<s>
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
was	O
a	O
medieval	O
fantasy	O
,	O
often	O
satirical	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
NCSOFT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
featured	O
gameplay	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Diablo	B-Application
series	O
of	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
on	O
the	O
title	O
first	O
began	O
in	O
2001	O
as	O
Trade	B-Protocol
Wars	I-Protocol
:	O
Dark	O
Millennium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
later	O
became	O
Exarch	O
in	O
2002	O
and	O
was	O
scrapped	O
for	O
some	O
time	O
until	O
it	O
resurfaced	O
in	O
2005	O
with	O
its	O
third	O
and	O
current	O
development	O
team	O
as	O
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
entered	O
the	O
closed	O
Beta	O
phase	O
in	O
May	O
2006	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
game	O
trailer	O
was	O
exhibited	O
at	O
the	O
2006	O
E3	O
convention	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Out	O
of	O
the	O
18	O
member	O
team	O
which	O
developed	O
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
,	O
only	O
three	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
developers	O
remained	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
described	O
as	O
an	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
,	O
the	O
game	O
world	O
was	O
almost	O
entirely	O
uniquely	O
instanced	O
for	O
each	O
party	O
of	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
implemented	O
a	O
classless	O
system	O
(	O
see	O
Classes	O
,	O
below	O
)	O
and	O
offered	O
regular	O
updates	O
through	O
patches	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Beta	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
featured	O
three	O
playable	O
classes	O
:	O
mage	O
,	O
warrior	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
ranger	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
warrior	B-Protocol
was	O
the	O
melee	O
specialist	O
,	O
a	O
"	O
meat	O
shield	O
"	O
to	O
gain	O
and	O
hold	O
aggro	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Skill	O
Bar	O
had	O
eight	O
slots	O
mapped	O
to	O
number	O
row	O
keys	O
plus	O
two	O
additional	O
slots	O
mapped	O
to	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
mouse	B-Device
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gameplay	O
and	O
graphics	O
styling	O
of	O
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
had	O
been	O
compared	O
to	O
Diablo	B-Application
and	O
Diablo	B-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
especially	O
noting	O
the	O
instanced	O
dungeons	O
(	O
whose	O
level	O
layouts	O
and	O
content	O
were	O
randomly	O
regenerated	O
each	O
time	O
a	O
player	O
logged	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
action	B-Application
RPG	I-Application
"	O
gameplay	O
style	O
,	O
the	O
naming	O
conventions	O
for	O
in-game	O
items	O
,	O
the	O
variable	O
class	O
structure	O
based	O
on	O
three	O
archetypes	O
(	O
five	O
in	O
Diablo	B-Application
II	I-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
absence	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
healer	O
"	O
class	O
,	O
among	O
other	O
similarities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
notable	O
difference	O
is	O
that	O
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
was	O
rendered	O
using	O
polygonal	O
models	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
the	O
sprite-based	O
isometric	O
graphics	O
of	O
the	O
Diablo	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
and	O
Eurogamer	O
,	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
graphical	O
quality	O
,	O
third-person	O
point	O
of	O
view	O
and	O
screen	O
layout	O
more	O
closely	O
resembled	O
that	O
of	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
,	O
another	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
in-game	O
music	O
was	O
composed	O
by	O
Tracy	O
W	O
.	O
Bush	O
as	O
straight	O
forward	O
game	O
music	O
in	O
the	O
vein	O
of	O
Diablo	B-Application
II	I-Application
,	O
whereas	O
the	O
boss	O
monsters	O
had	O
their	O
own	O
theme	O
songs	O
,	O
varying	O
in	O
such	O
styles	O
as	O
black	O
metal	O
,	O
synthpop	O
,	O
klezmer	O
and	O
funk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
announcement	O
was	O
accompanied	O
by	O
news	O
that	O
NCsoft	O
had	O
laid	O
off	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
developers	O
working	O
on	O
its	O
casual	O
MMOG	O
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
cancelled	O
plans	O
to	O
bring	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
other	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
had	O
dropped	O
,	O
as	O
producer	O
and	O
lead	O
programmer	O
Stephen	O
Nichols	O
confirmed	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
will	O
be	O
taken	O
offline	O
on	O
December	O
31	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
operated	O
under	O
both	O
a	O
free-to-play	O
,	O
microtransaction-supported	O
and	O
subscription-based	O
business	O
model	O
,	O
launched	O
to	O
good	O
reviews	O
for	O
the	O
PC	O
in	O
July	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
just	O
is	O
n't	O
cutting	O
the	O
mustard	O
"	O
,	O
Nichols	O
said	O
on	O
an	O
announcement	O
on	O
the	O
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
forum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nichols	O
noted	O
that	O
those	O
with	O
paid	O
memberships	O
to	O
Dungeon	B-Protocol
Runners	I-Protocol
would	O
receive	O
digital	O
copies	O
of	O
City	O
of	O
Heroes'''	O
Architect	O
Edition	O
and	O
Guild	O
Wars	O
:	O
Prophecies	O
.	O
</s>
