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Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

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Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#141

Post by ericlewis »

integrii wrote: post #29

Both 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…

Similar experience with our 2yo & YouTube. It is banned in our house for now, because 2yo doesn't exactly understand moderation, but we are willing to open it back up as they get older and understand a bit more.

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#142

Post by clinta »

antpls wrote: post #63
integrii wrote: post #29

Both 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…

What if multiplayer video games actually teach your kids to not blindly trust people ? At first they will be scammed a few time, but they will learn, and with minimal consequences. Isn't it better for your kids to experience the "worst" behaviors in a virtual simulation under your control rather than in real life when they will be adult and possibly alone ? I believe it's fine to have your kids safely experience "une…

This happened to my daughter and was the attitude I had about it, and I think she's healthier for it. She gave away some item in the game she liked and got scammed, now she knows better.

Before I allowed her to play I discussed with her that she is not allowed to tell anybody her real name or the state she lives in. I think and hope the experience of being scammed might have cemented the reasons for that.

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#143

Post by scrollaway »

bookofjoe wrote: post #128
imdsm wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I played with people on WoW who are still good friends who are now in high places. It was truly a generation thing. Like I watch Stranger Things and I think, I wish I was on the internet before the WWW with BBS, and with walkie talkies, maybe not so much the smoke demons, but then, during my teenage years it was WoW and that was a very special time for me. I couldn't do it now, I've changed, the fabric of my mind has…

Wait a sec... 20k hours over 5 years = 4k hours/year = 77 hours/week = 11 hours/day. Seriously?

Easily. A lot of that time was probably spent mostly AFK doing other home stuff, watching series, reading and what not but I can relate to that played time. My character almost hit four digits days played before I ended up letting my subscription lapse after realizing I never logged on wow anymore.

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#144

Post by msluyter »

orliesaurus wrote: post #53

Roblox, 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 to…

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....

Aging my self quite a bit here, but we used to do the same via text based MUDs. ;)

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#145

Post by Nextgrid »

nkrisc wrote: post #137
antpls wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if multiplayer video games actually teach your kids to not blindly trust people ? At first they will be scammed a few time, but they will learn, and with minimal consequences. Isn't it better for your kids to experience the "worst" behaviors in a virtual simulation under your control rather than in real life when they will be adult and possibly alone ? I believe it's fine to have your kids safely experience "une…

It really depends on the age of the child. At a certain age, they're just no match for adults. I had a coworker who's daughter was conned out of her Roblox password you've by the same person. She's not dumb, the other person was just very effective and maintain against a nine year old kid. As a parent your primary duty is the safety and well-being of your child. That comes first, lessons second. Sometimes you might j…

> Sometimes you might just need to ban Roblox for their own good and help them learn like lessons another way.

I guess it depends on what the worst-case scenario is? You're advocating for banning the game altogether just because they have the opportunity to get scammed and lose some in-game items. I'd rather lose items and still have permissions to play the game than not be able to play altogether because "otherwise I'd get scammed".

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#146

Post by StavrosK »

bookofjoe wrote: post #128
imdsm wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I played with people on WoW who are still good friends who are now in high places. It was truly a generation thing. Like I watch Stranger Things and I think, I wish I was on the internet before the WWW with BBS, and with walkie talkies, maybe not so much the smoke demons, but then, during my teenage years it was WoW and that was a very special time for me. I couldn't do it now, I've changed, the fabric of my mind has…

Wait a sec... 20k hours over 5 years = 4k hours/year = 77 hours/week = 11 hours/day. Seriously?

Oh man, I have similar statistics for the MUD I played, it was insane.

However, the thing I found most fun about that was programming plugins to take the chore out of various tasks, so at least it helped me in that I had countless hours of programming practice.

Otherwise, my experience was the same as the GP's, I have many friends today that I met fifteen years ago on that MUD.

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#147

Post by 0xdeadb00f »

xrd wrote: post #51

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…

Don't take these threads as gospel. There's always shitty kids and there's always shitty people online. I have relatives (young kids, obviously: 7-14yrs old) who live in different cities. They play on Roblox together on weekends and use the chat to communicate. It's quite cute. They seem to know what they're doing (because their parents gave clearly taught them well). They play innocent RP games, and they don't chat with anyone other than between themselves. Most of the minigames they play are role play or dress up. There's even a bodybuilding one where you lift larger and larger weights until you become a giant. Harmless stuff like that. There _is_ however minigames like a Counter Strike clone (which is very well made I might add), which aren't for a younger audience. But because they use it to play _together_ they don't even want to play those "violent" games, they just want to be together. I've watched then play before. Before I did I didn't think much of Roblox; I thought it was some crappy Minecraft clone but it's really not. I think Roblox is great if your child knows 1. Not to talk to anyone 2. Not to play "violent" games.

You might say "kids will be kids and they'll play those damn violent games and they'll talk to those damn pedos", but my relatives don't seem to want to do any of that.

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#148

Post by Nextgrid »

orliesaurus wrote: post #53

Roblox, 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 to…

I miss the old first-person shooters and the concept of self-contained servers (instead of a global user profile system). Games last for a couple hours, and everyone starts at zero and gets weapons & perks as the game continues (so newbies aren't stuck with bad guns while level 100+ players dominate the server). In 30 minutes of playtime or so you'll have earned enough points (by killing enemies, etc) to be able to afford any weapon you want, compared to now where getting to the top takes months of grinding. There was also no global profile system, so no need to worry about your rank, K/D ratio, etc.

As a result the games were pretty relaxed, there wasn't any rage and the chat conversations were respectful and actually substantial (akin to an IRC network). The game was Crysis & Crysis Wars (and unfortunately the developer ruined all that going forwards with the sequel).

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#149

Post by Mirioron »

Crinus wrote: post #136
Mirioron wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The companies probably understand that it doesn't really work, but they need to be able to show something. Parents won't accept "it's impossible" as an answer.

Which in turn makes me wonder, how home parents tend to forget being kids?

I have wondered about the same thing before. I think it's mostly an emotional reaction. Society in general seems to be really accommodating to parents when they have emotional reactions about their children.

Re: Roblox hits 100M monthly active users, bigger than Minecraft

#150

Post by snazz »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #111
skwog wrote: post #76

As a Roblox programmer (Builder’s Club) scripting a game, the draw of addressing this huge user base by way of simply coding Lua scripts to release a product that invites In App Purchase is downright tempting! Then you discover the apparently wide spread client side hacking (speed, teleport, aim bots... you name it) and content theft (models, geometry, Localscripts) and pervasive scam attempts so frequently reported.…

> Given the active user base and gross cash flow of Roblox, how do you now frame the new ARKit, RealityKit, Composer, and SwiftUI announcements from WWDC? I'm not sure what the question is, the two are hardly related. I guess you can use both to create games, but the thing is, you wouldn't have the network to go with it. I mean you could create a video but unless you upload it to youtube it might as well not exist. O…

I don’t think your odds of being discovered on Roblox are that much higher than on the App Store. Roblox is full of a lot of content (most junky) that you’d have to swim through to get to the front page.
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