Behind The Scenes - December, 3 December 2007

Kicking things off this month will be Bounty Hunter. This dangerous minigame will take place in a dormant volcano, with three separate arenas for different Combat levels. Each of them will put you in the role of a Bounty Hunter with a simple task: to kill one randomly-assigned player in the same arena.

So, where is the danger in that, we hear you ask? Well, there will be others in the Bounty Hunter area who also have a simple task: to kill you! Will you have what it takes to reach your target and gain their loot before your nemeses find you?

The danger will not end there: far from it, in fact! Some players may choose to lurk in the shadows and attack other players, regardless of their target. These players will be 'rogue' bounty hunters, and will make your attempts to be the best hunter even more difficult.

Hand-in-hand with this update, we will be releasing two new Hiscores tables. Will you have the guts and glory to rise to the top of the Bounty Hunters table? Or will you ambush and backstab your way to the summit of our Bounty Hunter Rogues leaderboard?

Not far from the Bounty Hunter volcano will lie our other new minigame. Prepare for Clan Wars!

Here, a clan will be able to war with another clan in a large arena, without the worry of interruptions. Organise matches through your Clan Chat system and prepare to face-off in huge all-out battles that only end when one team has wiped out the other! View the battle from your opponents' prison if you die, and hope that your clan can win the battle without you...

With no limits to the number of clan wars running simultaneously, there will always be an opportunity for a scrap in this exciting multiplayer minigame.

On the tails of these two updates will come an addition to the Wilderness. The spirits of creatures slain during the God Wars are returning to haunt the living, attacking anyone bold enough to stray near. Will you be able to hold back a spectral dark beast? Wander into the Wilderness later this month to find out.

If you die while holding any items, you will reveal the fourth of our updates this month. A gravestone will temporarily appear on the spot where you perished, which can be read and admired by passers-by. It will even be possible to purchase increasingly impressive gravestones, all the way up to the ominous 'Angel of Death'.

On a more serious note, many of you will be aware of our efforts to stop real-world trading and how some of our recent updates have been part of that. You may have questions about it: What does it mean? How does it affect the game? How big a problem is it? What are the ways of dealing with it? To answer these questions and more, we'll be releasing a very important Development Diary on the subject.

What would December be without Christmas? This year's event will see a more traditional approach, with the building and making of snowballs and snowmen! Don't worry, it will still be a very RuneScape Christmas, as there are surprises hidden up the snowmen's snowsleeves...

The website will, of course, have its annual festive feel, in keeping with the Christmas event, as well as some Christmas cards coming out the week before. As a gift to you, we will also be presenting you with another Summoning wallpaper and two more Summoning Development Diaries, alongside the customary Players' Gallery and Postbag from the Hedge.

All that is left to say, from us here at Jagex HQ, is have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It's been a fantastic 2007, and with Summoning just weeks away, it is going to be an even more awesome 2008.