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Throughout watching this video, I was forming my own opinions about what each person was saying. At the end, however, the host pretty much wrapped all of my thoughts up. I think it goes to show that most of us veterans share the same opinions about the current game state without whining and complaining all over the RSOF. Here are some of my opinions on the whole subject though.
Side note: I wasn't a fan of Rupert. Getting a veteran WoW player into RS is like trying to sell a Toyota Corolla to an Audi fanboy. That's just the way they think. I have a couple maxed characters on WoW and quite a few of my real life friends played pretty hardcore. Notably, I have a friend that was ranked in top tier world PvP and was friends with some of the world's best Arena players, was top Diamond tier in Starcraft, and competed in Dota tournaments. Every time I got on WoW to play and mentioned RS he took every opportunity to bash it and ask if it was still that ******* point and click combat trade-off game. Not to say Rupert's opinion doesn't matter, but it should be taken with a grain of salt because he had quite the "gaming elitist" background (if you will). Battlefield, WoW, CoD, etc.
I think the age group really did play a significant role because they all analyzed it way more than I did when I started in 6th grade (college graduate now) but the opinions are still valid. If certain components are confusing for 4th year university students then there is no way they would make sense to a 10-15 year old.
GRAPHICS:
I think this was the biggest area they were a little too harsh on. I absolutely love the graphics, lighting, etc. Yes, it is a little too bright and colorful but everything to do with models and lighting is perfect where it is. I think they kept forgetting that RS is a browser game. Not something you spend 2 hours installing on your computer only to find that there's 3 hours of patches that have to be applied. Given the perspective the graphics are great, but they just need to be toned down a few steps color-wise.
MUSIC:
This shouldn't be a huge factor to worry about since most people that play (new and old) listen to their own music. I used to listen to the old MIDI tracks when I started back in 2004-2006, but that didn't ultimately deter or attract me to/from the game. The full scores that released with RS3 were kind of necessary otherwise the old MIDI tracks would have dated the new interface and gameplay and would have felt very unbalanced. Overall, leave the music how it is. The iconic tracks and melodies are still there. They're just "HD".
INTERFACE:
One of the biggest gripes of mine and of everyone probably. This needs to change the most and I'm glad they are taking steps to finally address this. The ribbon customization being released this month will be a giant step forward in my opinion. I'll be honest. The new interface system deterred ME (an 8 year veteran at the time) and I actually ended up taking a ~2 month break after RS3 was released. It seriously took me about 20 min to even find where to change my chat settings. They did a poor job categorizing windows together and I believe they could do a better job consolidating and organizing. The cleaner and simpler the interface, the easier it will be to keep new players (and old) interested.
Suggestion: Make a single "MENU" button. This button will open up a larger version of the Treasure Key/Bond/SGS/Membership window and provide access to every tab or window currently scattered across 5 different buttons. Of course the player is still able to drag and drop windows, but the consolidation of all window into the same space will make it less confusing and virtually fool-proof.
COMBAT:
He really hit the nail on the head about making "Legacy Mode" the default mode for RS3. I originally thought, along with many other players, that Legacy Mode should only be available to accounts created prior to November 2012. While that keeps the veteran "Legacy" alive it also creates a huge barrier for new players. Call "Legacy Mode" something like "Default Mode" and then have "Evolution Mode."
OVERALL:
I really like the way he worded his wrap-up. Veterans are the grandparents of RS. Most of us are focused on trying to stay elite over new players, but that pretty much numbers RS's days. If we want to continue to play this game and possibly have a game that our children can grow up playing, as we did, we need to make sure the game is accessible as ever. The new tutorial needs to either be scrapped or reworked completely because it is absolutely horrible. Last time I completed it, it was like a pathetic attempt at a quest trying to weave a story into you baking a loaf of bread or burying bones. I'm sorry but RS was never popular for story. New players see that and are deterred because the tutorial is so lame and cartoon-y. It doesn't really tell you how to play the game. It doesn't really tell you that the higher levels you get, the cooler things you can do. It doesn't encourage that. I remember back in 2004 I left Tutorial Island and went straight to the Varrock mines because I wanted to train Mining to mine new types of ore and sell them. New players just think RS is a series of dumb *** quests with a horribly confusing interface and combat system. My girlfriend actually created an account a couple of months ago but quit playing out of frustration and confusion. It was so fluffed up with crap that I couldn't even help her or tell her what to do over the phone. They need to scrap Ashdale, and just have an area like Tutorial Island (rest it's soul) with all the F2P tutors. Heaven forbid resurrect Tutorial Island.
TL;DR -> see OVERALL
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