It was the only game of its size and scale I had access to - RS gold required was a dial-up online connection and a browser window. As an additional bonus, that meant I could play with it both in your home and in school. Ten years on, despite cataclysmic changes and enhancements, its unique brand of total accessibility is still going strong at a world where free MMOs are commonplace, and you do not need to await your parents to get off the phone to log in.
Related: talking of free MMOs, here are some to test out in case your Steam pocket is empty. I recently attempted to log in to a very old email account, which I could only do by searching down an even older login for Runescape. A username can bring back a great deal of memories as it occurs, especially one like g0ds1ayer94. Fuelled by nostalgia, I created a new account and started exploring the fantasy world of Gielinor once more.
In the ten years I've been away, Runescape has gone from a fantasy-themed chatroom to a fully fledged cheap Runescape gold, complete with its very own annual festival, a card game twist off and sufficient content to produce 12-year-old me weak in the knees. If you can think it, you have to really download the latest version of the game.
It's a game that's preserved many of its own players through continuous updates and unrivalled audience interaction; log off for a month and you might have missed something that the community will be referencing for the next few years.
