INSANE LORE - Can Mod Stu Save RUNESCAPE? Beloved developer talks Lore, New player experience!

BIG THANKS To Gonbe for being such a stand up lad. we love him. our new PRODUCER!

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Question order

How are you? (note: interview recorded Fri 12th April evening)
How do you feel about the final product [Requiem for a Dragon]?
How did you first hear about RuneScape?
Transition from sci-fi to medieval & RuneScape humour
Do you believe in aliens?
Favourite sci-fi franchise / Westwood's Dune

New player experience:

Favourite tutorial?
Have we thought about putting Davendale on desktop? (A/B testing)
What's the hardest part of making a new player tutorial? (politics - problem 1 & 2)
The monumental task of tutorialising RuneScape
Ashdale focused on core principles (particularly EoC as it was at the time)
Ashdale vs Burthorpe as new player hub
Ashdale as the minigame hub

A Shadow over Ashdale quest:

Favourite part of design process (environmental storytelling)
Is one of the cutscenes deliberately referencing Alien?

Shattered Worlds:

Design aim of Shattered Worlds
Do you see a quest or lore being added to supplement Shattered Worlds?
Could you see an elite dungeon mode for Shattered Worlds?
Is the Nexus in Lumbridge connected to Shattered Worlds lore-wise?

The Death of Chivalry quest:

What was one of your favourite parts of Death of Chivalry? (design reviewership)
Respect for the Black Knights’ Fortress quest
Art & audio
Could the Wand of Resurrection connect to necromancy stories? (the intended theme)
The overarching theme that the dead should stay dead
The human cost of immortality (Saradomin)
Saradomin and the needs of the many
Saradomin vs Guthix
Would you want to work on a continuation of Sir Owen's story?

Dimension of Disaster:

New Varrock is beautiful. Do you have a favourite thing about it?
Musical inspirations
Closed economy
Who's your favourite mahjarrat?
The fatal flaw of the mahjarrat

Random lore questions:

Who's cooler, Kerapac or Kranon?
What is the hidden meaning of cats in RuneScape (particularly Pieces of Hate)?
Are banite and black stone similar materials? Like iron and steel?
Does RuneScape exist in a multiverse?
Dimension of Disaster's uchronia lore (Varrock & Falador)
Invention's Talking, Mysterious & Hallucinogenic perks
Are dark portals the same phenomenon as Teragard's Schism?
Did the same force corrupt Mah's egg and consume Jas?
Could Jas be corrupted like Seiryu was intended to be?
(Lore disclaimer - narrative serves the release schedule)
Was Mur a shadow leviathan?
Is the shadow that Guthix fears the same force that Rasial warns us of?
Are these shadows the same force that is whispering beneath Daemonheim?
Guthix seems to view shadow as necessary. If so, why?
What are anima, anathema and Raksha's "something else"?
Could you define necrotic energy and underworld energy and how they're different?
Jas created the Needle; can she time travel without it?
Why does Xau-Tak seem to be outside of time?
Is Guthix truly gone forever?
Could Seren become an elder god?
Did Sliske and Guthix have an agreement, somewhat like Dumbledore and Snape?
Could Guthix and his daughter ever be reunited?
Was Loarnab a shadow colossus?
Are all of the things connected? (with segue to why Loarnab is in New Varrock)
Wushanko guardians
What is Moia's armguard made of?
Is Moia being setup like an anti-World Guardian?
Is the energy surrounding Bilrach at the end of Battle of Forinthry necrotic energy?
We think Prideslayer is going to enjoy Requiem for a Dragon - we had you in mind when writing this quest
Is Bilrach's resurrection related to Lucien's resurrection in the 'Til Death Do Us Part halloween event?
What are mahjarrat?
Could you see another Ritual for the mahjarrat, to make more?
Does Moia have a soul, being half-human?
Could you see us re-visiting Ungael? (this one aged like wine since last Friday :D)
Using the shard of Zaros on the Monolith
Easter eggs in Requiem for a Dragon
Is Zemouregal Orcus? And if so, where is the real Zemouregal?
Clarification that Zemouregal reverted to skeletal at the end of Succession
Zemouregal's characterisation & preference for mindless minions
Wights and Sliske
Do necrotic energy and shadow anima have similar characteristics?
Xau-Tak and black stone hands
Making things make sense - everything is connected
Synonyms and resonating stories
Upcoming (now past) Requiem for a Dragon livestream, dev diary, etc
Vor in Vorkath?
Do you think the shadow realm (lore book) might appear in-game at some point?

Closing questions:

If you had unlimited budget, what would you do? (improve UI & core experience)
What content would you most like to be released? (Complete Menaphos quest series)
Favourite storyline? (Mysteries of the Mahjarrat)
Are the poison wastes of Arposandra perhaps connected to Xau-Tak's corruption?
Do you really think you can save them?