Video games we have indulged in over the years evolve; think of consoles updating. We grew up on the Wii, then sooner than we know, we are purchasing a Nintendo Switch 2. One of the most popular childhood video games, Roblox, has evolved extremely over the course of 20 years, but when do we draw the line to preserve a game’s original features?
What is ROBLOX?
Roblox was published by founder and CEO David Baszucki and the late founder Erik Cassel in 2006. It is an online platform where users can play and create games, as well as chat with other users. Avatars are similar to the look of a LEGO toy, but as the years have passed, more realistic, human-like, avatar options have been released.
Some of Roblox’s features include purchasing items with Robux (Roblox’s in-game currency), making connections, and exploring their millions of games. Currently, some of the most popular games on the charts include Steal a Brainrot, 99 Nights in the Forest, Brookhaven, Dress To Impress, and Forsaken. However, these games were not always the top charting.
Imagine we time travel back to 2017, when Gen Z annoyed their parents with fidget spinners and Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” blasted on Top 10 radio. This year Roblox gained a huge amount of new players, with active games like Meep City, Jailbreak, and a whole genre of Tycoons.
Unfortunately, a majority of these games are not where they used to be. For example, Meep City has over 16.3 billion visits, but if you search the game up now, it only has around 100 active daily players due to removal of features such as in-game parties and free avatar customization. Another example of a Roblox game that has fallen off is Royale High, which has over 10 billion visits, but only around 5,000 players today due to in-game trading complications and the game itself being so complex it creates lag, which impacts gameplay.
ROBLOX’s recent decline as an entire platform
It is not only a few games that have lost their shine. The corporation itself has made some poor decisions regarding moderation and child safety. Although some say AI is a helpful tool, it has not been proficient when it comes to Roblox’s new age verification system.
Recently, users have been prompted to scan their face or an ID to check if the age they set their account to is legitimate, and it places them in a group where they can talk to users of the same age. Although Baszucki thinks this is a great idea, it can create a “menu for predators,” as described by freshman Alexia Cordeiro.
Cordeiro continued by noting how “this only further isolates children and makes them more vulnerable to grooming,” as well as the fact that “the AI is incredibly inaccurate and easy to bypass.” Poor moderation can cause problems like inappropriate clothing items and as stated, grooming. Cordeiro also informed that Roblox has been in multiple lawsuits over the years when it comes to child safety.
How has this impacted the students of Malden High?
Many Malden High students have had multiple complaints about how Roblox feels repetitive and hard to play. For example, freshman Alex Veliz Gomez expressed that “most Roblox games are just copy and paste, sometimes even just brainrot for children.”
Games that seem repetitive, similar, or “copied and pasted” flood the charts, and are usually targeted towards children which ties in with the dangers of predators. Sophomore Lillyanna Keogh shared that “a wide majority of us students have grown up playing Roblox, but with these policies being so strict, it’s restricting having fun and ultimately makes playing the game with friends more complicated too.”
Some of the solutions students and other worldwide players have come up with to beat these restrictions are calling outside of Roblox such as through Facetime or Discord, or just simply playing together in person. The lack of communication inside the app could lure young players to talk with those who could be adults on outside platforms as well.
Malden High also used to have a Roblox Club last year, which had 87 members. With all of the problems surfacing within the app and the community, it feels as if we have lost a loved one, a childhood friend who just is not the same as when we first met them.
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