RuneScape Hits a New Milestone

Developed and published by UK's Jagex Games Studio, "RuneScape" has just hit a new milestone: the 200 millionth account has been created (though "active" users stand at about 10 million).

To help commemorate the world's largest free MMORPG - as recognized by Guinness World Records - USA TODAY caught up with Mark Ogilvie, lead designer on the game, to reveal 5 things you likely didn't know about the game.

Bedroom roots

Jagex Games Studio currently employs more than 500 staff to develop new content for the millions of players who play "RuneScape." However, back in 2001, it was a very different story. The original team consisted of just two brothers, Andrew and Paul Gower, who created the game as a hobby and a creative outlet while in college.

After graduating, the brothers set about developing "RuneScape" further from their parent's house. With only a limited amount of time and money to invest, they were quick to rope in their friends to act as game testers and graphics artists. They even drafted in their family to help record sound effects for the game, spending hours dropping things into their mother's sink to mimic the sound of fishing and capturing bacon frying on the stove to use for players cooking in the game.

Playable on almost any computer

"RuneScape" is considered one of the most accessible games as it can run on almost any Windows, Mac or Linux setup that has access to the Internet. One of the key reasons for the game's instant popularity was that it was "cloud"-based long before any one had ever thought of the term.

The game has been developed using Jagex's own "thin client," which is so small it would fit onto a floppy disc and runs in the background so players won't even realize it's there. This also means there is no download time when players enter the game. What's more, the game is completely scalable and is automatically optimized to run on anything from a 10 year-old PC to a top-of-the-line gaming computer.

Record breaking

"RuneScape" currently has players in more than 150 countries. Many people search for “where to buy runescape accounts”. In 2008, Guinness World Records crowned the game with the title of "World's Most Popular Free MMORPG," but this isn't the only world record that "RuneScape" has won. The game also holds the Guinness