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In 2010 ''Roblox'' made a sizable cosmetic update to its game GUI, as well as to its site, introducing a smoother in-game experience, and a menu to hold built in build tools (In edit mode). The website also received a sizable facelift - introducing a new theme selection for the users (Roblox 3.0). At the end of 2010, ''Roblox'' decided to retract the privilege of mesh and sound uploading from its users.
In 2010 ''Roblox'' made a sizable cosmetic update to its game GUI, as well as to its site, introducing a smoother in-game experience, and a menu to hold built in build tools (In edit mode). The website also received a sizable facelift - introducing a new theme selection for the users (Roblox 3.0). At the end of 2010, ''Roblox'' decided to retract the privilege of mesh and sound uploading from its users.


At the beginning of 2011, ''Roblox'' introduced a new feature that allowed users with any type of Builders Club to make places that could only be played/entered by users who also have a Builders Club subscription. Termed "BC Only Games", many users voiced their complaints about this feature, siting the website's motto "Free online building games" and saying that it was not truthful if you had to pay to play some of the games. In response, ''Roblox'' changed its motto to "Free online and building games".
At the beginning of 2011, ''Roblox'' introduced a new feature that allowed users with any type of Builders Club to make places that could only be played/entered by users who also have a Builders Club subscription. Termed "BC Only Games", many users voiced their complaints about this feature, siting the website's motto "Free online building games" and saying that it was not truthful if you had to pay to play some of the games. In response, ''Roblox'' changed its motto to "Free online and building games."


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==

Revision as of 07:11, 1 March 2011

Roblox
roblox
ROBLOX Logo
Developer(s)Roblox Corporation
Publisher(s)Roblox Corporation
Designer(s)Roblox Corporation
EngineImPlicitNgine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Rudimentary OS X Version
ReleaseJune 2005
Genre(s)MMOG, Physics Sandbox
Mode(s)Online Multiplayer, Building Mode, Edit Mode (Studio)

Roblox is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) virtual playground and workshop designed for children aged 10 and over. Players can build games with blocks, in various shapes, sizes and materials.[1] Roblox users can script the places they design with Lua 5.1.[2] Roblox is part of the TRUSTe privacy program[3] and the Better Business Bureau corporation.[4][5]

Roblox has raised $2.3 million in funding after an equity issue.[6]

History and development

Roblox was created by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in Silicon Valley, California and is based in Redwood City, California.[7] The name is a portmanteau of the words robots and blocks.[8]

In mid-2007, Roblox considered the concept of a Megablocks-style character to avoid infringements on any copyrights held by Lego Group and allow for more complex clothing such as hairpieces to blend with the character.[9] This was however rejected later for the minifigure design which was already in use. In 2010, Roblox gave a second shot at publishing different body shapes which players could buy using virtual currency.[10]

In mid-2008, Roblox added a feature to allow non-registered users to enter places with restricted functionality by playing as a guest.[11] The username of a guest is shown as "Guest x", where x is a number. Guests can only use the chat menu full of pre-written answers and words.

2010 Haiti earthquake relief efforts

On 21 January 2010, Roblox donated $5472 to relief efforts for the 2010 Haiti earthquake, allowing players to buy one of two virtual items: the Red Hat for Haiti, which contributed 65 cents for every person who bought it, or the Blue Hat for Haiti that contributed 10 cents for every person who bought it.[12]

Updates

In 2010 Roblox made a sizable cosmetic update to its game GUI, as well as to its site, introducing a smoother in-game experience, and a menu to hold built in build tools (In edit mode). The website also received a sizable facelift - introducing a new theme selection for the users (Roblox 3.0). At the end of 2010, Roblox decided to retract the privilege of mesh and sound uploading from its users.

At the beginning of 2011, Roblox introduced a new feature that allowed users with any type of Builders Club to make places that could only be played/entered by users who also have a Builders Club subscription. Termed "BC Only Games", many users voiced their complaints about this feature, siting the website's motto "Free online building games" and saying that it was not truthful if you had to pay to play some of the games. In response, Roblox changed its motto to "Free online and building games."

Gameplay

Customization

Players customize their characters with items in the Catalog. The Catalog contains Roblox and user created items such as clothing, images, models, gear, sets, heads, faces, and packages, which include body types, legs and arms. A user can also create one of these items (excluding the gear, heads, faces, hats and packages) and upload it onto the Catalog.

Interaction

Players can also visit other users' 3-D virtual places, represented by their characters, and move around with the spacebar and arrow keys. With the "/" key the users can also chat with each other. Users can optionally allow their places to be visited in Solo mode, but this also allows other players to copy the user's content.

Building

Users have a choice of thousands of games to play, varying in design from what the game developers wanted to create. Types of places vary by the feature where the creator of the game can choose a genre. Players in Roblox have the ability to construct up to 100 places (depending on membership type), using an unlimited supply of virtual building blocks. Players can add as many bricks as they want. They can insert their own scripts to add functionality, or can use other player's scripts, if that player has allowed it onto the public market.

Programming

Optionally, users can utilize a sandboxed version of Lua to add extra interactivity to their games. This allows them to create multiplayer games, board games, obstacle courses, warfare games, adventure games, and thousands more. There are also several tools provided, such as Graphical User Interface items, and a Hierarchical Object system to represent the blocks and other items in-game, which help users create content.

Roblox Studio

File:RobloxMain.png
Roblox Studio editing Ultimate Paintball.

Roblox Studio is a program similar to Microsoft Visual Studio and is used to construct places.[13] Users use this program for building and scripting.

Economy

Roblox has its own virtual economy, based on Tickets and Robux. Tickets are earned when other users visit a person's virtual places, the first time a player logs in each day, and when other users buy the player's virtual items. These items include shirts, pants, and t-shirts. They can be sold for either a set price in Tickets, or in Robux, allowing the buyer to choose which currency they pay with. Robux are earned daily by paid members, in varying amounts, depending on the user's level of membership. Robux can be earned through sale of virtual goods, and can also be purchased with real money.

On November 21, 2008 the Roblox currency exchange was introduced.[14] Tickets can be exchanged for Robux and vice versa. Some people take advantage of the RoblEX and make money off of it from trading schemes.[15]

Upgrades

Although Roblox is a free game, Roblox lets players pay for premium upgrades such as Builders Club. There are three versions of Builders Club: Builders Club (referred to as "BC"), Turbo Builders Club (referred to as "TBC"), and Outrageous Builders Club (referred to as "OBC"). Builders Club allows players to have more places and get exclusive items. If players purchase TBC or OBC, they will receive more benefits then standard Builder's Club. The specific benefits are listed below.

Benefits Free Account (NBC) Builders Club (BC) Turbo Builders Club (TBC) Outrageous Builders Club (OBC)
Active Places 1 10 25 100
Daily ROBUX None 15 R$ 35R$ 60 R$
Cost Monthly ($) $0.00 $5.95 $11.95 $19.95
Sell Stuff No Yes Yes Yes
See Off-site Ads Yes No No No
Virtual Hat None BC Hat TBC Hat OBC Hat
Bonus Gear Item No Yes Yes Yes
Signing Bonus None 100 R$ 100 R$ 100 R$
Create Groups No Yes (10) Yes (20) Yes (100)
Join Groups Yes (5) Yes (10) Yes (20) Yes (100)
Create Badges No Yes Yes Yes
BC Beta Features No Yes Yes Yes
Live video cast with Roblox No No No Yes

Cash Cards

Roblox gives people the option to pay via PayPal, Rixty, Wallie, Paymo, and also sells Roblox cards at Toys R Us,[16] 7-Eleven, GameStop, and Best Buy which can be purchased for $10 or $25 and be used for upgrades such as Builders Club or Robux. [17]

BC Only Games

A recent addition to Roblox has been to give the functionality of going to games specifically made and/or specialized for those who have purchased BC. This has been looked down upon by a majority of the community.[18] (In a survey of 5,119 members, 3,581 or 69.9% voted that they disliked BC Only games)

Reception

Roblox has recently been featured on Click, the BBC’s flagship technology programme.[19]

Parents

Roblox gives parents the option of two chat modes: standard chat or safe chat. With standard chat, players can type anything they wish into the chat box, but with safe chat they may only choose from pre-selected words and phrases. Roblox also gives parents the option to monitor their kid's activity with a parent account. When a user is under safe chat, they can only see other pre-selected messages.

Test Sites

Roblox also hosts two test sites, gametest.roblox.com and sitetest.roblox.com. Gametest.roblox.com is used for testing different features in-game, and sitetest.roblox.com is used for new features on the website. These sites are available to registered users to test new features being developed. The sites are only up at certain times, and players on the regular site are notified with a little banner saying when they are available. It was once named test.roblox.com.

Compatibility

Historically, Roblox has been only compatible with Microsoft Windows. But, recent updates to gametest.roblox.com have allowed users who own Apple computers (Macs) to install a dumbed down version of the game - where the Roblox Studio menu will not appear. So far, the Mac version of the game does not work with the "play" button, so Mac users can only use roblox in Edit mode. More updates to the version will be coming out soon.

At this time there is no version of Roblox that will function with Linux.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Roblox Game Review - MMO Hut". MMOHut. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Roblox as an educational program language". Kids Like. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
  3. ^ "Roblox at TRUSTe". TRUSTe. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  4. ^ "BBB Review of ROBLOX in Redwood City, California". Better Business Bureau. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  5. ^ "Better Business Bureau Accredited". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 8 December 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Roblox Raises 2.3M". VentureBeat. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  7. ^ "Roblox Info on BusinessWeek". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  8. ^ "Interview with Telamon". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Roblox Developers' Journal >> More Character Visuals". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  10. ^ "Do You Need Any Body?". Retrieved 11-07-2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  11. ^ "Be Our Guest; Buy Our ROBUX". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 26 September 2008. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ "ROBLOX Uses Virtual Goods to Help Kids Donate to Haiti". Earthtimes. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  13. ^ "Roblox - A Cool Lego-Based Free Virtual World for Kids". makeuseof.com. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
  14. ^ "It's the Economy…". Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  15. ^ "The unofficial RoblEX trading group".
  16. ^ "ROBLOX Cards now available at Toys R Us!". Roblox Corporation. 26 September 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  17. ^ "ROBLOX Cards Now Available at 7-Eleven!". Roblox Corporation. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  18. ^ http://www.roblox.com/Poll-BC-Only-Games-item?id=25961653
  19. ^ "Webscape on games site Roblox and Please Rob Me". BBC News. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
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