Welcome to Fandom Faceoff! We’ve got work besties and MAS motion designers going head-to-head to settle a battle of the classics: RuneScape or The Sims? Whether you’re grinding levels or building dream houses, there’s no denying the impact of these two games. So, which one takes the crown? Let's get into it. 

Jeremy

Hi, I’m Jeremy! I’m one of MAS’s Motion Designers. Christine and I met back in 2015 during our Motion Media Design program at SCAD, where we bonded over sleepless nights, general nerdiness, and a questionable amount of caffeine. I’ve played RuneScape since I was 10, logging an absurd (and frankly embarrassing) amount of hours into this game. Seriously, if I’d spent half that time learning an instrument, I’d be playing violin solos at Carnegie Hall right now. But no, instead, I was making RuneScape Music Videos (“RSMVs”) and inadvertently setting the course for my animation career. I recently quit playing to focus on animating, but the game still owns a part of my soul—and my YouTube recommendations.

Christine

And I’m Christine, the other half of the Motion Design Dream Team™! My Sims obsession started in 2001, watching my cooler, older cousin navigate The Sims while juggling AIM messages from her high school crush. Designing dream lives for our Sims, then accidentally trapping them in a shed without windows or doors and watching them slowly die, felt like magic. The duality of Girlhood!👯‍♀️💕 The pixelated world-building and internet dial-up tone left a deep impression on me, and I developed a passion for storytelling. Both RuneScape and The Sims gripped our childhoods in their own bizarre ways, and now we’re here to argue about which one did it better.

RuneScape and The Sims both offer players endless creativity and loyal communities, but their appeals diverge dramatically. RuneScape is a gritty, grindy MMORPG for those who find joy in virtual masochism, while The Sims is a sandbox of soap operas, shenanigans, and simulated chaos. Let’s explore how each game has shaped gaming culture—and how they’ve consumed far too much of our lives.

Gameplay

Christine

While both games were released in 2001 (coincidence? I think not), The Sims gives players godlike control over every detail of their Sims’ lives. From their eye color and astrological sign to their deepest aspirations and chaotic impulses, gameplay isn’t just about creating a Sim's look, but an entire soap opera. With custom content and modding, you can download endless outfits and hairstyles, so your Sim is always dressed to impress—even when trapped in a pool with no ladder.

Jeremy

Meanwhile, RuneScape is the ultimate game for people who like to suffer productively. Its old-school graphics and gameplay have been stretched and innovated far beyond what anyone could have imagined. You’ll never finish RuneScape—no one has, and no one ever will, because “completion” is like the Loch Ness Monster: mythical and endlessly debated. Whether you’re slaying dragons, cooking lobsters, or chopping trees for hours while binge-watching TV, RuneScape offers infinite possibilities. It’s like a grind-heavy meditation app with swords.

Storytelling

Christine

The Sims have their own dialect—Simlish—a hilariously nonsensical language that conveys everything from romance to rage without a single comprehensible word. Sims can profess their love, fight over dirty dishes, or throw hands with the Grim Reaper (who may also moonlight as a D.J.?), all while making their feelings known with the kind of passion that only a made-up language can bring.  It’s like watching a reality show with subtitles you can’t read.

Jeremy

RuneScape doesn’t have a made-up language, but its text-based quests and ridiculous lore makes up for it. One moment you’re helping a vampire fall in love; the next, you’re debating philosophy with sentient penguins. The game’s dialogue is hilarious, clever, and weirdly touching at times. Every NPC has a story, and the player’s choices shape these stories in ways that are equally rewarding and absurd. It’s like being the star of a fantasy sitcom with way too many episodes.

Worldbuilding

Jeremy

RuneScape’s world, Gielinor, offers endless lands to explore, from sandy deserts to bustling towns to ominous dungeons filled with game-changing loot. But the real beauty is in the grind. Leveling up one of the 20+ skills feels like climbing Mount Everest: exhausting, rewarding, and sometimes unnecessary. And the combat system? It’s either a complex battle with intense clicking and movement, or a chance to AFK while eating snacks. RuneScape is more about that sweet dopamine hit from leveling up your digital skills or getting that sweet, sweet drop you’ve been grinding for 2 weeks. 

Christine

Then there’s the ever-expanding Sims universe itself, a virtual world of possibilities, ranging from cozy, rural life, or diverse, city living, to your own Polynesian experience on a tropical island. Add in the generational drama of built-in characters like Bella Goth and Bob Pancakes, or the Monty and Capp families featured in The Sims 2, a family feud in the pixelated world of Veronaville, and suddenly you’re not just playing a game—you’re directing a never-ending Shakespearean play.

Customization

Christine

The Sims modding community is a lawless paradise where dreams and nightmares collide. Want your Sims to experience everything from acne to a midlife crisis? There’s a mod for that. How about a luxurious McMansion with a custom hot-tub shaped like a doughnut? With a few downloads and “motherlode" cheat codes, it's all yours—although, in typical Sims style, they'll probably still find a way to mess things up, like flooding the kitchen while making mac and cheese.

Jeremy

RuneScape has been late to the modding party, but it’s finally making an entrance with “Project Zanaris.” This new game mode will let players create their own mods, but until then, the community has taken customization into their own hands by inventing insane challenges. Want to play without trading, interacting, or leaving one town? Clever YouTubers have taken these concepts and ran with them, which makes their grinds all the more interesting. Jagex even took inspiration from these content-creating masochists and turned their wild ideas into official game modes. Nothing says “player-driven innovation” like self-imposed suffering. 

Conclusion

Christine

Sims has evolved across four generations, bringing fresh features to new players and long-time fans. Sitting down to play is like catching up with old friends: a lot of nostalgia, some questionable decisions, and maybe the occasional kitchen fire. 

Jeremy

RuneScape has evolved as well; it continues to receive weekly updates and even expanded to have two different versions of the game, one with modern graphics and another for those who crave the low-poly glory days of 2007. 

Despite their differences, both The Sims and RuneScape have transcended mere “game” status - they’re worlds that adapt, grow and continue to captivate players of all ages, allowing for endless creativity, nostalgia, and exploration. So, are you Team RuneScape or Team Sims?