Part quality of life enhancement, part botting deterrence, random events hold a special place in the history and legacy of Old School Runescape [1]. An innovative solution to the growing problem of “macroing” and an early expansion to core game play, random events were introduced to replace bot-deterrent mechanics from Runescape Classic that were frustrating and tedious for players. The design philosophy behind random events aims to balance punishments for the increasing number of individuals violating the game’s terms of service, and rewarding loyal players who did not cheat. As the practices of botting and macroing advanced tremendously since the early 2000’s, random events underwent several revisions and removals. Today, their simple principles of requiring the player to complete a puzzle or select a response to avoid punishment are no longer effective, rendering them an artifact of an earlier era. Looking closely at these silly random events pulls you into the history of RuneScape.
Early random events were truly a mixed bag, with aggressive swarms, angry “dancing trees”, and exploding rocks threatening to interrupt skilling events at any moment. While these would prove to be an early hindrance to bot nets and macroing, some players felt some of these events were unbalanced and detracted from the game. Even random events that offered players rewards, such as the famous Sandwich Lady or iconic Drunken Dwarf could break a player away from combat with deadly consequences with enough bad luck. Some events, like random equipment breaks, left you vulnerable to an opportunistic player- who might pick up your pickaxe pieces before you could blink. While many of these events are no longer part of the game experience, and others have been modified based on community feedback, they have always been well loved [3] – so much that no completion log would be considered finished without a full mime outfit and lederhosen!
[Image Source - https://www.reddit.com/r/2007scape/comments/79gbhq/i_hate_when_people_ignore_their_random_events/]
Our philosophy behind creating buildable models of Runescape games is to celebrate not just the characters, but the game as a whole. Random events reflect the amount of thought and insight that has defined the evolution of the game, and our LEGO designs are a way of reliving these moments with the intention and care you might not otherwise get while exploring Gielinor. Whether you’re looking for a surer bet than staking at the sand casino or because you are looking for the perfect desktop decoration to keep you motivated as you grind for your next skillcape we bet you’ll find what you’re looking for with our Brickheadz styled Random Event Series!
References
1. https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/w/Random_events#:~:text=History,a%20certain%20amount%20of%20experience.