For 12 years now, I have been playing RuneScape on and off. I was introduced to the game when I was 13 years old by my good friend at a birthday party. I remember the events leading to it very clearly. While we were waiting for everybody to turn up, before heading to Dave & Buster’s (where the party was going to be held), he told us that he wants to show us a new interesting game that he had already began to play.

After a few weeks, my brother and I opened our new RuneScape Accounts.

A Summarized Background of RuneScape

For those who do not know; RuneScape is a game by Jagex made for Java. This game was designed and programmed by Andrew Gower and was helped by his brother Paul Gower. It was originally released in beta version back in 2001.

Nevertheless, the first version I played was RuneScape 2, which originally was reserved for paying members from 1st December 2003 to March 2004. The game was released as RuneScape whereas the original version taking the name RuneScape Classic.

Since then, the game has undergone a bit of transformation since I began playing it which is 2005. Actually it is unrecognizable in terms respect as well as honestly, I am not able to keep with with updates and generally decline to adjust. As for me, I am still playing the RuneScape 07, which is considered the Old School RuneScape.

Nonetheless, here’s a brief history of my version, to avoid confusion.

15th February 2013, Jagex took a survey requesting those who had registered if they should open a different version of the game from 2007 August. It is important to note that the game version was launched for members on 22nd February 2013 and became permanently free on 19th February 2015.

This is the version that I keep on returning to time to time, regardless of the many times I think I am logging out for the last time. But why do I keep on returning?

How I Play RuneScape

Well, I think the answer is a combination of several factors relating to the game. Often people call this game OSRS. one of the things I like about this game is its quest system; although I never complete questions not unless I am recording for my excitingly unsuccessful YouTube channel. The thing I prefer doing is skilling (which is training non-combat skills).

Why skilling – One may ask? This is because it is relaxing and mindless. In other words, there is no fear of dying or losing items, like it is when questing. I love playing games as a way to relax, and therefore not stressing myself.

During my high school freshman’s year, I was with a friend (though lost touch after I relocated a few years later), who told me that she plays RuneScape to escape the stresses of life. This is something I agreed with fully.

Additionally, being relaxing and mindless, it is great for me for multitasking. What does this mean? Well, in my experience, I have noticed that I function better when I focus my brain my brain on work when doing something else that is stress-free in the background. For example, as I am writing this document, the TV is switched ON and it is right in front of me. Honestly, I am not watching any program, but somehow it is helping me concentrate on what I am actually writing.

My favorite skill in RuneScape is farming. This is something that confuses many people. I still remember the day when farming was introduced into the game. That day after logging into the game, I got a message from my friend who introduced me to the game saying that he was already at level 3.

For many people, the exciting news quickly gave way to frustration, because farming actually forced people to wait. However, what people did not know is that for most crops, you can pay the farmer to watch over your crops, which allowed you to go and do something else. Furthermore, for me, I love the option where you have to wait. Remember, farming perfectly fits into my needs, which allows me to have minor distractions while trying to get other works done. The days when I was still in high school or college, I was always training my farming, while at the same time trying to study or do my assignments. One of the ways to speed things up is to buy Runescape gold and you can do so if you visit this website.

I Kept Being Pulled Back In

It was not long after my graduation that I stopped playing the game through my original account. To me, it was my last time. I was generally busy trying to do my freelance work to think about the game at the same time. But then I began working on my YouTube Channel in my spare time. It is not successful, but that is beside the point. I opened a new account with the intent of recording myself questing, which was rather a new field to how I usually play. Nonetheless, in between recording sessions, I reverted to what I used to do.

I created time to play even when I was still busy doing freelance work because I have convinced myself that it is work itself (remember, I do not make cash through YouTube and recording videos is not even close to real work). I do lie to myself as a way to protect myself from feeling bad about how the game is taking my time.

Even now, I find myself taking long breaks from OSRS, even if I have a YouTube channel. I thought that I had stopped playing the game for good because I am still playing a lot of other games for my YouTube channel. Of course, I do create RuneScape videos but they take long for me to record. They are not effective to make, because I do not give room to ten-minute play. For this reason, I end up recording the whole quest between each video.

However, I had to start applying for graduate schools. For this reason, I had to write essays and sturdy for the GRE. Guess what I did next (I will give you three guesses). That is right! I reverted back to playing the game while editing an essay and reading from my study guide.

Summary

It seems like no matter what I do, I will always end up going back to playing RuneScape, even though I gave up trying to keep up with all the updates the game has a long time ago. For me, it is easier to go back and plant some watermelons while reading a book or simply writing something.

There is something enjoyable about RuneScape as something that is continuous in my life for the time it has been. The game has been my friend from the time I was thirteen years old, and thanks to the OSRS version, it is close enough to the version I began playing with friends back when I was a child. This is a game that I made to be my one and only online friend, and as I am writing this document, I am actually missing it. Also, it reminds me of the good old days with childhood friends.

So, this is what RuneScape is to me and the reason I keep coming back to it. It is relaxing, safe, and friendly to me.

Looking to help grow the community? Print some waterproof stickers of your character or favourite boss to stick around town, and do your part to increase the Old School RuneScape playerbase!