Within my research, I’ve been investigating the impacts that nostalgia and participatory media culture have had on the narrative of the notorious MMORPG, Old School Runescape, to justify why the extension of a previous, ‘out-dated’ edition of the game harbours more popularity than its modernised counterpart, Runescape 3. Old School Runescape is a game that is dedicated to the 2007 edition of the MMORPG, although continuously updated on the terms of popularity vote by players. That is, the community are the ones to decide what expansions will be added to the main narrative of Gielinor which are typically guided by the feeling of nostalgia towards the game series.

Nostalgia stems from the way which we interpret our surroundings as we construct our identities, developing our personal understanding of culture. Once considered a medical condition in reference to the homesickness that enveloped Swiss mercenaries, now interpreted more as an emotion that typically sparks from a comforting, pleasant memory from the past we long to recover. This can be a difficult emotion to process as most often when attempting to reclaim the feeling of reassurance a previous experience has presented, it can’t be achieved through the same means as time changes the experience and sense of self. This is clear within the instance of Old School Runescape as it is impossible to regain the experiences accomplished within previous playthrough as time has altered the experience through added environmental aspects. 2007 was a very different time to current day so the whimsical outlook on Old School Runescape is unachievable to the same extent.

Participatory media culture, alternatively to consumer culture, refers to the audience of a given media niche as active and providing contribution as affiliation, expression, collaborative problem-solving and circulation. This presents a culture that believes in the importance of their contribution to their media niche and express a combined connection crafting a bond that reflects a vaster experience than what was thought through passive participation. By perceiving the true potentials of the state of media production and distribution within the digital age offers a whole new decentralisation to knowledge on given topics. This breaks down physical geographical and cultural boundaries to assemble self-organised groups with far-reaching collective knowledge to insight cooperative discussion and development. This is emulated within the OSRS community through their attempt to preserve as much of the collective memory to todays standards as possibles.

The combination of nostalgia and participatory media culture alter the development of Old School Runescape in terms of the narrative in-game. Storytelling depends on the community and player that dedicates their knowledge of the game and beyond to change the narrative rather than leaving the narrative as a confined entity not to be updated. The narrative of Old School Runescape is no longer restricted to the intent of its developers but rather a vast array of resources that have converted the plot to associate many authors, changing this from the original intent of the base 2007 version that encapsulated the nostalgia the community continues to attempt to retrieve.

Is the community aiding in their quest to recover the same nostalgic emotions or rather crafting a whole new narrative that has enticed a whole new subculture that has fallen for the current environment, maintaining its popularity overtime? The cycle of this analytical framework powers my research to understand the significance of these altercations in the grand scheme of production and distribution for Old School Runescape.