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Dungeon Runners: Developer Journal
When talking about the subject of this developer journal, MMORPG.com asked the Dungeon Runners Development Team one simple question: What's so great about Dungeon Runners? As you can see, the development team has a very enthusiastic take on the answer.
When you compare Dungeon Runners with many of the other online games currently available in the market today, you instantly see its accessibility, easy-to-play design and brand of humor that sets it apart as a unique, fun gaming experience. Developed internally at NCsoft, Dungeon Runners' was intended to let anyone have an enjoyable fast-paced massively multiplayer experience, with no extra cost to the player.
;)
This free aspect of Dungeon Runners is just part of its overall charm. Unlike most other massively multiplayer online games, Dungeon Runners does not require an online fee to play, nor does it cost anything to acquire initially. All a potential player has to do is download the game, create a free account, and start playing. It's that easy. On top of that, you can create as many game accounts as you want, so in essence you can have as many characters as you want. System requirements are low and the game runs on most modern machines easily.
Which is not to say there isn't an online fee available for the game. We call it Membership. For $5 US a month, a Member can gain access to better equipment, a bank vault for storing even more items, and several other gameplay advantages (some of which are still being implemented, such as voice communication for groups). Members play in the same game world as regular non-Members and Dungeon Runners has remained fundamentally the same, but Membership exists as an added incentive to those who get a lot out of the game. Moreover, the cost is a lot less than most other MMOs.
;)
In any event, there's plenty for all Dungeon Runners to do. There's a lot of dungeons (instanced locations that randomly generate), tons of weapons, armor, and other goodies to pick up, and gobs of monsters to kill. In addition, you can converse with other players and get together in groups for the really tough dungeon areas. With monthly updates to the game, more and more content is being added to Dungeon Runners all the time, and players get to continually experience new challenges, new upgrades and new items to horde. It also doesn't take long to do anything--you can wipe out a dungeon level and complete missions in just minutes.
Speaking of items, when you first look your inventory you might get a handle on Dungeon Runners' distinctive sense of humor. We've taken the usual fantasy slant on attaching exciting and heroic adjectives to weapons and armor and turned the concept on its head. What might have been the "Crossbow of Speed" in a normal game is now the "Steaming Cardboard Scrap Crossbow of the Wasp" in Dungeon Runners. This extends to nearly everything in the game, from the addled and sometimes self-absorbed non-player characters and vendors you meet in your travels to the widely varied titles your persona acquires (such as the "Energetic Noobie Obsidian Mage").
;)
Dungeon Runners is also very easy to play--aside from movement keys there are a couple of attack keys, some inventory keys, text chat and that's pretty much it. Dungeon Runners also sports a cool classless skill system. While you start out choosing from one of three prototype character classes (Fighter, Ranger, and Mage), the skills and abilities you can purchase from that point allows you to build your character to be whatever you want it to be.
As you can see, we made Dungeon Runners to be a fun game that you can just pick up and play at any time. You don't have to worry about subscription fees, bank-breaking system requirements, or time constraints. You can fit short or long game sessions into your schedule and fit your gameplay style to your character easily. Finally, we added a real sense of humor to the game just to take the edge off. The result we think is a pretty good start, and the future is bright for Dungeon Runners.
Article By:
The Dungeon Runners Dev Team
hmm i don't think its worth playing cause of the non-member stuff.
that's just like in runescape and to be honest runescape sucks
first of all you start the game you know at the beginning you think the game is good pretty sweet
but then it gets boring... but there is nothing we cant solve so you subcribe to jagex and make yourlself a sweet member account
but a member account is like the only way to actually play runescape cause
as a "free player" you dont even get to see a quarter of the game.
so what i think now is that dungeon runners is just like runescape,
the developers even said that for "some" items you need to have a member account
so i advice that you keep your hands of games like this, if you dont want pay the monthly fee
this is just an advice!!!!!
This game is great for a lunch break or something to do while waiting for some of the newer titles. Of course the more you commit to it the better the rewards, but you can play at your own pace without the overbearing feeling you are not getting your monies worth.
I put in 3 months of paid play time. So far I am satisfied with what I expect. The spoofy names do give me a chuckle now and then.
I am glad it just takes "the work" aspect of MMO gaming. No need to grind to level, just hop in and whack a virutal mob, grab loot, etc.
We have a great time here, fighting monsters and roleplaying..never get's old. come join us.
Many ideas in this game have been heavily based on other MMORPGs such as WoW. They even use the same terms such as instances, soulbound, etc.
Bottom line, avoid this game - it's a waste of precious time.
The game look interesting. I dunno why, I didn't try it in the past...
Paying $5 a month isn't problematic, I use to pay $15 after all...
My question, if I am an evil hardcore player with:
- Subpar reflexes (not horrible, but under average)
- Allergic to raiding (medical proofs to follow shortly)
- Grouping fanatic
How would I find the game? Okay, let compare with other games on the market and what I think of them:
100%: CoV/CoH: Best MMO I tried so far, it isn't perfect, but it is pointless to have no game at 100%. I hate the nerfs and the overall imbalance between some sets (which make you wanted/tolerated by groups, depending on your choices).
85%: AA: Honestly, I can't say anything bad about it except maybe the endgame, but I was lacking the motivation to log in.
80%: SoR: Many good ideas. I didn't like the fact you have to do everything in order to be good, but beside that, I like most of the game (I don't like that tradeskillers are betters, to get components you have to raid in a PvP zone, etc. etc.).
75%: EQ: Could have a higher score, honestly I really loves that game, especially LDoN...but raiding ruins it all.
Horizons: 65%: Many interesting ideas...but...wasn't enought.
Unrated (below 50%): EQ2, WoW, Vanguard, DAoC, DDO, FFXI. These games where not designed for players like me in mind, they have no appeal whatsoever. It doesn't make them bad games, and they may indeed be good (DAoC is neat for peoples who like to RvR...), for OTHER peoples...for me they are not even worthy of the title: game.
I didn't even bother to try GW...leveling up seem quite fast, and the focus is on PvP...so the fun is short if at all, then boring forever...at least, this is the reading I made when I see it...I assume some players will love it, but not me. I didn't even bother to try LotR either...I don't want to raid...
So instead of insulting a game that you know very little about, just simply say that the game wasn't your style (politely) and move on.
It is what most mmos are at the very core: kill, loot, repeat. Only this game gets rid of all the other stuff that makes mmos end up being a job.
Flame if you will
Ant
edit: for those complaining about the fact that you gotta pay for some of the content...relax...it's only 5 bucks....
as other posters have said, not a bad game, but the $5.00 price suits it well. If it were anything mre than that, it would not be worth it one bit. However, BORING Runner is a better title. There isnt enough to do. Its kill, loot, sell, repeat.
For those people that have played this game, is it me or is there a whole lot of ranger love in this game? Seems to cater to rangers in a blatant way.
Eh just my 2 cents
In my opinion, NCSoft has to be given credit for shaking things up a bit.
Guild Wars - No monthly fee
CoH/CoV - First MMORPG set in a super-hero setting
Tabula Rasa- Sci-Fi shooter/MMORPG
And now Dungeon Runners - a FREE game with a minimal pay,ent option for those who really get into it.
At least they're not bent on doing the same old thing. I like creativity.
No auto attack
Aimable spells
Characters appearances are very unique
Combat is fun
Great community
Lots of potential
Cons:
Way to easy
Lack of skills
Lack of enemies
Lack of environments
Its been said this game is a cross between diablo 2 and diablo 1. However unfortunately they took the small enemy numbers from diablo 1 and mixed it with the weak enemies from diablo 2. This makes it lack the nerve racking feeling diablo 1 had where an enemy can take 1/5 your hp in 1 blow, and also makes it lack the large mass battles of diablo 2.
Also the main problem with the game seems to be that they listen to the playerbase to much, this means a lot of the devs time is spent on things like voice chat and camera rotation rather than content suck as skills, enemies, and levels.
All in all Its still worth checking out if your not that good at games or hate the skill-less auto attack crap they are pumping out now a days. If you want to actually have to aim that fireball then this games for you.
Actually what the hell am i talking about; its free, you dont have any reason not to at least try it...
I agree with Alcuin. I defintely like how NC Soft is going and has gone against the grain of the typical MMOs out there. Kudos for trying different things (Auto Assault, CoH), and I'm eagerly awaiting Tabula Rasa
However, this may be the fastest I've ever installed and uninstalled a game in my life. I created my character (forget even what class I picked), heard the first quest NPC speak, chuckled at the ridiculousness of his voice, logged out, and uninstalled the game.
It gave the impression of another typical hack/slash/grind game, one of among many currently out there. The graphics looked "grainy" and uninspiring. Yes, yes, I know it's free, what did I expect, but hey that was my impression.
They're all the same. Kill, grind, level and get better loot along the way!
Non-member gear will buff stats and damage dealt, and that's about it. Member gear adds a bunch of elemental resistance some nice damage reflection, crit chance, all in all nice stuff, but they're only useful for maxing your character; it was a difference of 200 damage for mage spells, when i was hitting for about 1500 total. A fair amount, but things were dying in 2-3 hits anyways as a non member, not a big deal. Not only that, but as a mage, with a horrible defense rating, It wasn't a big deal to handle two groups of baddies at once; death shouldn't be a problem for anyone. Succinctly: as it is now, non-membership isn't that big a deal.
I gave up playing it because I hit level 50 and realized I had finished every dungeon in the game. I still had 50 levels to go (that was about a month ago, they might have added another but I haven't seen news about it). They didn't even have a Nightmare mode to play through all the dungeons again...
All in all, I think the easiest explanation of it is Diablo with a world chat in the corner of your screen for 100 fellow game players to rant. And yes there is an ignore feature.
I guess I played the game at just that moment when everything seemed perfect. Good timing for a few weeks, and the first few changes it went through weren't so bad. You might even say they were good changes. But then, inevitably, I suppose, the changes they made to the game started to suck ass. Short version: Imho, they took what was shaping up to be a great game (like I said, I think it was a matter of timing) and crapped all in it's mouth.
Fun while the fun lasted, though. :D
I had been in the very early beta test of this and tested/played it off and on for a good amount of time. IMO Dungeon Runners is exactly what I would expect from a Diablo MMO. It is as deep as any action rpg and more fun because it doesnt try to take itself so seriously. I think alot of bad press comes from people too wrapped up in their virtual selves and unable to laugh at themselves and the absurdity of mmo's in general.
Since no one else is going to take the time for the easy bash, I will. Luciferxxx go back to watching demon porn and stay out of my games you WOW fanatic. Your comments imply that WOW coined the terms Soulbound and instances, well I will inform you now, Soulbound items were a part of the dungeons and dragons books in the late 70's and untill current. The first MMOs ever The realm, Meridian 59, Ultima Online, Everquest all dateing between 1993 and 2001 all included instances and souldbound items, it is part of the genre.
I am suprised you didn't claim they copied the classes right out of WOW oh my gods, they named them rangers, and mages, warriors, just like WOW! Sorry WOW did nothing new you fool, just because it introduced you to the games doesn't mean it was the first to do it, WOW has elements of all of the games that preceded it, so clear your head of your WOW blindness and do some reading.
The fact is that most of the terms used in MMO's came from books years before them.