Honestly, I'm half-expecting there won't even
be
a lore section for Runefest. Devs are being diverted left and right to mobile and other secret 'big projects' (not that that's necessarily a bad thing - Jagex needs another product, but they also need to learn how to manage, market, and
not abandon
fledgling properties). Given the road map presented to investors and Shandong, 2018 has long been planned as a major year for new product releases - I'd guess Jagex is trying to look beyond Runescape more than ever right now.
With half the developers working on the ninja team and another quarter working in an explicitly combat-focused scrum, that leaves the entirety of any other type of new development in the hands of a very small group - quests probably have more competition for dev time now than in any other year.
With expansions, elder god quest, and thread quest all scrapped, and TAPP projects set aside for unfinished business, it's a near certainty that Evil Dave quest (blech) will be the only remaining quest in 2017. And it's not looking good for other quests that want attention. And, if Menaphos is anything to go by, there has been a major shift in how Runescape prioritizes and chooses to present quests.
With the first major arc of the 6th Age concluded and some of the most major storylines tied up, I feel like Jagex might be looking to scrap resource-heavy, narrative-heavy questing altogether, and look to imitate other MMOs. Especially if they're looking for accessibility when opening up the game to a new market (which, for the record, I think is a horrible idea, but seems like it could be the direction they're going).
Anyways, I expect a lot of bluster about big new (possibly non-RS3) Jagex projects in 2018, a lot of insubstantial concept art for various reworks, some big combat reveals, and probably some sort of brand changes or an expansion of cross integration. I kinda think story will get brushed under the rug.
03-Sep-2017 10:56:00
