So it's a procedurally generated MMO?

HO: Well, the MMO content itself has not been procedurally generated. But all of the graphics are. We do have some projects based around developing procedurally generated content – random dungeons, and so on, but we have nothing like that live currently. The challenge to create the technology behind RuneScape as it is was a big one! You should well know there are very few companies that use anything like it – certainly no other MMOs. It took a lot of research time for us to get here.

But the great thing is that it's so scalable, so future proof now. We're able to scale it to the most hi-tech machine and the user won't even notice – they'll just see that the graphics got better, as in the example of the change from RuneScape to RuneScape HD.

Can you maybe explain this technology in more detail?

HO: Think of it like this. When you want to receive a picture, you can either call up a company and have it shipped, receiving a huge package that takes a long time to deliver, or, if you already have a painter to hand, you can just tell them exactly what to paint. On one hand you're having to deliver the object, on the other you're only delivering the information that describes the object.

So your 400-odd developers and customer support – they all work on RuneScape?

HO: No, we have a new game coming out in March 2009 called MechScape, and we have another site called FunOrb, which features mini-games. Most of the company works on RuneScape. For example, it accounts for 95% of our customer support, by which I mean billing, GMs, taking care of the community, making sure the game is working from a player perspective, and so on.

So the game is based on MUDs. Does it still keep the style of the old multi-user dungeons?

HO: Very much so. Though the game is in 3D now, we've tried to keep the emphasis on storyline and interaction between characters and players. We try not to encourage level grinding or anything else like that.

For example, with our release of Runescape HD we've released a new tutorial. The original one only served as an introduction to the interface of the game, this one is a new storyline to teach the player all about the different facets of the game.

What are the demographics are your audience?

HO: We're pretty much spread evenly across the west, with the US by far the biggest part of our market. But Europe and Australia are big ones too. We don't have a big presence in the eastern markets right now, but we're looking at that. For example, three years ago we had no presence in Germany, but since then we translated the game into Germany, making sure to capture the flavour and style of the dialogue in the translation – which is not easy! – and we've now translated the game into French, and are currently in the process of translating it into Portuguese to reach the Brazillian market next year.

Our demographics tend between 8-21 years old, with a spike between 13-15, and it's predominately male.

Your literature says that you have 6 million accounts. Is that active accounts?

HO: Yes. Those accounts are specifically those that were played in the last month – or more accurately the two weeks, because we like to keep it tight. And over 1 million of those players pay $6 a month for a full account, a number that has been growing faster and faster since we launched RuneScape HD.

We really are the second largest Western MMO after World of Warcraft. And we're happy to have people playing our free-to-play section. 40% of our game world and quests are free-to-play. You do get more frequent updates and new content if you're a subscriber, but even still, we update our free-to-play section very regularly. Every two weeks or so. Rather than only put out updates every 6 months or expansion packs every few years, we have a team working round the clock to keep the game fresh, and as a result we have 35% growth every year.