📕 RuneScape is Awesome, And Here's Why

[@PeachesYes]

Came for the medieval cookie clicking, stayed for the class warfare

[@jiaan100]

Half cookie clicker, half 100 bpm rhythm game

[@Frommerman]

Well this just convinced me to watch this entire video without questioning it.

[@OrchinX]

Oh cool another redditor who wants to tell me about his post-marxist theory. yawn.

[@jaytang4954]

"class warfare" triggered you huh? talking about post marxist bruh its a video game its classes are not the uber rich the work class and the poor their classes are warriors mages and rangers like wtf?@@OrchinX

[@roxaskinghearts]

mmo 100 people competition online not 100 people visable from where you are in the game even eve wouldnt be a mmo if that was the case 99% of the year so yes tetris in a online fourm a mmo

[@gbay99]

This is a phenomenal breakdown. For years I've always felt Runescape scratch an itch that other MMOs never do and I haven't ever been able to put it into words. You did a beautiful job describing the unique aspects of this game that are so hard to pin down, and explaining their appeal to those who haven't ever played it.

[@chunkysalsa9663]

from one video essay king to another

[@Darkpwnge]

Yoooooo gbay

[@PIVfirestarkproducon]

gbay from the top ropes, this is the last thing I expected to see here

[@VioletCatastrophe]

oh shit it is HIM

[@TonyOSRS]

God I would love to see a gbay video about RuneScape, I NEED IT.

[@CrazyBeardedGamer]

Video too short. Interrupted my grind.

[@Naatti8558]

Can't even do a full nerdlog to this video smh

[@mauxam]

Wish he elaborated on everything :p

[@orcd0rk]

Found the runecrafting enthusiast.

[@RasRockslide]

Video BPM wasnt in tune, grind officially needs to be restarted from lvl 1

[@Zack-nl7vs]

Can't express how much I appreciate this love letter to my favorite product of humanity and the best 20 year waste of time I could have hoped for.

[@MMAproAtGOLF]

😢 that’s so sad to hear

[@hem9483]

@@MMAproAtGOLF you didn't watch the video buddy nobody cares what you think is sad

[@ErikGsson]

Sometimes I go back and rewatch this 3.5h video. Every time I learn something new about why I love oldschool rs. ❤

[@furirinprimus]

I’m on my 3rd viewing

[@civilservant9528]

​@@furirinprimuslol me too

[@Hessekimojo]

Every single MMO developer out there right now needs to have a sit down, and take notes off this video. Thank you for all of your effort, this was...beyond words.

[@VB2P360]

Some of us have token notice ;)

[@jaredluciano9216]

14:12 😢😅😅​@@VB2P360

[@jaredluciano9216]

😮 14:19 😅 14:20 14:20 14:21 14:21 14:22

[@kuailiang6312]

Yup. Because Runescape is indeed an MMO.

[@milkman2266]

Jagex themselves needs to watch this if nothing else than to remind them what the games appeal is and to stay true to it.

[@PreferablyPete]

I am so incredibly sad that it took over two years for this to hit my recommended page. Truly a fantastic write-up of why RuneScape is such an exceptional game, and also the extremely difficult explanation of why it is that great game. Trying to describe this game to others that have no concept of it, felt nearly impossible until this video.

[@TNoStone]

this is how i felt after watching it too. im sad it took me this long to find the video

[@selkokieli843]

This essay ascends the niche of old school runescape to an amazing talk on mmo's and gaming in general. It even has a rare and deceptively valuable take on how society views labor and gaming as a use of time. I would call this nothing less than a masterpiece in long form video essays.

[@aprimer1431]

I cringe at the thought of a 3.5 hour video essay. Is it worth watching?

[@selkokieli843]

​@@aprimer1431It's a collection of mostly individual ideas, so you don't have to commit to finishing all or any of it. I return to it periodically and watch a bit here and there to chill 😁

[@bradoncrandall6840]

@@selkokieli843 I have been pretty stuck watching while I play runescape lol Its an exceptionally well thought out essay and I am appreciating his view on things.

[@bradoncrandall6840]

*Im about 1 hour in so far.

[@kanifis]

@@aprimer1431yeah its realy good

[@TheSkulleh]

"the Venn diagram of people who like to watch long video essays and the target audience for RuneScape is a circle" Never have I been called out for something so painfully true.

[@MaulusRS]

This is the definitive dissertation on OSRS game design and appeal and it would, ideally, not only be watched by everyone interested in the genre - it'd be a landmark for the industry and designers, too. Really great work.

[@elijahnageli3202]

where to play?

[@whiphore]

As a kid I thought I was a mmo fan but it turned out I was just a runescape fan since it’s nothing like any other mmo

[@FunnyAshShorts]

Soooo true dude, nothing at all. You can try to find something but will end up back at osrs

[@Crypto4always]

yea man.. been scaping with my brother since 2004 and it's still the only game i play to this day. theres only 1 other game i have 1000 hours in and thats it XD

[@harrylane4]

It’s a LOT like other MMOs, just not the ones that released alongside or after RuneScape. It’s a lot closer to the MMOs of the 90s

[@Mildwango]

"Testing patience is a legitimate form of difficulty" is a really good way of describing what makes the grind appealing. As you spend hours upon hours doing the same chain of tasks in runescape, the experience slowly gets less difficult and more enjoyable. It's a mindset and an acquired skill to be able to appreciate the road towards the end goal.

[@2Poor4UserName]

the journey was way more fun than finally maxing... havnt played much since, just hop on for events.

[@alanmoulet1362]

​@@2Poor4UserName Find another goal , grandmaster , collection log , or even some random goal you set yourself , are you good in pvp ? Could you do those raid without max gear , there always something to do

[@2Poor4UserName]

​@@alanmoulet1362 not the point. not having fun, so im gonna stop playing. weird to have an issue with that

[@IgnacioSanchez49er]

You described Stockholm Syndrome 😂

[@KeytarArgonian]

I’m back again for my 6 monthly watch. I’m at the precipice of ending a breakpoint grind. I need 1370 molch pearls to greenlog Aerial Fishing. It’s in the dead zone of your chart. High attention for next to no reward. You use a cormorant to catch fish on Molch Island. The goal is to unlock everything at the nearby shop using Molch Pearls. I have been here for weeks. Pearls are 1/100. You can also trade a Golden Tench for 100 pearls. The tench is a 1/20,000 drop. I have had 4 tench so far, and you bet your ass I sold them. When you catch a fish, you can cut it into chunks. You use 1 chunk per 4 fish (you have to feed your bird that’s catching them). So you take your chunk stack and multiply by 1.4 to work out your caught fish. I got a stack of 20k chunks. That’s 28,000 fish caught. My chunk stack is now down to 6546 chunks. That means I’ve used 13,454 chunks. Remember, 1 chunk paid to my bird is 4 fish caught and is added to the ‘fish caught’ number. Catching a fish is 1 click, and is guaranteed a catch (he’s a very accurate bird). Meaning: I have actively manually clicked. 81,816 fish nodes and so caught as many fish. What do I get for this grind? Wieldable fishing poles and the ability to wield the fishing Barrel from Tempoross. I am about to hit 98 fishing. I need 12 more Pearls for these fishing ‘upgrades’. It is very arbitrary, but once I finish, I’m going to feel like I have been sent back to the game, like Gandalf the White. Work can feel very fruitful.

[@SimonSlav-GameMakingJourney]

Runescape is the type of game you can play while playing Runescape.

[@icedo1013]

As someone fresh into an ironman it's so easy to chop redwoods or motherlode while I work on getting essence or bones.

[@ShyBoy6ty9]

Funny af. Lol

[@Reece8u]

​@@icedo1013Man ive been playing for 4 months and im nowhere near chopping redwoods, but im days away from 99 ranging

[@Skoglend]

@@Reece8ugz it’s been 5 days

[@MegaBanne]

I have a picture of when I was chopping wood while I was chopping onions XD.

[@__w__o__w__]

Worth noting that plenty of activities you do while 'afking' runecape also have their own attention 'calibration', and finding the perfect cross-over between real life attention and runescape attention can feel incredibly rewarding and productive. Like i'm being productive doing 'something that matters' and progressing my 'waste of time' video game credentials simultaneously.

[@ezra153]

That was incredible. I’ve never seen someone take such a deep dive into video games in general, let alone RuneScape. I think you explained the game extremely well in a way I’ve never heard before, coming from a 15+ year veteran. The time to make this video must have been immense, and I appreciate the effort you made. Even playing for 15 years, this video gives me a new perspective into the game I love. Thank you.

[@miriamurdaneta2008]

Hhhhhhjßyuuf6ďhďhxurhŕuj

[@LucasSoaresy]

Watch his series playing it for the first time, totally worth. One of the best stuff to watch while grinding some afk stuff

[@I_Crit_My_Pants]

I'm a 20 year veteran and I say anyone that says it's not an MMO is a deluded idiot

[@elijahnageli3202]

where the hell do i play?

[@alanmoulet1362]

​@@elijahnageli3202 Everywhere , you could play on a toaster

[@willpkay]

If you added some citations to primary literature throughout, you have yourself there a PhD thesis.

[@TNoStone]

Literally my exact thoughts watching this. This video explains why runescape is a piece of art and is artistic in and of itself

[@RyanJFaulk]

The RLM "you might not have noticed, but your brain did" is how I feel about this essay. As someone who has played RS on and off since 2003, this felt like discovering my own thoughts. It's really the only game I've invested a significant amount of time in so I also learned a ton about other games and why I probably wouldn't like them.

[@Litepaw]

Runescape has something that other MMOs lack. It's really charming in a way. It's clunky, the grinds are really long, but there's just this weird charming vibe that no other game has.

[@thaynetarbox4117]

it’s the grindiest game ever made like that is the whole point and i’d still rather smack a tree all day then do dailies 2 days in a row in wow

[@Litepaw]

@@thaynetarbox4117 yeah true. I just played a lot of wow classic, season of discovery to be specific. I quit when they introduced a brainless grindfest daily thing. The point of WoW is to have a lot of options to reach a certain goal, and the end game raids. Multiple builds and multiple bis items for multiple classes. But when they have to be grinded with dailies -- no thanks.

[@thaynetarbox4117]

@@Litepaw yeah i played up to phase 3 of sod and the constant nerfs to completely break builds was bothering me

[@Litepaw]

@@thaynetarbox4117 I know.. I had both boomie and shaman mains. And the incursions killed it for me. We got a few full clears of ST so most of us had full sets and then everyone just.. quit lol

[@iloveDaddy_Gaming]

"The graph of people who like long videos and runescape players is a circle" Accurate

[@Frommerman]

I cannot tell you how often I've thought, "Man I wanna watch this video, but it's just not long enough to be worth it." Because if it's too short, I can't leave it on in the background while grinding a boss.

[@Daniel-mo2vp]

​@nunyabidness9482hu7uhh7hh7

[@roxaskinghearts]

Runescape is only not a mmorpg because it wouldnt be considered a dying game at that rate when compared to everything els isnt it funny when elden ring a game that only had a few million users compared to your remember 500 million user promo is kicking your butt with just steam alone runescape nowaday is for man children who love spending a premium to get fortnite which is free on everything with xcloud o but osrs that is proving why mmorpgs are done

[@runawaymakefriendswiththem8905]

@@roxaskingheartsenglish not your first language? genuinely impressed by how little of your comment made sense.

[@Recetal]

@roxaskinghearts what the fuck are you yapping

[@asabranch5107]

I got 2 magic levels during this video

[@Rainman8814]

I got a easy achievement diary done. Western Province

[@NathanielBTM]

gz

[@TheAxhol]

I got 3 slayer tasks and 2 hard clues done brother

[@xFuaZe]

Half a slayer level 🙃

[@seraphii72]

​@@Rainman8814please dont tell me the chompies take 3.5 hours.... 😭

[@bc3262]

This is a masterpiece. I’ve been playing the game since 2003, more off than on, but this perfectly refines the (sometimes obtuse) reasons why RuneScape is a hard game to stay away from. It’s just so different to everything else on offer, and allows the user to enjoy similar content at different paces, that mean it’s usually viable to play. I can even go for a nature walk while afk training combat, screen sharing every 20 minutes to a desktop to click a single button. About 30 seconds an hour of work for tangible improvements when I do decide to play the game with more focus. I look forward to the other video ideas you mentioned.

[@elijahnageli3202]

where do i play this bröther?

[@sbef]

This essay is so in-depth and thorough, I hope some Jagex developers see it to formalise what makes Old School Runescape such a good and special game.

[@meabhmurphy9090]

I always refer to the joy of labour in Runescape as 'The Zen of the grind'. Runecrafting was always my favourite skill and my first 99 (back in 2008 :) ) precisely because of how grindy it was. You can really lose yourself in it. Just as another take on the 'Misery Zone' there, I think seeing it as Zen is a way to find joy in it (or maybe some of us are just built different)

[@snarfulhusocks1688]

My first 99 was agility and I love wearing my untrimmed agility cape around because people always make amusing comments on it, or about my sanity. But the truth is, I just absolutely love training agility. It's that zen experience you mention. Plus, knowing that I achieved something that most people find difficult adds an inherent sense of reward for me.

[@Cuestar]

this is one of the best videos ever created about a video game. been playing runescape for 17 years and i could've spent another 17 writing out why i love the game and i would've never been able to describe it this well.

[@smilosabercat]

I have never played Runescape, yet you got me to watch this whole video, and have tempted me to try Runescape. The most mitigating factor for me is my age and how that has effected my hands. Repeat clicking the same motion over and over hurts these aging digits. It would not be the time that would be daunting for me 5K hours in each Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises so far... indicates my willingness to waste time. I am going to take the time to look at your Runescape let's play and make the decision as to whether I dare attempt this game. Currently on 8/11 of your Fallout 3 series, I do like your voice and presentation style. Thank you for the fun.

[@LilacMonarch]

I've seen people map various things to make mouse inputs, like foot pedals and whatnot. There's probably something that would work for your situation

[@thejollydevil3425]

like he says in the video there are alot of easy ways to earn xp that dont require alot of clicking and some do its the best part!

[@ethanchadwick8584]

Did you ever try?

[@MooseWilliams]

@@ethanchadwick8584he won't reply, that's XP loss

[@klwb69]

The

[@sweatywraith8242]

Thanks Marstead I did not know how to accurately describe OSRS to anyone and always felt like I messed up their introduction to the game. I've memorized this entire video and recite it to everyone I meet and its been working great! I've even met some women at the bar and have been able to get them to understand the beauty of OSRS.

[@brecasey680]

Not sure why it took youtube so long to recommend me this video. I have been playing osrs for 3 years now, never played it when I was younger so I have no nostalgia, you capture exactly why this game is so great and at the same time so hard to describe to people unfamiliar. This game hooked me like no mmo ever could with its unique sense of achievement and it would be crazy to see what a modern fresh take on this kind of game could look like.

[@michaels_madness]

I wish you could have seen the glory days of the game. It was by far the best game ever created at the time. An absolute experience. The internet was still young and multiplayer games weren't really a major thing yet.

[@TheBBCSlurpee]

@@michaels_madnessstill goated but was nice when people didn’t give a fuck about efficiency

[@Priest_Of_Zebak]

The game was wild in 2006-2007 So much fun and nostalgia. It's still my favorite game out rn tho.

[@bravingbrivatebrian]

If you want a modern fresh take on osrs try Runescape 3 by the same company

[@Priest_Of_Zebak]

@@bravingbrivatebrian That's disgusting tho. They ruined the game when I played in 2000's, and it still looks like that crap. I'll never go back.

[@tormenter1111]

Love the surprise class analysis in the RuneScape genre investigation! Genuinely. You never see people using a class analysis lens in how they look at stuff

[@-VexyRS]

Minute 1 “Welcome to my TED Talk about Runescape” Hour 1 “So you click rocks and get levels” Hour 2 “Sidegrades are different from upgrades” Hour 3 “NOTHING MATTERS, WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE ONE DAY, LET ME CLICK ROCKS” And yes, I’m rewatching this for fun. I *LOVE* this video, Marstead! I’d actually love to see an in-depth analysis of what RuneScape is, and what awaits you as a player; in a more ‘introductory’ sense, but not sugar-coating or lowering people’s expectations. I think this video serves that purpose well, but this essay is more geared toward people who are already well acquainted with MMOs. Food for thought! Just saying I’d love to see it. Keep up the grind ♥️

[@TopFurret]

Honestly this graph and analysis filled 3 hour video essay is the best pitch for RuneScape I have ever seen. RuneScape really needs to market itself as a "multitasking game"

[@jonathanc3001]

I feel so spoiled that I found this channel after all these videos are already out, so I can just binge them all without waiting. There is something special about the amount of effort you put into documenting your playthrough, impressions, and then a full analysis of this game and why it’s so great. Thank you marstead. I was familiar with a lot of these concepts, but you really made me think harder about exactly what it is that makes this game different. I especially loved the attention/difficulty chart. Game designers should use that always as a way to see if content is good or bad. This video deserves more views, but people may be put off by the length. You are correct though that RuneScape players are fine with it because it’s great content to watch while grinding!

[@DonYagamoth]

I think the point at ~1:09:55 is probably my favorite part about OSRS - "You don't have to worry about optimization paralysis, because it's impossible to optimize" I'm someone who greatly enjoys optimizing things of all variety. And the moment I recognized, that there often is just straight up no "optimal path" for a variety of reasons, it became... easier. I normally struggle with sandbox games, because I get lost, and often don't have too much drive to 'go explore'. Somehow OSRS still worked for me... Although I've only been playing for roughly a year now, it's still neat

[@-VexyRS]

As soon as you mentioned metroidvanias and how runescape’s progression system is similar to theirs, I instantly understood why I loved Hollow Knight so much, but I struggle with getting into most other games in general. Incredible video!

[@maxdarling2669]

This is a masterpiece, Marstead, thank you. I nearly shed a tear when you shared that Settled's swampletics series got you into OSRS. To know that even neurotypical people with happy lives are still to this day falling in love with this obtuse, potato-graphics game is so validating as a long-time player (who, admittedly, sometimes has doubts about his # of hours invested!). Your analysis is some of the best I've ever seen, and in the course of the 3.5 hours I spent watching enrapt I was not only entertained and heart-warmed, but experienced an ecstasy of clarity as you put into words so many of the abstract intuitions about the game that were lurking in my subconscious. You've even sparked in me a new curiosity for game design after realizing how philosophical and complex it can be. Thank you again, and keep doing what you're doing :)

[@heyitsscottyo]

Man... you absolutely captured what makes Runescape such a worthwhile experience. Thank you for this essay.

[@glebgladkiy6908]

As someone who has been playing Runescape since 2004, this video leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand, it's super cool to see you break down why Runescape is awesome in such great detail, there were a lot of things I never really thought about before, at least not in such terms. On the other hand, now I see it crystal clear why I never managed to truly enjoy other MMOs (or should I just say, MMOs) and it's extemelly unlikely I'll ever find another game that feels as good to play. Love everything about this video except for using Outer Wilds music at 2:25:50. It's very hard to focus on what you're saying when my brain screams "YOU HAVE LESS THAN 30 SECONDS LEFT TO LIVE".

[@joewhiting]

As an OSRS veteran who has been playing since 2008, this video was fucking AMAZING. Completely holds up in 2023 and is undoubtedly the best explanation of the game. on youtube. This is gold, and made it into my all time favorites playlist. Well deserved sub for a phenomenal video essay. You deserve WAY more subs! Shared the video with my clan. Gl on the rest of your journey brotha!

[@WasteYuteeee]

2008??? veteran???

[@joewhiting]

@@WasteYuteeee This comment made me double check at Hans, and my account is 17.56 years old, so I started playing some time in 2006, which means I would have been just 10 years old. I’ve put in hundreds of days of time into my account as well… What ungodly requirements have you created in your mind to deem someone a veteran? lol.

[@WasteYuteeee]

@@joewhiting just playin around

[@insaneserb7786]

Oh shut up@@WasteYuteeee

[@WasteYuteeee]

@@insaneserb7786 ur nan

[@dakkx]

This is the best video essay on RuneScape I’ve ever watched. Kudos for keeping it so clean, clear and well organized. S+ tier content.

[@Maddogs1]

26:50 You really would be good at game design-based ted talks, was quite intrigued by that segment

[@flymouse1172]

ned talks

[@TheGooseIsLoose9000]

I think degenerate perfectly fits being used against people you don't like. After all, if you feel someone has degraded into something that is unrecognizable, they fit the definition perfectly

[@unrealmagic6519]

What if they were always like this? Then they didn't 'degrade'.

[@rappakalja5295]

Your personal feelings matter more than material facts?

[@Nnoreaga]

RuneScape also has the most unique PVP mechanics of all time. It’s basically real time rock paper scissors, but in order to switch from rock to paper you have to throw on a completely different set of armors and weapons between each tick

[@Exposing21]

True, it’s truly unpredictable

[@realityDUBSTEP]

yup. i'd say runescape pvp is in the starcraft side of his difficulty/attention chart. it reminds me of certain super fast paced fighting games like smash bros melee where things like fakie switching (shield mixup/dashbacks in melee lingo) and "reading" your opponents mind becomes a skill in of itself on top of ultra fast and accurate osu level clicking.

[@HWBushh]

I’m an avid WoW / OSRS player. Have played thousands of games of LMS, and tens thousands of 2v2 in wow at gladiator rating. The skill cap for OSRS is wayyyyy higher than wow.

[@timurrte5694]

I started playing this medieval clicking simulator 9 months ago. And this video actually describes undescribable feelings that i got from this game ❤

[@BooksWithBrad]

You hit the nail on the head on so many different parts about why Runescape is what it is. Whatever that is! I know whenever i try and explain runescape to other people it always ends up feeling like i dont have enough time to properly convey why the game is pretty perfect to me.

[@Omnicide101]

Hey mate, this video pulled me through a really rough time (my girlfriend was in the hospital with a damn near lethal case of bronchitis - she's mostly back to health and back home now, thankfully) and got me to try RuneScape again for the first time in three years. Finally finished Dragon Slayer just now, never even dared to start that quest as a kid, and the feeling is spectacular. Thank you :)

[@Odinh]

you caught me with one of your later points, "OSRS Attention Levels: #4, consuming media", as of writing this i am watching your essay and grinding black knights for a diary. there were moments where i laughed about your keen assertions about what runescape boils down to. the multiple analogies are spot on and is what makes this, in combination with the attention level variance a clear genre builder/ setter ( like metroid, DS, and Rogue were)

[@Backhand_Drew]

I found this on accident and thought, no way this is Marstead the diviner from Nexustk. Only a few minutes in and it’s true! You helped walk me into diviner way back when. -OAgronO

[@One-EyedCorvus]

No one stops playing RuneScape. You just take long breaks in between

[@shroomer3867]

I always come back to osrs one way or the other. I think that it is one of the only if not the only MMO where you can just leave playing for a couple months-years, go back to playing and say: "Oh yeah, I was doing this and that and I stopped here" because the developers make sure that old content isn't obsolete after every major update. It is also one of the few MMOs where you can just play for a month or two and don't feel that pressure of FOMO that other MMOs have where you gotta be the first to do something or else that content is gonna disappear or become less relevant and then it wouldn't matter. Whereas in osrs it's always a big achievement to get barbarian chest and dragon dagger even if that content is old for example.

[@intendedtendencies]

Please make more video essay content, you have an insane talent/skill for it.

[@FatPokeDad]

This was awesome. 2 slayer lvls, 3 runecrafting lvls

[@TheWiseApe]

I'm only 40 min in and look forward to every minute after for my drive out of state today. Subbed!

[@Benzoperidol]

Im a psychologist (not that it means a lot) from Chile, and i loved your video analisis. I also write philosophy, and I loved your philosophical analysis more than anything. I congratulate you for your deepness, and thank you for the content you create. Much love

[@zackchud]

Loving the vid so far! your metroidvania argument at 48:00 was incredibly compelling, as soon as you proposed the idea i was immediately convinced.

[@ihznt]

I'm a Runescape veteran, and to help someone understand the grind, let me just rate this video 180/180 agility course laps. Will definitely watch again.

[@UnknownVir]

I think farming is most likely lap running when doing trees, and most like rock clicking when doing allotment+herbs. I really hadn't considered why I actually disliked farming until I found out how nice allotment+herb runs were for me (woodcutting was one of my favorite skills growing up). I think the other main difference is the time wait. Farming might be one of the more novel game loops in RuneScape. Birdhouse runs are also time gated lap running vs most hunter being either rock-click or conventional lap running.

[@jextra1313]

Same, woodcutting was my favourite skill and I disliked farming, It feels like dailies in other MMOs, and I'd rather be actively playing the game rather than having to wait x hours. The xp reward doesn't feel deserved.

[@charybdis1618033]

"Playing suboptimally and having fun is more efficient than playing optimally and burning out."

[@liljacket]

Just watched the entire video, my man... This is probably the best video essay I have ever watched. I really appreciate the amount of time you put into this and the way you are able (and probably practiced] to put all this entire topic into words. Best video I have ever watched by far, bless you sir!!

[@Omnicide101]

"hey can someone explain why runescape feels different from other MMOs?" *this video* "thank you comrade i will now click on rock for the commune"

[@TheDiabloke]

This is criminally underviewed.. Great video and thank you for putting it out

[@trevor5672]

One of the first games I played as a child in 07-08 years. I may have stopped playing in between the years due to growing up and going through life but never stop loving this game. It always came back to me at times in my life when it was right.

[@kirilllysenko8616]

This analysis was extremely insightful, like the way you compared runescape's progression to that of a metroidvania felt like a revelation. Your channel deserves way more subscribers

[@balthazar579]

"The venn diagram between people who like RuneScapr and people who want 3 hour long videos is a circle."

[@cpzd83]

I mean, the man makes a solid fucking point

[@RainHH]

Long attention span Chad's.

[@JustATempest]

It took me an embarrassing long amount of time to get the joke. The reason why it's a circle is because RuneScape players want somebody to listen to that won't interrupt them. And so a three hour long video is perfect to have on in the background and listen to while playing RuneScape.

[@jco1895]

I feel like this joke will completely go over most people's heads. Because people will just assume you were just explaining your understanding of the initial joke, without realising you were making one yourself

[@Siks7Ate9]

​@JustATempest audio books are also amazing for this exact reason. I just get sucked into books so I have to make sure I am doing something (semi) afk. I get lost in time with (audio)books. Been 6 hour logged multiple times since I got audible lol. Never happend before really.

[@Reldonator]

I've watched thousands of Runescape videos but this one just hits different. Your perspective on the game and mmos in general is fascinating. This is a much watch

[@Slipping_thru_the_Seams]

hell yeah dude. im new to ur channel but this got me back into runescape, i used to play it back when old school was regular school. u couldve made this 30 hrs and i wouldve probably watched the whole thing. awesome articulation of whats good abt this game. also class consciousness ftw, that was such a nice surprise lol!

[@Sens249]

this was so fun to watch! As a Runescape player you voiced so many deep feelings that I had a hard time vocalizing or even understanding. Youve helped me understand why I actually like this game so much and why I have had a hard time getting into other MMOs. You hit the nail on so so many different points and I give kudos to you. Thank you for making the medium clue grind a bit more enjoyable. I do want to add a funny sidenote which is that when you were talking about how Jagex would never allow a training method that has "good exp rates, little prerequisites, great resource, gain, little need for banking, low resource cost, low danger and low complexity" The only thing I could think of was Wintertodt, which seems to hit all of those points haha. But it also is the one thing that saved Firemaking so, we accept it. 10/10 video, and now Im excited to watch your Runescape playthrough!

[@kristiankoski3908]

Awesome video man! I haven't fully watched your playthrough yet but came across this masterpiece just now. Runecraft is actually one of my favorite skills... :D For me, it isn't in the miserable zone. I think you can really turn your brain off while training rc even though it requires your attention, it's somehow very chill loop.

[@olive7155]

3:26:23 got me good. What a great video/essay/movie!

[@marisasob]

As someone that played on and off for 20 years, this video was incredibly well made. Last few years i played OSRS on and off on the same character. And this is what keeps pulling me back to the game. I log in after a year, and i still have my high level account. I have to do a few Quests and i have my Quest cape again (achievement cape you get for completing all quests). My account is over 10 years old now and every stupid thing i did on this account for the past decade, is still usefull now when i play. And this is what makes OSRS players one of the most loyal players of any game. You never quit Runescape, the breaks just get longer.

[@tastycastle1976]

Amazing! The structure and presentation is great! RuneScape (based on your descriptions) reminds me of Mabinogi in a lot of ways. You should check it out!

[@Marstead]

Oh wow, Mabinogi's made by Nexon, who also made that Nexus TK game I mentioned. I'll have to scope it out, thanks!

[@spaceghost8891]

I love how everyone agrees on how EVE Online is on it's own league. I play it actively since 2008

[@ZCheVskY]

Hey Marstead, Thank you so much for all of the hard work you have put in over the years on all of these Lets Plays! I started watching your channel about 6 months ago when I stumbled across your RS playthrough, since then I have revisited your past videos for many of my favorite games specifically to see how you evaluate the good and the bad in those games. Your reactions and commentary has been an invaluable asset for me, an aspiring game designer. It is so helpful to see blind reactions from someone so well spoken, and consistent. Now you are further pushing the Game Design Topic to new highs! Thank you for this video, which was extremely well done and better analyzed OSRS than any video I have ever seen before. Not to mention you are now naming new Game Design concepts by building off of some of the greats of Game Design Analysis on youtube. YOU ARE PUSHING THE MEDIUM FORWARD! amazing work! I send you a donation on your twitch and hope you keep up the great work!

[@Marstead]

Thanks a ton for the donation! If you have a Twitch username you'd like to share I can give you some stream currency for voting in thanks for that. I really appreciate it!

[@ZCheVskY]

@@Marstead thanks! my twitch username is zulfiqarkindjal

[@Litepaw]

I fell in love with runescape back in 2004 in a completely different way than i did to WoW. WoW was beautiful, immersive, really detailed, and absolutely massive. It had a massive "wow factor" (pun 100% intended) But something about runescape just felt so warm and inviting and wholesome to me. It was unique and simple, but it had a heart and soul. Something in it just felt so cozy, and reaching goals and milestones in RS actually felt like an achievement and felt warm inside. Unlike in WoW, where reaching goals just felt more like.. relieving. Most times my reaction was just "ugh, FINALLY". Grinding honors to exalted, doing daily quests, doing battlegrounds and arena, checking the auction house, and participating in raids felt more like day job task obligations than having fun. The most fun thing in WoW was leveling to max, and that's basically all runescape is. In WoW your guild and blizzard tells you what to do, and there's a singular "correct" way to play, even though you have all kinds of weapon choices, talents, professions, gear, etc. In runescape YOU decide what to do, but Jagex provides you the playground. You dont need anyone else to max your account if you wish to play that way, and there are endless possibilities to reach a goal. Thats why i dont like this new "no xp waste" 2tick minmax efficiency mindset. WoW is still great, i played from vanilla all the way to pandaria, and spent thousands of hours playing it. Way waaay more than RS. It's just more engaging, even though it felt like a job sometimes. But runescape always had a special place in my heart. Someone said something about categorizing some youtube videos as first or second screen content, but both still being equally important in different ways. WoW/FF14 are great and engaging full focus main screen games. But runescape is the undefeated king of second screen games. Damn this comment turned out way longer than i intended 😂 thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[@ehenare1]

2 hours and 30 minutes in, have been watching this while playing osrs and it has been a fantastic experience, this deserves so many more views.

[@ehenare1]

and finally finished!! that ending honestly rly hit hard

[@Shmoobins]

This video has cured my insomnia... and brought back my interest in osrs. Well done

[@violettheshadowfan]

not only did this video get me into osrs but i'm now watching it for the third time, i really appreciate the captions!

[@MypersonalURL]

watching this as they are discussing rebalancing the game is mindblowing. Going to add even more depth to combat triangle

[@dude92]

Nice video! I love how you started as a newbie and how you came to like it. The fact that you have achieved 3 times more in 1 year, than I with 3 years is astonishing. I would say priffdinas anvil is not special just for the fact that it is 1 tile closer to a bank, but it has a furnace right next to it. If I'm correct, it's the only place where there is a bank, a furnace, and an anvil right next to each other, which makes training smithing much easier. And the fact that zalcano's prison is right next to those makes it more rewarding, because you can easily take a detour to smith some of the ore drops from zalcano when grinding for the tool seed or the pet. It's good to take a break sometimes.

[@Hot_To_Trot]

Never found a way to put it into words, now I can just link people a three-and-a-half-hour-long video to people as a brief introduction to my beloved game. Great work, loved the video!

[@swerveq_p]

I haven't and won't be watching this video for a while as I'm still busy with your Let's Play of OSRS - just want to let you know that you did an amazing job on how you played Runescape (not too many Guides etc). I'm currently at Part 38 and absolutely loving it!

[@-VexyRS]

Idk if you’ve come far enough to watch this yet, but I’m only at episode 10, and I watched this entire essay without having anything spoiled. He mentions late game stuff, but doesn’t go into detail. A few very minor things along his playthrough are mentioned, but by the time you get there, you will have forgotten the context; I’m sure of that. So, watch away! It’s absolutely brilliant

[@swerveq_p]

@@-VexyRS Oh thanks for the Info, I'll check it ou very soon then :)

[@Solrex_the_Sun_King]

2:06:54 in terms of healing other players with lunar magic, yeah, you can do it, but it takes your hitpoints to heal other player hitpoints. Meaning that you don't just get a free inventory boost when someone is healing you, if at all since that has a cost.

[@Solrex_the_Sun_King]

I say this as a player that beelined lunar diplomacy (and 86 magic to be able to boost up to 92 at the time) to heal a small streamer friend during their Sarachnis grind to get a pet. It was completely optional, and dangerous for me, and they paid me to make up for that despite me not really wanting a reward out of it. I just wanted to speed up and extend his trips so he got the pet quicker.

[@Solrex_the_Sun_King]

He got the pet pretty close to the 90th percentile, which for a 1/3000 pet, was 6907 or something, and he got it at 6921 iirc. This streamer, who isn't streaming right now unfortunately, is named its Aphotic, or Aphotic Life. Got one of the best laughs ever.

[@T3RD5ify]

You forgot about a key demographic of people… *too busy for RuneScape but still need something to listen to at work* … great video

[@mitchware9357]

Your dedication to the game has been immense. You've achieved more in the game already than I have in my 18 years of playing off and on.

[@Syphonfllter]

Having played RS since 2003, no matter what you decide to do you're not truly neglecting anything. Every level, boss kill, quest, or achievement matters to some degree. You can take long breaks and you're not useless or falling behind drastically.

[@TheMaktastic4]

Really enjoyed this, afked work whilst afking osrs, while watching this

[@jurgnobs1308]

I think one thing that helps understanding the runescape approach to questing is the fact that Andrew Gower (one of the three brothers who started the game) used to ask fan sites to not publish quest guides. and then he loosened the rule to allow them to post guides with spoiler tags. and now of course there are plugins for the client that tell you what to do. but the philosophy of the game itself is still largely based on gowers idea. they do allow you to have the quest helper stuff, but the official and primary option is you going in blind and experiencing the quest yourself.

[@RuneDest]

I just not stumbled on this, just a bit late.. But I'm just getting back into OSRS after a long break and man.. this video essay not only captures the feelings I exprience but enstilled a new appreciation for Jagex and Runescape itself. Thanks for taking the time to put this together, I look forward to the (potential? eventual?) RS3 video essay!

[@stevehufnagel6754]

This is amazing. It's a philosophical essay with a thesis and many antithesis. Great work!

[@FerociousPancake888]

Not sure why this popped up on my feed but I watched it all the way through (while grinding of course) and it was fantastic. Loved how you looped in real life and how our society views work, and luckily societies view of work is slowly changing. I hope it continues in that direction because you're absolutely right that we have a very twisted and toxic view surrounding work and time off.

[@HiNationItsMe]

Video was fantastic and super in-depth. It’s almost like the perfect intro into all the concepts and style of the game. Only thing I didn’t agree with was when you said that capitalism distorted labor. That’s not really true. Capitalism is a relatively recent mode of economic orientation. Labor has always been required from the inspection of living beings. We had to struggle (labor) to survive. Whether that’s in going out and hunting our own food or working in a factory. They are both labor. One is just more efficient than the other. Capitalism is just one mode of dealing with labor and it has led to the biggest scale glow up from poverty that the world has ever seen. Further, there was almost no such thing as time off or leisure before capitalism so how can capitalism be the cause of a lack of leisure if the norm before capitalism was no leisure at all?

[@icecream-soup]

This will go great with my Kraken slayer task.

[@apocalypselemon2209]

Around 1:17:33 you talk about Hazing and gatekeeping as if there's just a universal truth that these are bad. An odd point considering the only reason OSRS exists is because of gatekeeping, and like military culture, prides itself highly on suffering. If you remove these things do you really have OSRS?

[@bumfricker2487]

-guy who didn't finish the video

[@julianfernandes9301]

Ive heard so many audiobooks because of runescape, watching this 3.5 hour video was nothing lol

[@Marstead]

😂

[@PointNubProductions]

I kind of disagree a little bit with your argument in 1:09:00 about not having a clear meta or best way to progress. In terms of skill training, there are objectively best xp/hour training methods. You don't have to do them, but in terms of the carrot analogy, it's more of "there is a biggest and best carrot, but no one cares which carrot you chase".

[@finnafishfl]

Thank you for everything, love what you're doing and can't believe you don't have more subs. I'm about 30 episodes into the series and I was very glad to find it

[@ritzon2670]

Now instead of trying to get my friends to play osrs, i just have to get them to listen to a 3 1/2 hour video explaining why they'd enjoy it.

[@ArkendYT]

I was looking for this exact kind of video from someone who doesn't have particular nostalgic attachment (playing the game as a kid) to osrs. I'm happy to hear someone talk about how runescape is in its own subgenre of mmorpg's, its so very true! Beyond impressed with how the video is put together, and the ways you present the core gameplay in the most accurate way I've seen on youtube so far.

[@ravenreaper754]

while listening to this video while playing i was running to Mage Training Arena, had a star land behind me, and spent 3 hours star mining to get a ring for an invisible +4 mining boost, so the entire "oh, piece of candy" label is pretty good

[@MaxCapeRoad]

It's so funny when you started talking about numbers, I think it was in the XP section? This has been my main game since 2006, and it literally did not phase me for a moment when you mentioned 8k arrows, 7k nars and 300k+ iron ores. I was like 'uh huh, makes sense.' and it was not until you mentioned how insane it must look for an outside who hasn't played or is familiar with runescape that it dawned on me and I went complete 'uhh, wow'. Watched the whole thing, hands down one of my favourite videos of all time. Easy to follow, articulate and good humor all through.

[@kevinmickelson9509]

Another benefit of the "no degeneracy, everyone put in the same effort to get here," is that coming back to OSRS after years you remember all the hard qork you put it.

[@shadowmil]

Should rename this video to "3 hours of why you should waste 3,000 hours in runescape"