Old School RuneScape, the spinoff that took over even the original RuneScape’s player base, is sending fans down memory lane. Players of the series and new players are expressing their appreciation for the project, allowing them to relive the days of old exploring the world of Gielinor.
It’s also a testament to how some popular games just stick around, with Old School RuneScape boasting a 200,00 concurrent players label back in November 2023. However, while fans are praising the title, it also will not be copying original RuneScape content 1:1.
Old School RuneScape by Jagex will Revamp Some Classic Content
The Defender of Varrock quest line is an iconic story in RuneScape lore, where Zemouregal’s undead army invades and fights against the Avarrocka knights. PCGamesn spoke with senior narrative designer Ed Pilkington regarding the new content which dropped on February 21. The conversation included asking him how the team chooses quests to be added to Old School RuneScape and how they decide the changes it may require.
The changes are necessary to ensure the game runs as smoothly as possible. Given the age of the original RuneScape, there is room for improvement in certain areas. Defender of Varrock is the third quest that has been ported to the spinoff, but the first that the team has remade. Regarding the changes, Ed stated,
Going in we knew changes would need to be made, but the key thing for us was that the quest needed to still be immediately recognizable as Defender of Varrock.
He went on to say that the team wished to stay as close to the original as possible, so as not to lose the essence. Their goal was not to change the Varrock quest line but to make it the best possible version.
Some Content will be Entirely Removed from The Game
The finale of the Mahjarrat saga, Ritual of the Mahjarrat, will unfortunately not be coming to Old School RuneScape. Pilkington states that hindsight allows the team to now pick and choose which quests didn’t work the best, making them unsuitable to port.
He states the Ritual of Mahjarrat will be excluded as there are some story elements in Old School RuneScape that it would not work with. He promised that the game would get a new, unique finale at the end of that storyline.
The omission of certain content can be pegged to outdated technologies, and having to fit older storylines to modern sensibilities. Many fans are flocking to Old School RuneScape not just for a dose of nostalgia, but to also see how the team is handling new content tweaking things from the original to create a unique experience. With the omission of the Ritual of Mahjarrat, it will be interesting to see what new ending the team develops for the questline.
Have you already completed the Defender of Varrock storyline? Let us know in the comments below.
