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Runescape, one of the largest and most successful online MMORPGs has without doubt got many helpsites associated with the game. The creators at Jagex do not endorse any help site nor do they permit any advertising within the game itself. This is primarily for the benefit of the players as there are too many sites that have the sole purpose of gaining access to other players accounts by various methods.
The stance taken by Jagex ensures the integrity of their game remains high and they do not show any favouritism towards any helpsite. In theory this is an ideal stance to take, however, it also gives an opportunity for unscruplous players to design fan sites aimed to circumvent Jagex rules and to gain access to unsuspecting players accounts due to them seeking out alternative help that is not offered in the game itself.
Many of the help sites that exist are genuine and do try to help players of all levels succeed in the game and achieve as much as they can within the game rules. The worrying trend of today is the increase in fan sites that encourage players to break the rules, whether it is trading for runescape money, trading for real life items or offering 3rd party software aimed at defeating Jagex's anti-macro defense systems.
The stance taken by Jagex should be reviewed to adopt to the current environment. Runescape is expanding its audience into new markets and making large leaps forward into non-english speaking countries. However, with so much more players looking for help that isn't offered by the game creators, or more worryingly, looking for an easy method to get high levels and lots of runescape money, then Jagex should look at reviewing their policy.
All other large MMORPGs should also consider adapting to the changing state of the internet as all popular online games are being affected in the same manner. Many more websites are being released on a regular basis that are offering online gaming currency or macro devices in exchange for real life money. This is having an unnatural affect on the games economy and almost forcing the honest online gamer into trying out these services for fear of being left behind fellow players.
Jagex and other highly successful games should actively endorse fan pages to help their players find the resources they require within the rules of the game. In general, it is normally a player who is new to the game and inexperienced with many aspects will quickly turn to one of these virtual currency exchanges in order to try and catch up with more established players.
If all legitimate help sites were at least endorsed by the game creators then it would act as an important information resource for all new players and experienced players. The endorsed sites would all be approved by the game creators and accessible from an extended resources index. This would ensure that most players would be able to find any information they were after from the game resources.
The false fan sites set up would have less people randomly discovering them and would be more likely to fade out over time through lack of demand. The game creators would benefit as they would not have to enforce so many bans on players and the problem of macro abusers would reduce as the number of virtual trading sites reduced. Overall, it is a win-win situation for the game creators and the players communities.
The situation is much like any business, adapting to changing conditions. The games who fail to adapt will have a lower long term return than the games who act quickly and decisively. Games that react slow will start losing valuable and dedicated players in conjuction with having to ban an increasing number of players which will inevitably result in a reduced playerbase. This will greatly reduce the chances of long term sustainable growth but may well lead to the eventual demise of the game both in quality of player and quantity of player. |
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