Mod Vince
Vince Farquharson (also known as Mod Vince) was the previous Head of RuneScape at Jagex. His appointment to the post was announced on 21 October 2008.<ref name="appointment">Jagex announces THQ Creative Director as Head of RuneScape. Press Releases. Jagex (2008-10-21). Retrieved on 2008-12-02. “Jagex, the UK's largest independent games developer, today announced the appointment of Vince Farquharson as the head of its flagship title, RuneScape.”</ref>
Before joining Jagex, Farquharson had been creative director and development director at THQ for three years,<ref>Mike Bowden (2008-10-22). Vince Farquharson new Runescape boss. Videogaming247.com, a videogaming247 Ltd publication. Retrieved on 2008-12-02. “Farquharson will oversee the Runescape expansion after work as creative director and development director for THQ for the last three years.”</ref> where he oversaw titles including MotoGP 06 and 07, Worms: Open Warfare 1 and 2, Worms: A Space Oddity, Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command and Broken Sword: The Angel of Death.<ref>Suzie Ford (2008-10-21). Runescape Scores a New Game Director. WarCry Network (Themis Media, a division of Themis Group, Inc.). Retrieved on 2008-12-02. “During his time at THQ, Vince has overseen a number of titles, including MotoGP 06 and 07, Worms: Open Warfare 1 and 2, Worms: A Space Oddity, Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command and Broken Sword: The Angel of Death.”</ref> He has been credited on video games from 1995 for other companies including Ocean Software, Electronic Arts, Bullfrog Productions, and Empire Interactive.<ref>Vince Farquharson biography. Moby Games. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.</ref>
| “ | Vince brings a wealth of industry experience, making him the ideal candidate for Head of RuneScape. We see him as a fantastic addition to RuneScape, at a time when the game is surging in popularity. | ” |
| “ | I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining the RuneScape team. I’ve watched for several years as RuneScape has evolved into a phenomenal success with millions of players. I'm very excited to be working with the team responsible for this, as we take the game forward into 2009 and beyond. | ” |
Farquharson's first newspost was Behind the Scenes 2009 of the 2 January 2009, in which he was credited as "Mod Vince, Head of RuneScape".<ref>Farquharson, Vince (2009-01-02). Behind the Scenes 2009. RuneScape News List. Jagex. Retrieved on 2009-01-02. “Well, at the end of my first newspost, I just want to thank you all for your continued support through 2008, and I look forward to seeing you all in Gielinor in 2009. Happy New Year! Mod Vince, Head of RuneScape”</ref>
He has since been replaced by Christoph Vietzke (Mod Fetzki).
The Year of Upgrades
Vince Farquharson was the first to announce in a newspost that 2009 would be the "Official Year of Upgrades" for RuneScape.
In the "Behind the Scenes 2009" newspost, he said:
"Well, this is the challenge that we’ve set ourselves: 2009 has become our official Upgrade Year! So, what does that mean? It means our New Year's resolution is to tweak and polish what we've already got in the game alongside creating new content. For example:
- Doing the 'little' jobs that make a big difference (e.g. a 'You are here' arrow on the world map) and basically fixing all the annoying little quirks the game has. Things that may be the least glamorous to work on and talk about, but which really add up.
- Updating some of the earliest content/quests to bring it up to date, and take advantage of all the features we have added to the game engine since it was originally created. Also, reworking old clues that no longer work now the game is bigger (e.g. 'Look west of the mountains' was fine when there was only one mountain, but not now).
- Making the interfaces as intuitive, flexible and user-friendly as possible.
- Then, after all that, we’ll start looking into abandoned and barely used areas/features of the game, and breathing new life into them."