Jagex, the developers of Old School Runescape have been working for several months on a new skill for their MMORPG. The ability was intended to significantly enhance the gaming experience. It was up to the community to vote on the implementation.
What had happened? The Old School Runescape community was allowed to vote in a survey on whether the new skill “Warding” would be introduced to the MMORPG or not. At least 75% of the participants had to vote in favor of the skill for it to be added to the game.
The community’s interest in “Warding” was enormous. With 125,147 survey participants, the vote was the largest ever.
In the end, the votes stood at a ratio of 66.4% (in favor) to 33.6% (against), and that was the end of the new skill.
What is “Warding” supposed to be? The skill “Warding” would have allowed players to craft magical equipment. Until now, players could only buy or obtain magical equipment as drops. The other two types of armor (leather and metal), however, can be crafted.
The skill “Warding” was intended to fill this gap.
Furthermore, “Warding” would have meant a change in game balance and would significantly enhance the mages. New rewards, armors, and weapons would also have been introduced into the game.
Why was the new content even voted against? Old School Runescape (also known as 2007scape) is modeled after the 17-year-old RuneScape from its early days and was released in 2013 at the request of fans. The game still has the old graphics and the earlier, clunky mechanics of the MMORPG classic.
Consequently, for some players, nostalgia comes first, and any innovations or changes could go against the very essence of Old School Runescape.
Reactions on the topic: The topic was picked up in the general Reddit for Games in a own thread and is being fervently discussed there. The post currently has 547 upvotes and 249 comments (as of July 25, 1:06 PM).
The Redditor JoJolion writes: “This is pretty much the end for any new skill for Old School Runescape. It’s nearly impossible to get 75% of the votes in favor.”
KingGumboot says: “I mean, people play Old School Runescape for a specific reason. I don’t play Old School Runescape anymore, but I would have probably been against it if content from Runescape 3 came to Old School Runescape.”
Teath123 writes: “I’ve never seen a community so actively vote against new content. I can remember from my Runescape days that players were actually looking for new skills and generally new things.”
