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Roblox

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Roblox
Developer(s)Roblox Corporation
Publisher(s)Roblox Corporation
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, OS X, iOS, Android[1] Xbox One[2]
Release2004
Genre(s)MMORPG, sandbox game
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Roblox is one of the largest user-generated online social gaming platforms, with over 15 million games created by users.[3] It was developed and published by the Roblox Corporation and released in 2006.

In the game, players are able to create their own virtual worlds and design their own games within the Roblox platform.[4] Games on Roblox can be designed using a sandboxed edition of the programming language Lua, and game designers can be paid with the in-game currency of 'Robux', which in turn can be converted to cash. The game is designed to be family-friendly, and is device-agnostic, running on a wide variety of devices, including Android, iOS, Xbox, and Oculus. As of Fall 2016 Roblox has over 500,000 game creators designing games, and 30 million active monthly players, who have logged more than 300 million hours of game play. The Roblox Corporation employs more than 200 people in its San Mateo, CA Headquarters. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

History and development

Roblox was created by founder and co-founder David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004 and officially launched in the beta version, titled "Dynablocks" in that year. "Dynablocks" was renamed to ROBLOX - a portmanteau of the words robots and blocks - in 2005, and the website for the massively multiplayer online game was officially launched in 2006.[10][11]

Early history (2006–2009)

In early 2006, Roblox's currency was Roblox Points, which were later replaced with "Robux". During 2006 and 2007 Roblox added features which included a messaging system, a search system, and avatar customization. [12] Roblox badges were first introduced on 22 December 2006.[13] [14] [15] In March 2007, Roblox became compliant with COPPA, with the addition of safe chat, a change which limited users under the age of 13 to communicating by selecting predefined messages from a menu.[16] In August 2007, Roblox added the Builders Club, a premium membership, and applied server improvements.[17]

Exclusive features and game features (2010–2012)

In the year 2011, more than 5.4 million games were created by users.[18]

The first Roblox conference, called the Roblox Rally, was held on August 1st 2011 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. [19] This was then renamed to the Roblox Game Conference, and then again to Bloxcon in 2013, which was held in multiple cities. [20] [21] [22] [23] In December 2011 Roblox also held their first Hack Week, an annual event where Roblox developers work on innovative outside-the-box ideas for new developments to present to the company.[24][25] [26] [27][28]

On 11 December 2012, Roblox released an iOS version of the game.[29][30][31][32][33]

On April 1, 2012, Roblox was hacked, with hackers gaining access to some moderators accounts to make them say very graphic and inappropriate things. In addition, hackers decreased the prices of some goods drastically and changed their names, while taking away or awarding Robux from users. Roblox staff took the site offline after the attacks, and administrators were able to undo all the changes, reverting the entire system back to a previous form. [34] [35]

Contemporary history (2012–present)

The co-founder of Roblox, Erik Cassel, died on the morning of 11 February 2013 after a three-year battle with cancer at his home located in Silicon Valley, California.[36]

The safe chat feature was removed and was replaced by a system based on a whitelist with a set of acceptable words for users under 13 years old and on a "black list" for other users. This new system allows users under the age of 13 to create content on the website, which they were not able to do previously. [37]

In December 2013, an animation plugin was made available to be used. Users also became able to insert basic humanoids through the interface of the studio.[38]

On 1 October 2013, Roblox released a feature called Developer's Exchange. The feature allows users to exchange their Robux into USD. The requirements to use the program are a minimum threshold of 100,000 Robux, membership in the Outrageous Builders Club, and a valid Paypal account. As of November 29th 2016 the current trade ratio is 500 Robux to 1 USD.[39] [40] As of September 2016, Roblox said that they had paid out US$ 7,000,000 to community developers. [41]

On Nov 20th 2015, Roblox launched Xbox One, with an initial selection of just 15 player-created games from a variety of genres, which were chosen by Roblox staff.[42][43] New Roblox games for this console will have to go through an approval process, as Xbox One games — even ones that rely on community content — are subject to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board standards.[44][45]

On 31 May 2015, a feature named Smooth Terrain was added, increasing the graphical fidelity and changing the physics engine from a blocky style to a smoother, more photorealistic, style[46]

In Summer 2015, all combat-related badges were discontinued.[47]

On April 14, 2016, Roblox removed their secondary currency, called "Tickets", because they deemed it useless. During the 30 days before it was removed, Roblox released hats that can only be bought with Tickets as exclusive, commemorative items. Additionally, they said the Trade Currency system will be removed.[48]

In April 2016 Roblox launched Roblox VR for Oculus Rift. At this time they said that more than 10 million of their games were available in 3D. For 3D play they also added the option to switch between 1st person and 3rd person perspective.[49][50]

June 2016 the company launched a version [51] compatible with Windows 10. While the game has had a PC presence since 2004 with its web version, this is the first time it was upgraded with a standalone launcher built for Windows.

At Roblox's ten year mark, the company had reached a milestone of 30 million monthly active users, nearly 900,000 concurrent users and more than 300 million hours of use, while the game runs across phones, tablets, PCs, VR, and Xbox. At this point its top game creators on the platform were also making as much as $50,000 a month in revenue.[52].

Gameplay

In Roblox games players explore 3-D worlds, interacting with them in a very diverse number of ways. Activities in the game world include exploring, crafting items, resource gathering, and combat.

Players can customize their virtual characters with hundreds of different hats, head shapes, body shapes, clothing, and gear. Players may create their own articles of clothing, which allows for a more personalized in-game experience. However, selling player-created articles of clothing and collectible items require Builders Club, but non-premium players may still create T-shirts, which are decals attached to the front of a player's torso. Collecting and trading items, especially limited edition collector items, can be a large part of the Roblox experience.

One of the default character model
A fourth generation (4.0) ROBLOX character, a common typical package.


Social interaction

Players can add other people they meet in the game to their friends list. Since 2011, this can be done while playing.[53][54] On 4 February 2015, a new update to replace the Friends and Best Friends system, named Friends and Followers,[55] was introduced. This allows more personal game play if wanted. This update also allows 200 Friends and infinite Followers. Players also have the option join community groups.[56] After joining, players can then advertise their group,[57] participate in group relations,[58] and set their primary group.[59]

Game development

What's shown here is ROBLOX Studio 2016, an image of a car on the road passing a government building
Editing using ROBLOX Studio 2016

The game development and building is done via an application called ROBLOX Studio. It is a free program that comes with ROBLOX.[60]

Building

Players use ROBLOX Studio's built-in building system to construct places with bricks from varying colors and shapes. Players also are able to use user made plugins and tools to build. Players also have the ability to scroll through the ROBLOX Library and find free models and scripts. ROBLOX also created a "Official Model Maker" system where talented model makers are able to create and make their creations visible on the front page of the ROBLOX Library model section.[61]

Players can use the programming language Lua to dynamically change the environment of the game.[62] Also, plugins can be developed with Lua to be used in Roblox Studio.[63]

Charitable Giving

Roblox has donated a portion of its sales to a number of charitable causes, including relief for the Haiti earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as for research into finding cures for cancer and ALS. A sale of in-game hats generated US$10,445.80 for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in just two days, from the sale of 23935 hats. [64] [65] [66] [67][68][69] [67][68][69] [70] [71] [72] [73]

References

  1. ^ Haak, Andrew (16 July 2014). "Roblox Arrives on Android". Roblox Corporation.
  2. ^ McCaffrey, Ryan (24 September 2015). "Roblox Helps You Make Your Own Xbox One Games". IGN. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  3. ^ Neil C., Hughes (15 July 2016). "How This User-Generated Video Game Is Leading The Way With Innovation and VR". Inc Magazine.
  4. ^ Needleman, Rafe (14 June 2011). "Roblox: A virtual world of Lego-like blocks". CNET. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  5. ^ Kain, Erik (29 November 2016). "Roblox Is Giving Young Video Game Developers A Chance To Shine (And Make Big Money)". Forbes.
  6. ^ Wolverton, Troy (20 October 2016). "Roblox: Is unusual virtual playground the next Minecraft?". The Mercury News.
  7. ^ Lechner, Ido (14 December 2016). "Startup Makes VR Available Across All Platforms". psfk.
  8. ^ Hughes, Neil C (15 July 2016). "How This User-Generated Video Game Is Leading The Way With Innovation and VR". Inc.
  9. ^ Takahashi, Dean (20 December 2016). "At 10, Roblox surpasses 30 million monthly users and 300 million hours of engagement". Venture Beat.
  10. ^ "Roblox Info on BusinessWeek". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  11. ^ Herndon, Becky Lee (14 September 2009). "Interview with Telamon". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  12. ^ Shedletsky, John (8 May 2007). "More Character Visuals". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  13. ^ Baszucki, David (22 December 2007). "ROBLOX Badges". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  14. ^ Shedletsky, John (1 January 2007). "2006 in Review". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  15. ^ Shedletsky, John (12 January 2007). "Blox. James Blox". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  16. ^ Shedletsky, John (27 March 2007). "A New Day Dawns…". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  17. ^ Shedletsky, John (16 August 2007). "Builders Club is Here!". Roblox Corporation.
  18. ^ Baszucki, David (23 February 2012). "5.4 Million Games Created in 2011". Roblox Corporation.
  19. ^ "ROBLOX Rally 2011". Roblox Wikia. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  20. ^ Fackler, Alan (29 June 2013). "BLOXcon Is Coming Which Staff Will be Where". Roblox Corporation.
  21. ^ "ROBLOX is bringing BLOXcon to London on 27 July, 2013!". Roblox Blog. ROBLOX Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  22. ^ "ROBLOX is bringing BLOXcon to New York City on August 10th, 2013!". Roblox Blog. ROBLOX Corportation. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  23. ^ "ROBLOX is hosting a Virtual BLOXcon for all on September 21st, 2013!". Roblox Blog. ROBLOX Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  24. ^ "Hack Week: The Series!". Roblox Corporation. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  25. ^ Chandrasekaran, Deepak (1 August 2012). "Hack Week: Implementing Rotatable GUIs". Roblox Corporation. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  26. ^ Lal, Navin (30 July 2012). "Hack Week: Exploring a Crafting System in ROBLOX". Roblox Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  27. ^ Lal, Navin (13 January 2012). "The Big Bang at ROBLOX: Universe Creation". Roblox Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  28. ^ Haak, Andrew (18 December 2013). "Game Universes and the Quest for Massive Scale". Roblox Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  29. ^ Bromley, Dylan (11 December 2012). "ROBLOX Mobile Is Out of Beta: Download and Play Today!". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  30. ^ Bryan, Karen (26 December 2012). "MMO Family: Roblox CEO David Baszucki talks mobile app, plans for the future". Massively.
  31. ^ Grubb, Jeffrey (12 December 2012). "Roblox goes mobile in time for the holidays". VentureBeat.
  32. ^ Clark, Matt (12 December 2012). "ROBLOX Brings Millions of User Created Games to iOS". Mac|Life.
  33. ^ Konrad, Alex (12 December 2012). "The World's Most Popular Kids Site Takes Its Games Mobile". Forbes.
  34. ^ Baszucki, David (1 April 2012). "Site Issues". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  35. ^ "2012 April Fools Hack". Roblox Wikia. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  36. ^ Baszucki, David (12 February 2013). "In Memory of Erik Cassel". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  37. ^ Australian Office of the Children's eSafety Commissioner https://www.esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/games-apps-and-social-networking/roblox. Retrieved 13 December 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  38. ^ D'Amelio, Vince (2 October 2013). "New Movements Set the Stage for Keyframe Animation System". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  39. ^ Justus, Brad (1 October 2013). "Introducing Developer Central and the Developer Exchange". Roblox Corporation.
  40. ^ Kain, Erik (29 November 2016). "Roblox Is Giving Young Video Game Developers A Chance To Shine (And Make Big Money)". Forbes.
  41. ^ "Roblox Infographic September 2016" (PDF). Roblox. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  42. ^ Woods, Ben (24 September 2015). "Roblox's community-made games are coming to Xbox One". The Next Web.
  43. ^ Grubb, Jeff (24 September 2015). "Roblox comes to Xbox One, joins Minecraft in the growing player-made content space on consoles". VentureBeat.
  44. ^ Grubb, Jeff (27 January 2016). "Roblox launches on Xbox One with 15 player-created games — watch us play them". VentureBeat.
  45. ^ Parrish, Robin (25 September 2015). "Roblox Comes to Xbox One In December". Tech Times.
  46. ^ "Roblox user-generated world moves from blocky terrain to smooth 3D". VentureBeat. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  47. ^ "Combat badges discontinued". Roblox. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  48. ^ David, Baszucki (15 March 2016). "Saying Goodbye to Tickets". ROBLOX. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  49. ^ Hendrik, Jack (22 April 2016). "ROBLOX Enters the VR Space with Launch on Oculus Rift". ROBLOX. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  50. ^ Gaudiosi, John (2016-4-15). "This Company Just Introduced 20 Million People to Oculus Rift". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-12-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ Grubb, Jeff (10 June 2016). "After Xbox One success, Roblox now has a dedicated Windows 10 app". VentureBeat.
  52. ^ DEAN, TAKAHASHI (20 December 2016). "At 10, Roblox surpasses 30 million monthly users and 300 million hours of engagement". VentureBeat.
  53. ^ "Friends". Roblox Corporation.
  54. ^ "Status Updates, Best Friends, and Feeds, oh my". Roblox Corporation. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  55. ^ "Friends and Followers Makes ROBLOX More Social, and Even More Fun". Roblox Blog. ROBLOX Corporation. Retrieved 10 February 2015. {{cite web}}: |first1= missing |last1= (help)
  56. ^ Brown, Tim (30 July 2013). "Social Feature Bonanza!". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  57. ^ Shedletsky, John (3 February 2011). "Advertise This Group". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  58. ^ Herndon, Becky Lee (8 April 2011). "Group Relationships Feature!". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  59. ^ Shedletsky, John (28 April 2011). "Group Theory". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  60. ^ "ROBLOX Studio page".
  61. ^ "ROBLOX Library page".
  62. ^ "Roblox as an educational program language". Kids Like. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
  63. ^ McDowell, Guy (29 June 2009). "Roblox - A Cool Lego-Based Free Virtual World for Kids". makeuseof.com. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
  64. ^ Baszucki, David (15 January 2010). "Description of Blue Hat for Haiti On Roblox". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  65. ^ Baszucki, David (15 January 2010). "Description of Red Hat for Haiti On Roblox". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  66. ^ Shedletsky, John (21 January 2010). "ROBLOX Players Raise $5479.00 For Haiti Disaster Relief". Roblox Blog. Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  67. ^ a b "Rising Sun Cap Page". Roblox. Roblox Corporation. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  68. ^ a b "Japanese Baseball Cap Page". Roblox. Roblox Corporation. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  69. ^ a b Baszucki, David (17 March 2011). "Generosity by the Thousands for Japan!". Roblox Blog. Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  70. ^ Baszucki, David (15 February 2013). "Erik Cassel Apparel: Proceeds go to Cancer Research". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  71. ^ Justus, Brad (18 November 2013). "$3,330.30 Raised for Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda Relief". ROBLOX Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  72. ^ Haak, Andrew (22 August 2014). "We Took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge — Now It's Your Turn". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  73. ^ Hendrik, Jack (4 August 2014). "ROBLOX Community Raises Over $6,000 for ALS Research". Roblox Corporation. Retrieved 21 May 2016.


Category:2006 video games Category:Android (operating system) games Category:Free online games Category:IOS games Category:Lua-scripted video games Category:MacOS games Category:Massively multiplayer online games Category:Online games Category:Social simulation video games Category:Windows games Category:Xbox One games

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