Roblox! Roblox! Roblox! My fanatic students yell by the masses.
The Roblox phenomenon has hit game creators, game fanatics, and parents like a blizzard! It is a platform that has sparked interest and impacted millions of people of all age groups. What is the Roblox hype all about you might ask? You are about to immerse yourself in the multiple and complex layers Roblox has to offer.
A GAME CREATING PLATFORM
Roblox was first launched in 2006 with the sole purpose to bring people around the world together through play. It is a game creating platform that attracts 150 million monthly users and receives 3 billion total engagement hours each month. The platform is designed to allow users to generate as much game content as they want. This means that any of its users can create and publish multiplayer games for others to enjoy.
To create your own games, Roblox offers free education resources to teach students of all ages, game design, digital civility, and entrepreneurial skills. Students can learn Roblox’s Lua coding language to create games from the ground up. Roblox offers a variety of lessons for students to learn about game design, game animation, and script based coding. Once students have learned these concepts students can start creating anything their minds can imagine. To do this, students must first download Roblox on their device to access the Roblox Studio. Although the Roblox Studio has a simplistic look to it, it has everything you need to be able to build any game world. It is a free tool that for many has become a business.
The most appealing thing about generating content on Roblox is that community developers can get paid for creating popular games. Here is how it works. If a community game developer creates a popular game that is visited often they automatically get paid based on the amount of time their game is played.
Game developers can also set up multiple ways to earn money through their game. One way is to sell game access. This is a one time game fee that game developers charge for anyone to be able to play their game. Another way is to sell unique items for their game. For example, users can buy different accessories, outfits, or gear for their avatar. For other types of games you are able to buy furniture items or even virtual toys. The type of items you are able to buy depends on the type of game you are playing. In addition, there are limited high prized items that can be bought from Roblox. These collectable items can go anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
ROBUX
Roblox uses its own form of currency called Robux. Users can buy Robux with real money as a one time payment whenever they choose. Another option for users is to buy memberships that are billed monthly. Memberships give users a monthly Robux stipend and additional game features. Robux are then used by gamers to purchase any of the in-game or limited collectable items previously mentioned.
GAME PLAY CONSOLE
Roblox can be considered a game console in itself due to the fact that it carries a plethora of games created by its own community of users. Currently there are over 40 million games in the Roblox library. Game themes found in Roblox extend from, action games, role play games, comedy games, and horror games. If you are a Roblox user you can be sure there is something in the community game library for you.
All games in Roblox are created as a multiplayer environment. That means that when playing in any game you are able to connect with other players around the world. This is the main component to Roblox’s mission to connect people through play.
PLAYER AVATAR
Roblox players can choose an avatar to start out with when they first create an account. The choices to customize this avatar for free are limited. This is the main reason why users will prefer to use Robux currency to purchase clothing items and accessories from the Avatar Shop.
Avatars are used to interact virtually with other players in every game. Users can also chat with one another while playing the game together. This is a fan favorite feature for the majority of the Roblox community although there are some concerns about this feature for younger players.
ROBLOX SETTINGS: PRIVACY AND SAFETY FOR KIDS
Roblox’s free and open game communication policy has become of concern to some parents due to the possibility of predation on young kids and inappropriate content. This is why Roblox has taken steps to give parents control over what features and games their kids have access to.
Like with any other online account, app, or service parents must be aware of their kids activity on any platform. Roblox has made it easy for parents to take control of their child’s account. Parents can now go into the account settings and turn off the chatting feature. In addition, parents can change the security settings to allow their kids to access only a curated list of age-appropriate games. This means that children won’t be able to access any game that has not been screened for age appropriateness by Roblox.
Roblox has also added a feature for parents to set up a four-digit pin number to prevent their children from changing these settings. Another relief for parents is that Roblox is compliant with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). They have gone as far as censoring any chatting that may include children’s personal information or inappropriate language. Such content is replaced with hashtags and us unreadable on the chat. Despite all these measures, the best policy is to be vigilant over children’s usage of this platform.
ROBLOX game conference
Roblox Developers Conference or RDC is a 3 day annual event that consists of various keynote speakers, upcoming feature reveals, breakout sessions, as well as opening up a channel to allow developers to directly request new features. A couple of days before RDC takes place there is a Game Jam event. For this event, team developers are invited to create a game to compete against other games that are judged based on specific categories. Teams usually have a day or less to create their game before judging takes place and winners are announced at the RDC. On the last day of the conference live Q&A panels are hosted.
ROBLOX BENEFITS
Some of the direct benefits to kids being able to create gaming content on this platform is that it expands their critical thinking, creativity, focus, and communication skills. Kids learn the Lua coding language in which they must follow structure, set goals for the game they want to create, and problem solve to achieve those goals. Ultimately, Roblox has the power to not only help a child feel confident though their coding skills but also empower them to maybe even start their own business at such a young age!
