Season 2 continues today, and this time we're joined by Mod Nin for our first ever engine developer appearance on the podcast!
In this episode, we sit down with Old School's Principal Gameplay Engineer to talk about what the game engine actually is, why RuneTek is so weird and wonderful, and how a game built in the early 2000s is still being stretched, reshaped, and occasionally politely wrestled into doing new things.
We get into the realities of engine development and how tiny-seeming changes can touch huge parts of the game, why some bugs become beloved mechanics, how automated testing helps protect things like red-Xing, and what it means to keep Old School stable while still unlocking new tools for designers, artists, and players. There is also plenty of chat about Sailing, including how moving boats went from "how are we actually going to pull this off?" to a Game Jam prototype, why rendering a world inside another world was such a big deal, and how systems built for Sailing could open doors for future ideas like moving platforms, split arenas, better animations, and more.
This episode was recorded in March 2026.
What's Next?
Season 2 is still rolling on, and across the coming weeks we'll be joined by Mods Ash, Archie, Surma, and Other, with even more stories from behind the scenes of Old School RuneScape.
Thank you again for all the support you've shown the podcast so far. Season 1, the pilot episodes, and our creator specials gave us a chance to try something new, and your response is the reason we're able to keep going. We really hope you enjoy Season 2, and we can't wait to hear what you think!
We've really tried to make something that you can enjoy listening to whether you're playing OSRS, on the commute, school run, or wherever else. We do need your help, however. Please give them a watch and a listen and tell us what you think. We intend to use the feedback we gather from the first season to shape what the future of the podcast could look like. Check out The Official OSRS Podcast on the below platforms and follow/subscribe/turn notifications on etc. Discoverability has gotten much worse in a world increasingly led by algorithms, and the more support we get from you in these early stages the better the chances of our podcast reaching interested eyes and ears. Check out the podcast here or each platform page below:
You can also discuss this update on the 2007Scape subreddit, the Steam forums, or the community-led OSRS Discord in the #gameupdate channel. For more info on the above content, check out the official Old School Wiki.
Mods Abe, Abyss, Acorn, Ape, Arcane, Archie, Argo, Ash, Asherz, Ayiza, BigRig, Blighted, Blossom, Boko, Brooksie, Bruno, Bulb, Chilly, Criminal, Curse, Daizong, Default, Doctor, Ed, Elena, Enigma, Entropi, Frogs, Fuzz, Gecko, Ghost, Gizmo, Goblin, Grace, Grub, Halo, Harold, Hend, Hornet, Husky, Ivory, Jalo, Jamesy, Jerv, Keyser, Kieren, Kirby, Kurotou, Leebleh, Lenny, Light, Liron, Lotus, Lykos, Mack, Manked, Markos, Maylea, Mobius, Moogle, Morty, Moz, Necro, Nin, Nixon, Nox, Nylu, Oasis, Ori, Other, Otter, Pheasant, Philomel, Pork, Pumpkin, Puppi, Pyro, Rach, Redfield, Rice, Romy, Roy, Ry, Saiyan, Sarnie, Schmidt, Shogun, Shroom, Sigma, Skylark, Smithy, Sova, Spacebar, Spyro, Squid, Starry, Suharun, Surma, Sween, Tide, Titania, Titus, TJ, Tomb, Tsourorf, Tyran, Veda, Vegard, West, Wolfy, Yozora, Yume & Zaf
The Old School Team.