I'm reading all the threads here and wonder: is there a similar type of game that is safe for kids to use? I'd love to have the collaborating with other kids to build things, but I'm deeply concerned about the predatory aspects other parents are describing here. Is there an open source version of Roblox or Minecraft that you can run on your own server and only invite known people (neighbors, friends, etc.) to play on it?
Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
51–60 of 237 posts
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#52I'm reading all the threads here and wonder: is there a similar type of game that is safe for kids to use? I'd love to have the collaborating with other kids to build things, but I'm deeply concerned about the predatory aspects other parents are describing here. Is there an open source version of Roblox or Minecraft that you can run on your own server and only invite known people (neighbors, friends, etc.) to play on…
while its not open source you can definitely run minecraft on your own server with a whitelist. I dont know about roblox.
You might also be interested in minetest?
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#53Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft are the new social networks right? Well when I was 15 and we used to play Counter Strike and Quake 3 the "social network" was hanging out on servers with maps just chatting and walking around the map aimlessly or just hanging out on IRC.
So I can totally relate to how kids nowadays are going back to this sorta hangout. Text only can be boring (kinda like IRC for many people who couldn't tolerate it) but hanging out in servers, spinning around and doing stuff actively (albeit not productively for society) is actually much more fun. Now couple this with discord and all the in-game voice chat stuff + emotes and the ability to build anything. Yeah I can totally see why young kids wanna hang out in video games all day!
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seems like this type of brain-dead simple feature -- frictionless joining of gameplay servers from a friends list -- would be something Mojang should consider adding to up their engagement. Minecraft is interesting because, according to Google Trends, it had finally been slowly dying out in terms of search volume for years.. ( https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=minecraf... )... until a few weeks ago!…
Minecraft as a game has never progressed from where it started. There is nothing new in it (new items, new structures etc don't count, they provide the same experience, just colored differently) while a game like Terreria is done so well with fantastically structured gameplay and progression. After you've gotten to a certain level in Minecraft, the game becomes pointless.
From briefly checking out some of Pewdiepie's stuff, it seems they've added quite a bit since I was last paying attention to it years back.
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have to say that the parental controls are really strict, in particular the chat auto-moderation, to the point that any word or sentence that could be remotely considered inappropriate is censored. I suppose this is a good thing considering that most players are young kids.
Are you sure about that? http://habitatchronicles.com/2007/03/the-untold-history-of-t...
Reminds me tangentially of "will bobba for furni" https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/is...
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#56My 8 year old son switched to Roblox from Minecraft a while back, he loves it, he spends a lot of time in RobloxStudio making his own mini games. All seems quite cool, just make sure you turn on all the parental/privacy controls, there is a high amount of interaction with random other players.
I have to say that the parental controls are really strict, in particular the chat auto-moderation, to the point that any word or sentence that could be remotely considered inappropriate is censored. I suppose this is a good thing considering that most players are young kids.
If the account is for an under 13 child the chat supposedly uses a whitelist of approved words, vs. a blacklist for 13+. Having watched my son play it does seem likely that's the case.
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its better than apps with in app purchases and ads.
I had to remove Roblox from our devices because all of the levels my daughter would load were either not age appropriate or would put IAP purchase buttons under the controls so you couldn’t avoid hitting them accidentally. It was incredibly scummy. My kids are young so maybe they just don’t know how/where to find decent levels but it felt gross and wasn’t something we wanted to encourage. IAPs were absolutely everywh…
I'm considering banning Roblox for similar reasons. I would let my kid use some pocket money to buy Robux, but then I found out his friends would log into his account and spend any spare Robux he had lying around.
I've tried to get in to it myself to better understand it as a mechanism, and I'm at a loss as how it's so popular.
My guess is that on the surface it looks innocent enough to naive parents but in reality it's quite a bit 'elsagate' in nature.
I am happy that, right now, he prefers to spend time in Minecraft with his headset, it's a much more positive game (making houses and exploring without predatory in app purchases).
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#58Both of my kids played a lot of Roblox until we banned it. They easily became obsessed and were violent when removed, even with a tightly controlled schedule. They would try to connect to offer WiFi networks to get access and would steal our phones to get access. We ended up having to detox them like it was a drug. Beyond that we found that the openly mod-able nature of the game allowed some remarkably disgusting 3D…
My daughter plays roblox and I've never seen anything like this when watching her play. I've tried to educate her about this kind of stuff because I know she'll be exposed to it eventually. I'd hope she come talk to me about it if she sees it.
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have to say that the parental controls are really strict, in particular the chat auto-moderation, to the point that any word or sentence that could be remotely considered inappropriate is censored. I suppose this is a good thing considering that most players are young kids.
Ah, interesting. That explains the Roblox memes I see from time to time with very odd grammar. "Go commit neck rope", "I will un-alive you", and "Do you are have stupid?"
When I read about companies implementing chat auto-moderation, I'm not sure whether to be disappointed at the utter pointlessness (coupled with invasiveness) of such exercise, or to applaud them for promoting kid creativity.
Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft
#60Both of my kids played a lot of Roblox until we banned it. They easily became obsessed and were violent when removed, even with a tightly controlled schedule. They would try to connect to offer WiFi networks to get access and would steal our phones to get access. We ended up having to detox them like it was a drug. Beyond that we found that the openly mod-able nature of the game allowed some remarkably disgusting 3D…
Video games can have a very similar reaction on the brain as drugs in the release of dopamine. This is my biggest fear raising my kids in this technology driven age.
This isnt just games. Lets be frank. We can become addicted to anything given the right physiological triggers.
Capitalism has optimised itself to the point where you are nothing more then meta data. Its at the point where a team of accredited people can sit infront of the meta data, and your product, and they can design ways to trigger dopamine responses.
Putting "any" kind of "modern product" in your childs hand will lead to one thing. Now put a connected device in their hands, and your putting your child in the hands of unlimited amounts of teams, using unlimited amounts of tickery, to earn profit from your child.
Now add back in a dynmically manipulated game environment, where these tools are utilised by predators to exploit your child for their version on profit.
This is the challenge of being a modern parent. Junk food, everywhere, all the time.