Roblox

Back in an era where indie games we’re truly in their infancy, Roblox was beginning to gain some traction. Kids across the world were logging on in their masses to play or create interesting custom worlds in a Roblox engine that is marketed to give players every tool possible to be as creative as their imagination allows.

To give anyone who has never encountered this 2006 title. This game clearly takes inspiration from Minecraft, the hugely popular block-building title of the same era. Though allows for level and game design somewhat similar to the likes of this years blockbuster design based title, Dreams. Though, to it’s detriment, the quality of this game in practice plays more closely to the likes of Club Penguin.

Ambitious but Uninspired

In reality, it is hard to truly view this title as a traditional game. It has never had any release beyond an online website and library. This game has never reached store shelves and probably never will. Yet the popularity amongst young children and teenagers has been insurmountable. As mentioned, this game has a huge online library of levels and content that can all be accessed for free. Which is perhaps it’s the biggest appeal. That and the connectivity you can have with other players on the server. Mirroring the likes of Club Penguin. Though it’s the astoundingly low low-level of quality that really poses the question, why does anyone truly enjoy this title?

Building it’s success

The art style is clearly one that has been borrowed and adapted from the globally adored Lego franchise. To the game’s credit, it works for them and delivers a cute aesthetic that in some cases is rather charming. Though, it’s the lack of consistency in each community made games quality that drags the art style down with it.

Through the simple presentation and the unrefined engine that community developers have to work with, it offers very little creative freedom. Something that this game prides and markets itself on. Take this year’s smash hit Dreams for example. It offers a cavalcade of options to the point that you can almost get overwhelmed. Though, if given the choice I would much rather have far too much to consider than far too little to work with.

Money, Money, Money

When you get down to brass tax, this game is about as good as a mid-tier mobile game at best. The game seems to be fully aware of this status and follows the trend of these mobile games with an obnoxious amount of in-game advertisements and microtransactions. In some cases these are plastered over the game screen creating a full border encompassing the screen, making the game almost unplayable. This would be forgivable if the ads were a little more subtle, placed on the menu screens or if the games were even close to a quality that warranted an investment of cash. Though, this game fails to meet the mark in all areas sadly.

Close knit Community

What has to be said in Roblox favour, is that despite its flaws, kids love this game and enjoy having a place to digitally hang out with their pals. The reason why these seemingly mundane and poorly constructed games like Club Penguin or others like it gain traction is due to their connectivity. Kids of that age can’t simply jump onto conventional MMORPGs like GTA Online or World of Warcraft. Their parents simply wouldn’t allow it and rightfully so.

So for this reason, Roblox offers a safe space, moderated by caring members of the community for kids to gather and converse, play and socialise together.

Success in spite of flaws

If we were reviewing this as a conventional game the score would be much lower. The graphical content is laughable at times, the community levels on offer range from bang average to disastrously awful. Plus the game is constantly poking and prodding players, urging them to reach into their pockets or in most cases, to go and pester their parents for their bank cards.

Have you ever dreamed of being able to create your own game and share it with others? Roblox is a gaming platform designed to not only allow you to play with others in a huge variety of different landscapes, but also to have a hand in the building process itself.

Players can use Roblox Studio to design their own game, and then upload it for others to play. Roblox is one of the largest game designing suites available, with 100 million active users. The platform is primarily aimed at kids, but many adults enjoy playing and developing games on it too.

Parental Caution Advised

This game was designed for children, and most of the games are kid friendly and fun. Chat filters also help limit what language a person can see. While these things can certainly help keep your child safer compared to unmoderated, unfiltered websites—there are still dark corners of this game.

Parents have reported wandering into games where virtual sex was visible, as well as bullies who find ways around the chat filters. There have also been reports of victims getting banned right along with the bullies. With so many games and people on the website, offensive content can slip through the cracks even with a solid effort to keep things clean. Despite these occasional bad apples, ESRP rates the game as appropriate for 10+, while also noting that kids can communicate with each other in game.

Parental controls are also available to help filter content, as well as the ability to block other people if they are annoying or offensive.

A True Sandbox

There are over 50 million games on Roblox right now, ranging from simply hang out rooms for a small group of friends to professionally designed games by young developers. The complete freedom Roblox allows is part of why parental guidance is needed, but also why it can be so fun. Roblox was created in 2006, and many teens have grown from players to business owners through creating in-game items and games of their own for the platform.

It’s very similar to Garry’s Mod, with it’s flexibility to create almost anything you can dream of. Since games are designed by players, there’s no specific story line or theme—everything is up to the players.

Free to Play

Roblox is free to play, but some skins, games, and premium items can be purchased using Robux. Robux must be purchased with real money, but your kid can earn it for themselves by creating their own in-game content. Robux aren’t necessary to enjoy the game, and many players never spend any money in Roblox at all while still getting plenty of enjoyment out of the game.

Roblox is a wonderful creative adventure that allows even kids to develop the game of their dreams. While there are limits on what can be done, Roblox is a great improvement on many past game development platforms, and one of the most popular out there.

Pros:

• Endless Gameplay options
• Free to play
• Create Your Own Game

Cons:

• Not 100% safe for kids