Runescape versus Whaleshares (not a game review)

What?!

Runescape may not ring a bell to all, it is a multiplayer online role play game. I had a lot of fun playing it some time ago and realized today it has a few things in common with Whaleshares.

At first I thought it was called run-escape, coz that is what I did mostly when I started playing. I am really not a fan of fighting. Starting as a level 3 character you can not afford to get hit by anyone, you will get killed, lose the items in your backpack and be teleported to a distant spot in the game.

The real name is rune-scape, it has everything to do with, magic, potions, spells, fighting, cooking, woodcutting, quests and mini games. When you pay to play you get even more skills to work on, and a way, way bigger world to move around in.

Start

Runescape starts with a small quest. In this quest you learn the basics of getting food, making fire, cook the food, mine ore, create weapons, use weapons, create runes, use magic and so on. After that you are released in the "real" world. That is scary, but fun. Clicking here and there, walking around. Getting quite a few "you have to be on a p2p server to do this", however in the beginning there is so much to explore and get familiar with, you don't mind the limitations.

How to play

This is where it gets interesting, there are so many different things to do you would expect people to never get bored. The opposite is the case. When you start talking to people, the chance of hearing them say they are bored is very high. How can that be?

Simple, people don't play the game, but focus on one aspect of it and forget about everything else. The higher your level in a skill the more different things you can do. For example, in woodcutting, you can chop regular trees at first, then you move up to evergreens, to oaks, all the way up to magic trees.

When you move from one level to the other while PLAYING the game, it is fun. When you focus on getting from level 1 to level 99 as fast as possible, it is boring. All you will be doing for a week or longer is, stand in the same place and click trees. There is no fun in that.

And that is where I see a resemblance with Whaleshares.

Whaleshares

When you only focus on one of the aspects of the platform, it can get boring quickly. Use the full package of features and it can be fun.

Social

This means interaction. Write, comment, connect, tip.

Sharing

This means interaction. Write, comment, connect, tip.

Friends

This means interaction. Write, comment, connect, tip.

Network

This means interaction. Write, comment, connect, tip.

Staying in your own bubble is fine, but won't bring you much pleasure. Read other people's post, comment, ask a question, learn, get inspired, give support if needed, share experiences, that is what brings value.

Compare it to being in a bar in real life, how long do you think it will take for people to stop hanging out with you if all you do is talk and accept their drinks. People also want you to listen and buy drinks every once in a while.

As in Runescape, there are a lot of things on Whaleshares you learn about when you explore more. Other people inform you about it. In Runescape for example you could stumble upon a weird black rock in a random place. You can mine it, and most often other people will join you. You learn there is a special chat channel for announcing the spots of these rocks and people help each other find it and mine it. There is a reward when the rock is completely mined.

On Whaleshares, those extra features would include witness votes, tip balance, powerup, powerdown, pods and so on. There is no reason to trouble newbies with that info right away. They will learn from other users about it, and use it when they feel comfortable with it.

Improvement

One thing Whaleshares could learn from Runescape is the quest you have to finish before being released in the real world. A small introduction on how to post that introduction post, what daba is, and the importance of keeping your keys stored in a safe place, preferably multiple places, would help a lot.

Me on Runescape

Writing about Runescape makes me want to start playing again.
Find me on Runescape: J4mbo
_{Had to change gender here, coz the female outfits are way too sexy and other players kept commenting on it} :upside_down_face: