Some Runescape Behind the Scenes and Future Updates

So, some of the bits of Runescape awesomeness we’ve been working on in the last few months have finally been released, or at least hinted at:)
I haven’t worked on these particular projects to be honest, a part from one, (and only marginally).
However, go team!

This is the teaser of an imminent release, published on Runescape’s website.
The concepts for this one are by three Concept Artists of my team, who I won’t name since I’m not sure they are comfortable at being thrown at The Internet.
They made an awesome job, as you can see.

This is the same video uploaded on Youtube. I like it because of the comments:)

This is the test episode of a bi-monthly video we’ll be bringing you this summer – RuneCast.

And finally, this is the article on Edge about the next BIG update. Which of course I’m not allowed to talk about!

by Paolo Puggioni

Drawing Session at The Royal Armoury in London

If you draw Fantasy Art for a living, (or even for leisure actually), there are few places more inspiring than the Royal Armouries in the Tower of London.
One of the reasons why Jagex is a cool place to work in, is that it’s always happy to invest in training and improvement, which is why last week my fellow Concept Artists and I were sent to London for a Life Drawing session.

The plan was to spend a day at the armouries copying weapons and armours from life.
What we didn’t take into account was the throng of tourists competing with us for a spot in front of the coolest pieces, so we ended up just taking reference pictures and talking about how every specific detail could have fit into Runescape.

What never fails to amaze me is that no matter how crazy the designs you come up with for a game are, you always find that something crazier has already been done. Like, five centuries before.
For example, I’d never draw a blade as twisted as the one below because, well, how the hell is it supposed to work? Or be sheathed?
Yet, this was actually used.

The decoration on this elm is so tacky it would be perfect for the ego of a final Boss.

The size of the following armour is not a camera trick. This is the tallest armour ever built. The guy who used to wear it was 2.10 metres tall. His sword was WAY taller than me.

One other piece I loved is this dagger. Simple and elegant. Its design would also be perfect for a space ship now that I think of it.

And then the Middle Ages equivalent of today’s average Hummer drivers. This is what knights with small egos used to equip their armours with in order to counterbalance their – umm – deficiencies.

The other unmissable exhibit at the Tower of London is of course that of the Crown Jewels.
Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, pictures weren’t allowed inside. So you just have to believe my description of a diamond twice as big as an egg, or the solid gold wine tankard as big as a small bath tub.

All in all it was a nice and fruitful expedition, too bad we couldn’t manage to draw a single line.
The next training day it will be out in the Cambridge countryside, drawing landscapes from life.

And possibly cows.

by Paolo Puggioni

Some More Runescape Concepts

There’s a whole bunch of concepts I had been given permission to post.
Unfortunately I suck at Internet, so, despite my WordPress interface being fool-proof, every time I have to post anything I must get everyone out of the house, shut the blinds, put classical music on, pour a coffee and be prepared to spend the next couple of hours fighting with ftp and stuff.
This means posting things requires time, which I have an chronic lack of.

Anyway, now that I’m done complaining about my first-world problems, here are another couple of concepts I made for my favourite quest so far, One Piercing Note.
They are both for the clock tower. It was quite a challenge, the combination between quest requirements and engine limitations made the whole thing a mine field of issues to address.
Also, the drawing distance didn’t allow too high a tower, increasing the risk of something closer to a can of tuna rather than a graceful structure striving to touch the sky.

In the end I think we did a good job, so if you haven’t played the quest yet, do it now!