My 8 yo daughter had trouble sleeping due to being upset over the Roblox issues. Her favorite game, sorry 'experience', on Roblox is AdoptMe. They reward players (experiencers?) for checking in every day, which is exploitative and a crappy thing to do to kids.
Well, I can't speak for them but it seems that they are aware. I think overall teaching kids to be aware of these issues and addiction in general is a lot healthier in getting them to make long-term positive choices.
It is one thing in general to tell a kid they can't do something because it is bad for them, but helping kids and teens understand how they can be exploited and to recognition their own addictions may help them build some longer term experience in the future that they can then reflect on if they encounter the same obstacles as opposed to only hearing the negatives but not having any real less harmful experience to build from.
Ignoring the growth trajectory, that appears to be ~451/91.25/24 = 205k USD per hour. Assuming a steady ~15% quarterly growth; about 239k.
However a lot of the revenues are from subscriptions so it might be blunted by that; I have no idea what the distribution of subs vs one off transaction revenue is.
What might be far worse is the player drop off as they find alternatives.
If your kids are using your card info without you authorizing first, you should use privacy.com and give them a card number from there, with the proper restrictions on it.
It's allowed (obviously). I just think it illustrated the parent point that pre-teens will spend a lot on this platform once the "payment barrier" has been reduced. I know when they first started playing Roblox paying for stuff was a pain. Once we smoothed that out, the purchased items started increasing. It's all within reason (thankfully) and my kid works so it's up to them how to spend their own money (another lesson on saving vs spending)
Edit: Thanks for mentioning https://privacy.com - I never heard of it and will check it out!
This is how I bought BMX parts as a kid (1980s). I memorized my Dad's Visa card, used it over the phone, and paid him back with cash. He didn't mind, as I never stiffed him.
For older audiences there's VR Chat or Second Life.
The thing about the whole "metaverse" thing is that it's not a novel concept; it's actually a crowded market. We just didn't notice it because the market really isn't that large. Generally speaking when people want a game world to screw around in, they'll usually play a competitive multiplayer game rather than an open sandbox.
The problem with Second Life, as far as I can tell, is that there just isn't a big enough market to fund necessary development.
Their engine and assets look like a 1990s 3D MMOG... in 2021.
And I'm sure it's not through lack of trying! So I assume it's a fundamental market problem, and it's going to take someone like FB/Meta dumping millions of dollars into a losing venture to produce something that's up to modern gamer expectations.
... If Meta were smart, they'd go ahead and partner with Epic.
Our family has decided to permanently disrupt Roblox at the house.
I find that the games my kids were playing were really just totally mindless. They involved no real skill or thought.
Most of the games consist of finding coins and then getting different skins for their character. Or even worse gaining “money” for time served and then buying things.
What’s up with the devs? These games are terrible and are just a waste land for our children.
The kids were bummed at first, but because there are so many other choices in gaming, they have recovered and not looked back.
A good friend of mine is a Roblox developer. He said the problem is the exact opposite. The first game he created was one he would want to play and got feedback that the game is too complicated for people who play Roblox and to make it easier. Now he makes easy games like you describe. Its what sells, so he builds it.
> What’s up with the devs? These games are terrible and are just a waste land for our children.
Aren't those games made by other children? For those, the time is all but wasted. And that would explain the simple gameplay.
edit: Reading other comments, it seems I've been totally unaware of how much money is on the table in this game... So it's probably not other children creating most of the content.
No. Anyone can make simple roblox game, but the popular good ones are made by adult developers.
Just like kids prefer to read books written by adults, see pictures by adults, the adults are more likely to be able to make entertaining games for kids.
Thanks for pointing that out. I'm pretty strict with the level of quality of the screen time consumed normally. Roadblox kind of gets around that by being a platform with tons of stuff so harder to moderate. I think I'll block it today.
> Most of the games consist of finding coins and then getting different skins for their character. Or even worse gaining “money” for time served and then buying things.
Isn't that actually the perfect description of real "adult" life in our society?
You’re not wrong, but do consider that while real life is, well, real. Part of a parents job is to prepare the kid for the real world, but also (maybe more importantly) provide this child with the tools to create the world they would like to exist in (which starts with the parents of course). I’m not saying it’s always possible, but i think its something a lot of parents consider.
Real life for me consists of very little time for friends, nature, or my community (if it wasn’t obvious my life is pmuch my family and my job), yet while my children will inevitably learn through my actions, I can try to use my words to express to them that there is another form of existence possible where they have time for those things I don’t.
Parenting can also a pretty fun exercise on cognitive dissonance at times... :)
Agreed based on what I've seen of Roblox lately. I haven't played Minecraft in a long time but it seems like a much better game for children, encouraging creativity and building things instead of just grinding for coins on a dopamine treadmill, though maybe that's changed under Microsoft
Why do games need skill or thought to be worthwhile? Quite often they're social spaces for my (8yo) son to play with his school friends, or meditative experiences when he's tired, or just silly jokes that he wants to show us - including some he makes himself. He can tell good games from bad, can recognise (and ditch) pay-to-win games really fast. It's a big place with its own culture and rules, and too interesting to write off.
What does this have to do w/ the article about service being disrupted?
This is a common trend where someone posts an article about company or product X and top replies say "X bad". It's not on topic or adding anything to the conversation
I'm a parent of a kid too young to be playing these games yet, and I appreciate seeing this sort of discussion and insight. I only hear, "My kid loves Roblox," from other people and had no idea until this thread that other parents didn't view it so positively.
my kids like the games and the ones they play have things to do:
brookhaven: A neighborhood with houses you can place down and "own", cars, various items. etc. They run around making up scenarios and then acting them out
natural disasters: Small maps and rounds where various disasters happen and you have to survive (lightning, tornadoes, etc)
fashion famous: everyone dresses up according to the theme for the round and then everyone picks a winner
And there are a lot of shit games but they get bored of these quickly.
One of the best things that happened to our daughter was parting ways with a toxic classmate from her old school who became her Roblox-mate. She’s finally putting the Switch Animal Crossing Edition that we bought her for Eid to good use. She did get scammed once into giving up a villager for free, but she’s hopefully learned her lesson. Her entire personality and attitude have changed, especially after finding out the girl she recently started carpooling with also likes Animal Crossing.
Like Facebook for many people, I think Roblox is literally a disease for most kids. Hoping for more disruptions.
I don’t know if I agree with this. Roblox gives kids a lot of freedom, and a the community supports this. Sports ball teams provide discipline and structure to a kids life, and also enforces a sort of peer-governing effect that roblox doesn’t. There’s also a coach who will (hopefully) tell them to stop being jerks to each other, or the random kid who sticks up for the people who are being jerked.
I’m not saying that changing the game that’s played will change a little shit into a little angel, just saying from experience that if you give kids a bit of direction and incentive, they’re often more willing to do what’s perceived as the “right thing”. For what it’s worth, the toxic behavior this kid is exhibiting, was probably learned in a way that was perceived as acceptable behavior, thus the “right thing” as far as they understand.
Whoops typed way more than I expected, and this is pre-coffee, so I hope it made sense! :)
Roblox encourages materialism, hoarding, jealousy, and selfishness. Being able to buy in-game currency at a brick and mortar store is especially offensive and toxic.
Animal Crossing does encourage some bad tendencies, as well, but it also balances it with positive aspects like nature (don’t try to get too much wood out of a tree at once, or it will become a stump), design, and crafting. And as far as I know, there is no official way to buy in-game currency.
Animal Crossing may not be “free”, but it is less likely to bring out the worst aspects in kids.
It is platform for games tailored to kids. A lot of it is essentially role play - canvas for imaginative play. A lot of it are essentially simple short games.
If they play with friends, then it all depends on who the friends are. With strangers, it is hit or miss, but overall significantly better environment then valorant, pubg or other "real" games. The stakes are lower, so toxicity is lower. But of course, we explained before hand and check on occasionally what is going on socially with them.
It is for free, but you can get stuff for money. We explained the kids we don't pay and why, so far there were no issues.
I hope my children get scammed for their worthless digital items. That's becoming harder as assigning real world value to digital items becomes nearly essential for games these days. I know for me and many friends, getting scammed out of some rune plate armor or what not was an important instructional moment.
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[ 512 ms ] story [ 1373 ms ] threadNot trying to call you out or be an asshole but there a some games we just don't let our kids play
It is one thing in general to tell a kid they can't do something because it is bad for them, but helping kids and teens understand how they can be exploited and to recognition their own addictions may help them build some longer term experience in the future that they can then reflect on if they encounter the same obstacles as opposed to only hearing the negatives but not having any real less harmful experience to build from.
Ignoring the growth trajectory, that appears to be ~451/91.25/24 = 205k USD per hour. Assuming a steady ~15% quarterly growth; about 239k.
However a lot of the revenues are from subscriptions so it might be blunted by that; I have no idea what the distribution of subs vs one off transaction revenue is.
What might be far worse is the player drop off as they find alternatives.
Me: What's this for?!?
Kid: Bought something on Roblox byeeeee
Edit: Thanks for mentioning https://privacy.com - I never heard of it and will check it out!
The thing about the whole "metaverse" thing is that it's not a novel concept; it's actually a crowded market. We just didn't notice it because the market really isn't that large. Generally speaking when people want a game world to screw around in, they'll usually play a competitive multiplayer game rather than an open sandbox.
Their engine and assets look like a 1990s 3D MMOG... in 2021.
And I'm sure it's not through lack of trying! So I assume it's a fundamental market problem, and it's going to take someone like FB/Meta dumping millions of dollars into a losing venture to produce something that's up to modern gamer expectations.
... If Meta were smart, they'd go ahead and partner with Epic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ
https://www.theonion.com/gap-unveils-new-for-kids-by-kids-cl...
It's been down for a good while!
10 Hours and counting by my reckoning!
Halloween Weekend too!
So likely missing big revenue on themed in game items!
I find that the games my kids were playing were really just totally mindless. They involved no real skill or thought.
Most of the games consist of finding coins and then getting different skins for their character. Or even worse gaining “money” for time served and then buying things.
What’s up with the devs? These games are terrible and are just a waste land for our children.
The kids were bummed at first, but because there are so many other choices in gaming, they have recovered and not looked back.
Good riddance I say.
Aren't those games made by other children? For those, the time is all but wasted. And that would explain the simple gameplay.
edit: Reading other comments, it seems I've been totally unaware of how much money is on the table in this game... So it's probably not other children creating most of the content.
Just like kids prefer to read books written by adults, see pictures by adults, the adults are more likely to be able to make entertaining games for kids.
Isn't that actually the perfect description of real "adult" life in our society?
Real life for me consists of very little time for friends, nature, or my community (if it wasn’t obvious my life is pmuch my family and my job), yet while my children will inevitably learn through my actions, I can try to use my words to express to them that there is another form of existence possible where they have time for those things I don’t.
Parenting can also a pretty fun exercise on cognitive dissonance at times... :)
This is a common trend where someone posts an article about company or product X and top replies say "X bad". It's not on topic or adding anything to the conversation
So, on topic or not, I appreciate the discussion.
brookhaven: A neighborhood with houses you can place down and "own", cars, various items. etc. They run around making up scenarios and then acting them out
natural disasters: Small maps and rounds where various disasters happen and you have to survive (lightning, tornadoes, etc)
fashion famous: everyone dresses up according to the theme for the round and then everyone picks a winner
And there are a lot of shit games but they get bored of these quickly.
Like Facebook for many people, I think Roblox is literally a disease for most kids. Hoping for more disruptions.
I’m not saying that changing the game that’s played will change a little shit into a little angel, just saying from experience that if you give kids a bit of direction and incentive, they’re often more willing to do what’s perceived as the “right thing”. For what it’s worth, the toxic behavior this kid is exhibiting, was probably learned in a way that was perceived as acceptable behavior, thus the “right thing” as far as they understand.
Whoops typed way more than I expected, and this is pre-coffee, so I hope it made sense! :)
Animal Crossing does encourage some bad tendencies, as well, but it also balances it with positive aspects like nature (don’t try to get too much wood out of a tree at once, or it will become a stump), design, and crafting. And as far as I know, there is no official way to buy in-game currency.
Animal Crossing may not be “free”, but it is less likely to bring out the worst aspects in kids.
If they play with friends, then it all depends on who the friends are. With strangers, it is hit or miss, but overall significantly better environment then valorant, pubg or other "real" games. The stakes are lower, so toxicity is lower. But of course, we explained before hand and check on occasionally what is going on socially with them.
It is for free, but you can get stuff for money. We explained the kids we don't pay and why, so far there were no issues.
Maybe you will try this.
https://www.ign.com/articles/roblox-servers-down-chipotle-fr...