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While this topic may seem to just be another "stop just being a kids site" post, don't worry it's more than that. Just hear out my reasoning.
Let me begin with a story that most of us who've been here for at least a year probably know a version of. You meet a great friend on ROBLOX and are really impressed by his scripting and building skills and love to hang out with him at whatever place he's been working on most recently. Before long though, he becomes less and less active and eventually announces that he's quitting ROBLOX so he can focus on other communities that can more publicly reward him.
Now, I have been really impressed with the recent improvements to the whole system here, and with the company's dedication and innovative thinking. However, I see a very big area where ROBLOX is still lacking. While inside the game the developers have been working nonstop to crank out a more powerful and more professional game building tool, the world still mostly hasn't heard of ROBLOX. Go do a quick search on YouTube, and all you'll find are company-made videos and a flood of poorly edited clips recorded from the client launcher. The only well-known channel that has uploaded ROBLOX related videos, Tobuscus, pretty much just made fun of several different classic games and then stopped playing altogether.
This is the problem that resonates through the entire game community. When someone is introduced to ROBLOX, they see the boring, half thought-out games that fill the front pages of the Games page and can't see any promise in the system. To compare ROBLOX to a oil painting, art collectors see cheap printouts of it that have graffiti all over them and don't even think to look for a quality painting underneath. So because ROBLOX chooses to only be a kids game, they push away potential developers that could boost awareness of the game.
But one thing is for certain, ROBLOX will always be first and foremost a site for kids. So how could ROBLOX attract a more professional community to support it while still being a kids site as well? The answer is to stop relying entirely on the community to produce a well made game. Only the company can alter the website, and so only they can choose what newcomers see first. There are other games that walk the line of kid-friendly and fun quite well, but what holds those games together in every case is one thing at the core: the baseline has to be able to hook players; has to be fun enough to keep players interested despite aesthetics.
Only the ROBLOX team can make such a game and present it on the site as the introduction to what ROBLOX is. If people from outside can see the sort of worlds that can be powered by ROBLOX, they'll be more likely to stick around long enough to stay. But as long as the first thing that new players see when they join is "Obby for Admin" and "100billion Stairs," ROBLOX will continue to stay in the rut of losing experienced developers once enough of their friends make fun of 'that child's game' they play. |
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An example of games that walk that line well is one that I'm not sure I'm allowed to name on here, but involves exploring blocky worlds and surviving against nature. Graphically, it looks no more professional or mature than ROBLOX but its YouTube videos sit consistently among the most popular of gaming videos. Why? Because likely 40% of its players are over 20 years old and have experience in CAD rendering, or video editing, or music writing. Why does that game have so many players of that age range that are willing to invest in content related to it? Because at its core, the game is fun, plain and simple. It's simply fun to roam among the sharp cliffs and build a home in a picturesque spot, or to delve into the depths of a cave to find diamonds.
This is what ROBLOX is lacking. It has fun games made by various users, but they still get crowded out by hoards of low quality hangout spots. ROBLOX needs a rallying cry of their own game; one that they can proudly show on their front page and that people can pick up and instantly have fun with.
Oh, and ROBLOX Battle doesn't cut it. It can be fun at times, until someone who's played enough joins and starts trolling the newcomers with his skills and expensive armor. Space Knights is a step closer to such a game, but one can only play it for so long before a server ends or the waves get repetitive and all the upgrades have been purchased, which happens about 7 total hours of gameplay after beginning. The new game must not consist solely of Player versus Player combat, yet should not restrict players to cooperative play, must demonstrate the power and diversity of the ROBLOX engine, and must entertaining enough for players new and old to return to, even after many hours of playing. |
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Seriously, no thoughts? Someone says "Let everyone use DevEx" and it becomes a hot topic, but no one has anything to say about this? |
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DanieltckJoin Date: 2011-02-05
Post Count: 4792 |
Your really late, ever heard of: 101stopmotion, Dayren, EZcheez, Neverwakening, PhireFoxRBLX, Funny ROBLOX Videos!, RBLXHelpers, ROBLOX, SpideyrulzROBLOX? |
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Nope, haven't heard of a single one of those. And that further supports my point, which extends far beyond YouTube. People largely haven't heard of ROBLOX because the ones that have are like me, embarrassed to show it to their friends because the first, and likely only, games they'll see are "SUpEr eaSY fun Obby" and "Work as a..."
How many people on ROBLOX does anyone know of that are over 20 years old and not a ROBLOX employee? I would venture an estimation of MAYBE even 100, out of many that play this regularly? We're talking numbers like 0.2% of the community being at an age where they can start to use their developed skills and strengths for their hobby. |
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aka303Join Date: 2012-05-25
Post Count: 2063 |
No support. ROBLOX's whole premise is users creating their own games. Some dumb games may become popular once in a while, but most froont page games show skill and talent from the developer, and creativity. Murder Mystery. Blocklr. Sword Fightin Tournament. Catalog Heaven. Look at the page and you will seehow many cool games are out there. It is unneded for them to make a new game just so some people who are unwilling to try out more than one game will be more interested. They should simply advertise
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Try thinking of this, "A hunter goes after two rabbits, but he/she catches neither one." |
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That is a valid point, Coolizzy227, but would a hunter limit himself to fishing if he's able to set a line, build some traps, and still be free to hunt for large game? No.
We've seen where ROBLOX has combined good games together into one event to draw in players, such as the Winter Olympics and the Clan Battle. My point is: why can't they keep a similar type of collection up permanently so that newcomers can get a feel for what ROBLOX.com is BEFORE they get the registration page shoved in their face. |
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I actually agree with this. Now what I think they should do, keep in mind this is just a suggestion, a poorly thought out one I might add, is they should add a new game listing. Like, there is Most Popular, Top Earning, etc... Well they should have a list that shows only the most sophisticated games and the most well build or most advanced. Now, there are an absolute ton of flaws, like how would the roblox system know whats most advanced and such? But I feel as a group we, the people, could find a way around those questions. But anyway it's a poorly thought idea. Back to the topic of this post, I agree with you completely, I am in Grade 10 and frankly I do not know anybody who plays or builds on this other then someone in grade 8 I know and my cousins. They all say how kiddish it is and how its for 8 year olds well, maybe it is but there are definitely things for all ages on here it's just Roblox does a poor job at showing that. I mean, sure there are still fun games that players could see like The Mad Murderer but there is just not enough. Theres just nothing that helps show the potential. Also when I tell me friends to build if they don't wanna play, they say they don't wanna. And the few people I know who do play this, don't know how! There is just nothing that completely starts you off with building. When I started, it was tough because you just jump in and experiment with things. They need something to start you off because those people who have tried to build half the time do not know there is a Wiki. Anyways, in short, I agree with you and Roblox needs to do something. |
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