4/5/2024 0 Comments Roadblocks safe for gamesGetting started with making your own games with Roblox Studio is relatively simple and even younger children should be able to get the hang of it quickly. However, the way it goes about its business is a lot less gentle. Roblox Games and DevelopersĪs a platform aimed at kids - more than half of players are under 13, according to data gathered by Statista - Roblox projects a very child-friendly image, with use of bright colors and simple language. Maybe Roblox started out as a cool little platform where kids can make small games and have fun, but it’s long since turned into a money-making machine. Its third-quarter results for 2021 - the latest quarter we had access to at time of writing - were excellent, with over $500 million in revenue. The upshot of all this for the company is that business is booming. Though there are still plenty of kids making games in their bedrooms, many of Roblox’s bigger titles are made by pros, or at least semi-pros. It’s no wonder, then, that there are professional Roblox creators - some of them even forming studios - and there are special code camps for kids who want to learn how to make games in Roblox. Considering how many active users there are, this can rack up quite quickly - at least on paper. Roblox makes its money mostly through the sale of in-game currency and advertising, and then shares the profits it makes with game creators. Roblox users aren’t enticed into making games for the platform just for the fun of it, either. For example, on its “parents” page it claims that “types of gameplay on Roblox are just as limitless as the imagination of the creators themselves.” Monetizing Creativity One of its main slogans is “powering imagination,” and on many of its publicity pages it makes much of the way it encourages its users to create. In fact, it’s a big part of Roblox’s advertising. None of these 40 million games are made by Roblox, though: The developers instead are Roblox’s players themselves. Instead, they can choose from any of 40 million games (called “experiences”) to play, ranging from small, minute-long adventures to more complicated multiplayer affairs. Roblox players thus don’t play a game called Roblox. Though Roblox may look bubbly and bright, a lot of darkness lurks beneath. For one, it lets children take part in an unregulated stock market for in-game assets, while also shortchanging kids who develop Roblox games. There are also some very serious issues with how Roblox makes its money. Though the games themselves are usually innocent enough, there are a lot of missing measures when it comes to the moderation of communications between players. The short answer is that if you want to protect your kids online, you may want to have a talk with them about Roblox. Roblox’s moderation functions also leave much to be desired, leaving children open to all manner of unwanted content.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |