Oldschool Runescape will be among the most frequent topics of my blogging here on Steemit. I’m not here to advertise for OSRS by any means but let me first tell you a little bit about the game and why I’ve been so involved with it for the majority of my life.

What is Oldschool Runescape?

For those of you who don't know, Runescape has been around since approximately the year 2001. That's when I got involved when I was still in elementary school! I wasn't kidding when I said the majority of my life. The internet was a totally different world back then, of course. So it's kind of amazing to think that Runescape has survived this entire time in some form or another.

It's a "medieval" MMORPG that allows you to freely explore the world, gain levels in all types of skills, complete quests and challenges, interact and fight other players, and trade to gain wealth in a rather complex stock market - of sorts. The community of Oldschool Runescape is fantastic and I would love to see it grow here on Steemit. :) What made Runescape insanely popular include some of the following points:

• Extensive free-to-play version that many players are content with
• Browser-based which makes it extremely convenient
• Simplified graphics and interface
• Multiple game-modes: ironman, ultimate ironman, hardcore ironman, deadman mode
• Enthusiastic community and an amazing development team that listens to the players

This first picture below is what the graphics looked like from the years 2001-2004 which is now referred to as Runescape Classic and it can still be played if you pay for a membership.

From the years 2004-2012 the game underwent an immense transformation phase. This is where the vast majority of players started playing and have remained to this day. There's actually a great documentary about the history of Runescape that explains the behind-the-scenes of how the game gained its immense popularity and its "downfall" around the 2012 mark. Basically what happened is in 2012 the developers wanted to once again change the entire game's graphics and combat system - which most players did not want to happen - but they went through with it anyway.

The game lost the majority of its players after Runescape Evolution of Combat was forced upon them. But in 2013 that's when OLDSCHOOL RUNESCAPE was released. This was a back-up of the game from the 2007-era which brought back a version of the game that millions of players were in love with. Now players have the choice to either play Runescape (on the EOC platform) or Oldschool Runescape (2007-era graphics).

Why do I play Runescape?

I have to say that my personal motivation for playing this game - almost exclusively - for 16 years can be summed up in a few reasons:

It's nostalgic

Let's face it, if you played any game in your childhood for any significant amount of time that game probably stirs up some very powerful feelings of enjoyment and happiness similar to music and smells that you may associate with positive memories.

Goal-oriented gameplay

As funny as this sounds, the insanely rewarding sense of accomplishment you get from achieving new goals, completing quests, or getting a new piece of armour in this game is sometimes scary. Not only that but I attribute much of my real-life success on my history in playing Runescape. It has taught me extremely effective time management skills, patience like no other, and prioritizing abilities. I feel like it has given me a great sense of what achievable goals are as well as the ability to balance all of life's responsibilities to achieve them.

Endless content

For anyone who has played an MMORPG they know that being a noob is the single most enjoyable time when discovering a new game. The thing is: you will most likely always feel like a noob playing Runescape. There is so much content on this game that I assure you, unless you are an 18-hour-a-day professional gamer, you will not beat this game. You will always have something to do, and the developers release content faster than you can keep up. It's amazing.

Do I play any other games?

I'm not exaggerating when I say this but the only other games I have ever played since I started playing Runescape have been Team Fortress Classic, Counterstrike Source, and recently Counterstrike: GO. Even with that said, I rarely play these games. Sometimes on a weekend if I'm staying in and I want something a little bit more fast-paced than Runescape then I'll log in for an hour or so but that's about it.

I've recently been watching a lot of streamers play Playerunknowns Battlegrounds and holy smokes does it ever look fun. Can any of you convince me to make the purchase? What other games may you recommend? I'm quite committed to my Oldschool Runescape- but try me! I'm rather open minded, let's see if you can convince me to step out of my comfort zone. :D