Roblox
 |
| Roblox | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Roblox Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | Roblox Corporation |
| Designer(s) | Roblox Corporation |
| Engine | ImPlicitNgine |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | January 29th, 2004[1] |
| Genre(s) | MMOG, Physics Sandbox |
| Mode(s) | Online Multiplayer, Solo Editing |
Roblox is a free massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) virtual playground and workshop designed for children aged 6 and over. The game is made up of building bricks of various shapes and sizes. Unlike many games, Roblox has no pre-defined goals, players are allowed to build anything such as houses, churches, cities, swimming pools, and more. Roblox users can program the places they create with a simplified version of Lua 5.1.[2][3] Roblox has become part of the privacy program TrustE.[4]
History and development
Roblox was released on January 29, 2004 by Roblox Corp. of Silicon Valley, California. Roblox's project straddles several rapidly-developing aspects of internet entertainment: virtual worlds, casual gaming, and user-constructed content.[5]
Customization
Places
Players in Roblox have the ability to construct up to one place with a regular account, ten with Builders Club, and twenty five with Turbo Builders Club out of an unlimited supply of virtual building blocks.[6] These blocks can be customized to each players liking. Every user starts out with a home of their own where they can customize it using materials such as bricks, scripts, and other user created models.[7]
Avatars
Players in Roblox are given an avatar, which is used by the player when visiting each virtual world, that they can customize with new hats, heads, clothes and faces. All of these are available to purchase with Roblox's two virtual currencies, in the Catalog.[8]
Badges
Roblox provides users with achievement awards called badges. For example, Roblox has three combat badges that are awarded to users with high amounts of lifetime Knockouts. There is also a Builder's Club badge, given to the player when they join the paid service. There are a total of 15 badges available to users.[9]
The Catalog
The Catalog is where players purchase and sell creations for Tickets and Robux. When selling, there is a 10% sales tax, so 10% of the money it is sold for goes to the virtual economy, and 90% goes to the seller; for example, selling a shirt for 10 Tickets will give the seller 9 tickets. Some items, such as hats, can also be bought but can only be uploaded by an administrator.[10] On May 8, 2009, gear was introduced. This introduced weapons, boosters, etc. that the player could bring to the game. Soon after gear was introduced, players were allowed to specify which types of gear would be allowed in their place.
Lua
Builders in Roblox use an easier to use version of a programming language Lua which can deal with 3D objects. Lua is a lightweight programming language similar to JavaScript and Ruby, although less complicated.
Economy
Virtual Money
Roblox has its own virtual economy. Players can earn and trade two currencies, Tickets and Robux. Users are awarded Tickets by getting people to visit their virtual places, Tickets, Robux, or both from selling their user made clothing, or by trading their money on Roblox's stock market. Players are also given a login bonus of 10 Tickets. Builder's club members get a daily allowance of 15 Robux or 35 Robux if they are in Turbo Builders Club.[11]
Players can also advertise their clothing by uploading advertisements that they have created. They can then Bid Tickets, and their bid will compete with other users' bids. The higher the bid the more likely that the ad will appear.
Roblox also has a built-in Trade Currency system in which you can trade Tickets for Robux or Robux for Tickets. The Trade Currency has a system in which the rate can change. This rate is what decides how many Tickets you get for Robux or vice-versa.
Builder's Club
Although Roblox is free, it offers premium membership in the form of Builder's Club and Turbo Builder's Club. Offering:[12]
- Increased numbers of places - 10 Places for Builders Club and 25 for Turbo Builders Club
- The ability to sell creations
- No outside advertisements
- A special hat - varies between standard and turbo
- A joining bonus of 100 Robux
- A daily allowance of 15 Robux for Builders Club or 35 for Turbo Builders Club.
- A new gear item (Turbo Builder's Club only)
References
- ^ http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/www.roblox.com
- ^ http://kidslike.info/roblox_using_roblox_as_an_educational_programming_language
- ^ http://www.examiner.com/x-608-Early-Childhood-Parenting-Examiner~y2008m8d19-Roblox-A-Parents-Guide
- ^ https://www.truste.org/about/member_list.php#R
- ^ http://www.roblox.com/info/About.aspx
- ^ http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/clickchick_article/the_building_blocks_of_roblox/
- ^ http://www.roblox.com/Help/Builderman.aspx - Under Building
- ^ http://www.roblox.com/Catalog.aspx
- ^ http://www.roblox.com/Badges.aspx
- ^ http://www.roblox.com/Item.aspx?ID=1055299
- ^ http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/roblox.html
- ^ https://www.roblox.com/Upgrades/BuildersClub.aspx
See also
- Blockland - Another brick building MMOG built with Torque Game Engine.
- LEGO Universe - An upcoming MMOG in development by NetDevil, endorsed by LEGO.