The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has been highly disruptive to the entertainment industry. According to a 2,500-person survey put out by the Game Developers Conference ahead of its digital-only summer convention next month, one third of developers said COVID-19 led to delays. One recent high-profile delay has been Double Fine's Psychonauts 2, which was given a new release window during Microsoft's Xbox Series X showcase Thursday. In the midst of this environment, Jagex is hoping to offer its players something to keep themselves entertained with RuneScape's Desperate Measures update.
Desperate Measures is the latest part of RuneScape's Elder Gods questline, which has been in development since 2014. The overall story has existed for some time, but each individual piece has to have its design greenlit by stakeholders before beginning development so that high-level lore can be disseminated in "accessible and interesting" ways. Game ZXC talked with Jagex Lead Designer David Osborne, Senior Games Designer Tim Fletcher, and Lead Content Developer James Crowther about how RuneScape is driven by fans, and how work on Desperate Measures has been affected by world events.
This Desperate Measures update, which received its official trailer today, was being discussed during the design process for its predecessor Desperate Times. Its place on the development schedule has been "shuffled around" due to other projects like the addition of RuneScape's newest skill Archaeology in March, according to Crowther. That meant Jagex underwent the new quest's development once the pandemic was in full swing, which was "less than ideal."
"Creating content is an art, and that sort of creativity really benefits from having people around you to bounce ideas off of," Crowther said. "Whilst Zoom is perfectly functional, you don't get quite the same connection with people and that makes it trickier to convey ideas."
The stress of working through a global pandemic, while handling familial responsibilities in a difficult work environment, has led to development issues according to Crowther. There have been "hiccups" as a result of some information not translating due to coworkers not being in the same room, similarly described by Jason Canam for Finish Line Games' Skully as that team finished its polish and bug-testing phase over Discord. However, the Jagex developers are pleased with what they've been able to accomplish thanks to an "adaptable" staff, and there is a plan in place to do a lot more.
Osborne, who has overseen the rebirth of RuneScape since it transitioned from the Java-based Old School RuneScape (OSRS) into the HTML-based RuneScape 3 in 2013, said the idea of forcing players to wait on larger chunks of content for months felt like "the wrong approach." Instead, Jagex's current release model is to put out content every month so players can frequent the site. The content will not always be a huge story quest, it could just feature a few new objectives with "kickass rewards." Yet, Osborne said even these small events will build momentum in the overarching narrative.
That focus on RuneScape's fans even during a global pandemic is reflected in how new quests are designed on a case-by-case basis as well. Fletcher, who coordinates the teams working on the Elder Gods story, said the developers are active on social media. Fan response varies, Crowther said, and while not every player likes every piece of content, the team hopes their ongoing questline appeals to the group that has been "crying out" for the continuation of the narrative.
"I sit up in the evenings chatting with them about content and quest design and get a lot of strong opinions," Fletcher said. "I share my opinions too, and we go back and forth a lot discussing compromises and how things are done, could be done, and should be done."
The game's overall design philosophy tries to adhere to what players have suggested are "ideal indicators of a good quest," utilizing elements within the bounds of Jagex's available resources. That fanbase has grown in recent years according to Osborne, as multiple mobile ventures have driven up RuneScape's popularity.  The impetus behind RuneScape 3's mobile port released in 2019 was to iterate upon the game's status as something players can pick up whenever they want without having to deal with a "huge, lavish, and unwieldy" experience. Most progression in the MMORPG is instead based on improving one's avatar through smaller tasks, such as increasing their Combat or Archaeology skills.
RuneScape Mobile has been so successful in accelerating membership  on all platforms that designing content for mobile is at the forefront of the developers' minds. The addition of player-owned farms last year is one example of this, as they were "designed to be played on the loo," Osborne said. Something similar can be seen with OSRS, the Java version of the game that recently got a mobile port of its own. Content like Old School RuneScape's 80-player Nightmare of Ashihama raid is still being created.
Because OSRS is handled by a different team, its development has had "virtually no impact" on the current game in terms of resources and manpower. However, it has had a "positive" impact on the development of RuneScape Mobile, acting like a testing ground so new experience with launching the popular MMORPG on different storefronts, marketing, and more can be passed on. "That only increases the chance of it being played and enjoyed by so many more players," Osborne said.
By his account, OSRSÂ on mobile has contributed to "multiple, successive years of growth" for both versions of the game. That growth has only accelerated with the release of the Archaeology update in March, coinciding with the first wave of coronavirus worldwide. Though working through the pandemic has presented challenges for the team at Jagex, they are excited to put forth the next step in RuneScape's ongoing story, which thusfar has introduced universe-ending stakes and dinosaurs in The Land Out of Time. The narrative scope will be "pretty enormous" according to Crowther, which should be a much-needed reprieve as many are still stuck at home.
RuneScape is available now on PC and Mobile. The Desperate Measures update will release July 27.