Malcolm has been playing RuneScape since he was a kid and has also dabbled in many of the leading idle games like Clicker Heroes, Cookie Clicker and RS Gold. Although he liked them, he felt the genre could have something else that was pleasing in a similar manner to Jagex's flagship RPG.

"So I set out to design my own game, never really imagining it would actually be launched, let alone becoming the kind of game that is so popular," he tells GamesIndustry.biz. "I wanted to create something that was not in the traditional idle game mold one that had features and allowed players to have a real choice in how they wanted to progress rather than simply increasing numbers in a continuous cycle.

After pondering this idea bit in a closed room I started to mesh ideas and techniques from classic MMOs along with the well-known idle game strategy, creating something that can be played by casually and on the go and fit into the player's hectic life."

Melvor adds: "While the numbers and statistics don't make up the majority of players like about MMOs, it is what the hardcore fanbase tend to stick to after exploring is finished. Because it's so integral to what long-term players are focused on it's logical to include this as an essential element of Melvor's game's design. In addition, it's in good harmony with common design elements used in the majority of idle games."

While he took inspiration from other MMOs, the structure in RuneScape was one that he analyzed very closely, creating the world of Melvor Idle in a parallel world to the 20-year-old RPG. "RuneScape was such a key reference point for the game since it was a very fundamental games for me" He explains."

Much like many others I began playing RuneScape since the majority of my friends at the time used to play it. The fact that it was played via a browser is a large part of this, and the very low entry barrier combined with RuneScape's deep branching and complexity were what attracted me back to the game for a long time and is what I wanted to recreate with Melvor Idle."

With Malcolm himself open about the inspiration the word quickly spread to Jagex that an avid fan was developing games based on its own Cheap OSRS Gold. A member of staff flagged it to management, with head of the product department Chris Pfeiffer telling us his team was impressed with "how much was achieved and how closely it aligned the game's core values with RuneScape."