fortune, ranging "from valuable day-to-day resources to legendary and powerful weapons," so what are you waiting for? Head on over to RuneScape's official site and go for a spin. [Source: Jagex Games Studio press release]
Jagex CEO predicts the imminent demise of physical game retailers
Brick-and-mortar outlets, be warned: your days are numbered. Or so says Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard, who told an audience at BAFTA Question Time that physical retailers were living on borrowed time -- and that before long, such stores would be "museum pieces." Gerhard says that these retailers, such as UK's GAME, will be gone within a decade. "The writing has been on the wall for quite some time," he said. "I think, 10 years out from now, we'll be talking about [physical] retail nostalgically, as a museum piece." He sees this as a positive development for the industry, saying that retailers take a slice of profits away from studios and make it hard for indie games to succeed. "People are still playing games. They're still doing business; they're just doing it in a different place. If you don't adapt you die. It's as simple as that," he said.
The Daily Grind: What's the highest sub fee you'd pay?
While recording the podcast last week, Rubi, Justin, and I discussed RuneScape's subscription fee, which is soon to increase to a whopping... $8. Eight bucks doesn't seem like much to me, but I remember when Ultima Online increased its monthly fee from $10 to $13 -- players were pretty upset. "How dare an old game ask for more money?" seems to be a common refrain. But if the game is good enough, why wouldn't we pay what it's worth to us, no matter its age? Consider Fallen Earth, which offers, as its highest subscription tier, a $30-per-month plan. I might pay $30 a month for a really awesome MMO (or to resurrect one I'm fond of). But what's the limit? $50? $100? What's the highest sub fee you'd pay -- and what would you expect out of the game for that price? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
MV Guide: January 23-29, 2012
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
God save the green: Deal makes Jagex a US company
Jagex is trading up the Union Jack for the Stars and Stripes, as controlling interest in the studio has changed hands to a US firm. Insight Venture Partners, a venture capital firm from the US, completed a deal last year to increase its ownership to 55% of the UK-based company. Previously, the firm had 35% interest in Jagex. Now that the scales have tipped to the new ownership, this technically makes Jagex a US-controlled company and has US investors leading its board of directors. While revenues were up 2% for Jagex in 2011, both operating and net profits were significantly down from the previous financial year. Jagex is a major player in the MMO free-to-play market, with RuneScape, Transformers Universe, and 8Realms as part of its project portfilio. Develop reports that the controlling interest was made possible by Jagex co-founder Andrew Gower selling off his ownership claims to the firm for $115.65 million. As part of the deal, Jagex paid $3.85 million in expenses. The studio will remain in Cambridge while its controlling firm is in NYC.
Free for All: Jagex answers more questions about nuking bots
Recently Jagex, maker of the mega-popular browser-based MMO RuneScape, bragged about the success of its Bot Nuking Day, an event of epic proportions that promised to rid the game of the thousands of bots that plague legitimate players. The proof is in the pudding, as they say, and any long-term player can now tell you that the effort seems to have worked. But for how long? Players have been promised a solution for a long time, so what makes Jagex think that the recently nuked will stay nuked? I wanted to know more, and Daniel Clough, VP of RuneScape, was nice enough to answer several of my questions about the event. Did the nuking work as well as the team hoped? Will the bots stay dead? It didn't work in the Terminator, so why now? Click past the cut for all of the answers!
Free for All: Why RuneScape is almost perfect for me, not bots
As I write this, I am eagerly awaiting the morning and the Bot Nuking Day in RuneScape. Hopefully, this means that "98 percent" of the bots in game will be busted, destroyed, banned and "nuked." Of course, I can't say that I have ever met a bot. For all I know, they are a friendly bunch, restricted only by the crippling desire to grind out items and gold. Poor fellows; this is going to hurt to watch. Other than the bots (who otherwise seem like charming individuals,) I enjoy myself in the game. In fact, I love the game. There are few titles that reside in that warm spot in my gut (I keep my heart there), but RuneScape is one of them. If you'd like to skip the article so you can post snarky comments about how horrible Jagex is and to claim I'm not actually having fun, you have my permission. Otherwise, click past the cut!
Jagex offering last chance to sign up for RuneScape Classic service
Get ready, nostalgia fans, as Jagex has a treat for you (assuming you also like RuneScape, of course). If you've ever heard your clanmates talk wistfully about three-hit combat and other aspects of the good ol' days, you can now experience them for yourself, thanks to RuneScape Classic. You'll need to hurry, though, as Jagex is only allowing new-player registration on the throw-back servers for a limited time as part of the browser title's 10-year anniversary celebration. Make sure you log in between Thursday, September 15th and Thursday, September 29th to ensure that you can access RuneScape Classic in the future, as this is the last time Jagex will be allowing new players to use the service. You'll also want to collect the unique skillcape emote and the classic cape and hood items since they'll be unobtainable after the conclusion of this event. As always, the RuneScape website has full details. [Source: Jagex press release]
Transformers MMO to become a reality
The time has come for Autobots and Decepticons to roll out into the MMO world! As of this morning, we've heard news that Hasbro has entered into a contract agreement with Jagex (most commonly known for its popular free-to-play title, RuneScape) to develop a brand-new game based on the incredibly popular Transformers IP. While details on just what players can expect from the Transformers MMO are still scarce at this point, the release states that the developers are aiming to launch the game sometime in 2012. Will this also be a free-to-play title, considering Jagex's experience? Will this be geared more toward children than adults? Will we be able to build our own super-awesome Transformers or just play as iconic characters? At this point it's all up in the air, but rest assured we'll keep our ears open for more news.
RuneScape March update schedule revealed
Lest you think this week is all about exclusive GDC news and the launch day of a little fantasy title that you might've heard of, Jagex has given us a heads up regarding its planned update schedule for RuneScape. The month of March will see several game tweaks, and first up is the Elemental Workshop IV quest and the Artisan's Workshop (which will bring an update to the game's smithing skill). Bonus XP is coming as well, with an entire weekend devoted to leveling up twice as fast (or half as long, however you'd like to look at it). Either way, mark your calendars for March 11th through March 13th. Finally, Jagex will be updating the Ring of Wealth, trolls and Trollheim visuals, and adding a new Clockwork Syringe quest that features "home insurance claims, a hazing interrogation, long drops, vengeful seagulls, Barrel Busters, and a boatload of zombio-mechanical madness," according to a Jagex press release. Head to the official RuneScape website for further details.
War of Legends celebrates Chinese new year with prizes
Game developer Jagex is perhaps best known for its popular browser MMO RuneScape, which is still going strong after over 10 years of development. Just over a year ago, the company made a move into the MMORTS market with its free-to-play browser game War of Legends. Last month, the game celebrated its first anniversary by giving players a free birthday cake filled with items to speed up construction, resource gathering and other parts of the game. With that celebration barely over, War of Legends has launched head-first into yet another event with the Chinese New Year. As War of Legends is based heavily on ancient Chinese mythology, the Chinese New Year is a big time of year for the game. In keeping with a traditional Chinese theme, Jagex will be giving away red envelopes containing prizes to players every day for the next two weeks. Each envelope contains in-game items valued by the company at up to $20 US, and players have the opportunity to find more prizes by invading the Wildlands during the two-week celebration period. For those players who want something simpler, Jagex will also be running some limited-time daily tasks during the Chinese New Year with a variety of helpful rewards.
War of Legends celebrating first anniversary with lots of cake
It's time for a War of Legends-style birthday party and you're invited (you'll also be the one getting the presents, in case you were wondering). Jagex's browser-based MMORTS is celebrating its first anniversary by giving away a limited edition in-game item and hosting various parties and community events. Each War of Legends player will receive a birthday cake that includes several items that speed up construction, assist in resource gathering, and equip your armies. You can also find more birthday cakes (filled with random reward items) in the wilderness over the next week, and there is no limit to the number you can acquire. Finally, the Jagex team is hosting a series of land-grab events as well as high level sub-cities waiting to be invaded and plundered for their valuable resources. War of Legends is free-to-play, and Jagex executive Oliver Kern says this isn't just a marketing term. "A number of our high reputation players have never spent a dollar and are still with us today, leading our biggest and best alliances. In War of Legends free-to-play really means free-to-play," he said.
Jagex offering fans a chance to shape the future of RuneScape
Outspoken fans of RuneScape (and more specifically, the game's former Wilderness implementation) are being given a unique opportunity to shape the future of the title. Jagex has just announced a public vote to determine whether the old mechanics will be restored. "We have released a host of new content which provides a comparable PvP experience to the old Wilderness, and mechanics to allow increased trade limits with long term friends but we are still regularly told by players that they want more. We want to find out whether the passionate voices we hear on this topic are truly representative of entire community or just a vocal minority. If the vast majority of our players support the campaign then we will restore these features to the game as quickly as possible," says Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard in a press released dated yesterday. So, whether you want to score one for virtual worlds with consequences or you'd prefer your online games (or at least RuneScape) be safe havens and relatively free of risk, Jagex is offering you the chance to shape an MMO that is quite rare, if not unprecedented.
Rise and Shiny recap: RuneScape
This week I decided to take a deeper look at RuneScape, one of the web's largest free MMORPGs. I've played it off and on over the years but thought it was the perfect time to take a deeper look. After all, one of my fellow writers is currently taking a look at the game and its developers, so why not round off the discussion with a good solid week of playing? Really, I could have played it for a much shorter time and still come to the same conclusion. From the very beginning, the essence of RuneScape shines through. But what about the community? Isn't RuneScape a "kid's game?" Isn't it filled with 14-year-old boys named some version of "Pwnzer?" What about the graphics? Aren't they pathetically unrealistic? How does that affect immersion in the game? All I can say is read on! I was not only glad to see my gut feeling about the game being reinforced, but excited to see a game that is doing things that no others come close to doing.
Jagex Games Studio wins patent infringement case
Jagex Games Studio, renowned as the maker of RuneScape, has announced its success in securing a non-infringement judgment in a case brought against it by PalTalk Holdings. PalTalk initiated patent infringement legal proceedings against Jagex (as well as Activision-Blizzard, Sony, Turbine, and NCsoft) after being awarded a settlement in a similar claim against Microsoft in 2009. PalTalk claimed that Jagex had infringed on U.S. patents relating to server group messaging systems and further alleged that it had suffered "in excess of tens of millions of dollars" in damages. Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard didn't pull any punches when expressing his displeasure at the perceived frivolity of the claim. "It is exceedingly unfortunate that the U.S. legal system can force a company with a sole presence in Cambridge, UK to incur a seven digit expense and waste over a year of management time on a case with absolutely no merit," he said. "This anomaly, which could easily break smaller studios, doesn't happen in the UK since you can pursue frivolous litigants for the costs of such claims," Gerhard stated.
Jagex announces first ever RuneFest for RuneScape players
When it comes to free-to-play MMOs, many of the newer generation of gamers cut their teeth in Jagex's web-based fantasy game, RuneScape. Thanks to so many players jumping in, having fun, and telling friends, their playerbase has grown steadily over the years until they are now one of the powerhouse companies of the F2P space. That's why we're sure that RuneScape players will be interested to hear that Jagex is planning on throwing one hell of a party as their way of saying thanks to their community, in the form of RuneFest 2010. Slated for Saturday, August 28th, in London, RuneFest 2010 will offer long-time fans of the game a chance to interact with the crew from Jagex through panels, events -- and over a few drinks, we're sure! While the specific details such as venue, pricing, and a full schedule of events are still in the planning stages, they have mentioned live events, panels, competitions, and promise that attendees will be "privy to an exclusive gameplay experience on-site that will be like nothing experienced before or again outside the RuneFest walls." For those interested, there's an email sign-up over on the shiny new site they've created just for RuneFest. Players also have the option of signing up for first crack at early tickets, which are expected to go on sale later this month.
RuneScape art director on the Zanaris redesign
RuneScape is a game with a long history and one that's attracted millions of devoted fans over the years. That said, we think most would concede that RuneScape was getting a bit long in the graphical tooth. Improving RuneScape's graphics seems to be a priority for Jagex Game Studios from what we've read in the latest dev diary by the title's art director Mod Joe. He writes about the redesign of the fairy area Zanaris, originally 'just a standard brown dungeon' which was later revamped to be blue, yet still didn't convey the 'magical' look the designers wanted. The first dev blog on the Zanaris improvements (of which two more are to follow) focuses on the concepts that needed to be re-worked, from the look of the fairies themselves to the environment they populate. Have a look at Mod Joe's development diary for more on the ways Jagex has worked to improve the look of RuneScape.
