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Wait I'm confused. When did roblox turn from a janky lego clone from the neopets era into something worth 11 figures? Do they have some sort of massive internat

Wait I'm confused. When did roblox turn from a janky lego clone from the neopets era into something worth 11 figures? Do they have some sort of massive international userbase or hit mobile app I'm not aware of? That's nearly half that of Blizzard of WoW fame.

dharmab 6y ago
Roblox is an extremely robust modding platform and they allow modders to make money. There are entire commercial studios who build games withn Roblox.
softwaredoug 6y ago
Every kid I know plays Roblox. It’s probably more popular then Minecraft in the 14 and under crowd.
nolroz 6y ago
Over half of us kids are playing it. There are millions of user created games and worlds.
- beckingz 6y ago
  But why? It was a fine game when I last played it 10 years. What have they added that make it so good?
  - specialist 6y ago
    My older nephew plays FortNite, the younger plays Roblox. Best as I can tell, they're social hubs, serving the same function as the MUDs my generation (dial-up BBS) played. The actual gaming parts are just the backdrop, like nightclub themes (jazz, EDM, rock). A buddy of mine cofounded FlowPlay. Surprisingly popular, but nothing like Roblox. Pretty much same idea. Users keep going back to hang out with their friends. I've read that Roblox also has a thriving eco system of third party developers. Something that MineCraft, SecondLife, and other 3D/VR MUDs/MMORPGs didn't quite crack. So Roblox gets that sweet flywheel effect. Like an in-game Steam (app) store. Since my nephews cannot and will not use lame adult phones or chat apps, I installed both Roblox and FortNite, their preferred chat clients. I've never actually played any of the content.
  - softwaredoug 6y ago
    It’s a great question. I think probably: - it’s very social and online first, kids can play with each other online seamlessly - it’s simple. Most games you join and do silly kid stuff. - there’s endless freedom to create new games and experiences - a strong YouTube presence with popular you tubers that get kids excited to try different things.
  - nolroz 6y ago
    I think the other comments cover it well. It's a social hub with a lot of freedom. You can find knockoffs of many mainstream games and many more creative originals. You can find places to build houses, run obstacle courses, role play jobs, play hide and seek. Lots of creativity kicking around. You and your friends can transverse the multiverse together and explore, or go off on your own. It makes me think of a low fi early version of the kind of world described in ready player one and other sci-fi novels. Just wish they had better support for their users getting hacked. I know a young lady who lost everything recently to a hack and can get no response from the company to help.
uncledave 6y ago
No they just had a shit load of marketing and the whole social network effect of it caused it to escalate. It's still a janky as fuck attention grabbing upsell platform. Like an ultra-capitalist minecraft. My kids don't use it - they got bored quickly.

dharmab 6y ago

Roblox is an extremely robust modding platform and they allow modders to make money. There are entire commercial studios who build games withn Roblox.

softwaredoug 6y ago

Every kid I know plays Roblox. It’s probably more popular then Minecraft in the 14 and under crowd.

nolroz 6y ago

Over half of us kids are playing it. There are millions of user created games and worlds.

beckingz 6y ago
But why? It was a fine game when I last played it 10 years. What have they added that make it so good?
- specialist 6y ago
  My older nephew plays FortNite, the younger plays Roblox. Best as I can tell, they're social hubs, serving the same function as the MUDs my generation (dial-up BBS) played. The actual gaming parts are just the backdrop, like nightclub themes (jazz, EDM, rock). A buddy of mine cofounded FlowPlay. Surprisingly popular, but nothing like Roblox. Pretty much same idea. Users keep going back to hang out with their friends. I've read that Roblox also has a thriving eco system of third party developers. Something that MineCraft, SecondLife, and other 3D/VR MUDs/MMORPGs didn't quite crack. So Roblox gets that sweet flywheel effect. Like an in-game Steam (app) store. Since my nephews cannot and will not use lame adult phones or chat apps, I installed both Roblox and FortNite, their preferred chat clients. I've never actually played any of the content.
- softwaredoug 6y ago
  It’s a great question. I think probably: - it’s very social and online first, kids can play with each other online seamlessly - it’s simple. Most games you join and do silly kid stuff. - there’s endless freedom to create new games and experiences - a strong YouTube presence with popular you tubers that get kids excited to try different things.
- nolroz 6y ago
  I think the other comments cover it well. It's a social hub with a lot of freedom. You can find knockoffs of many mainstream games and many more creative originals. You can find places to build houses, run obstacle courses, role play jobs, play hide and seek. Lots of creativity kicking around. You and your friends can transverse the multiverse together and explore, or go off on your own. It makes me think of a low fi early version of the kind of world described in ready player one and other sci-fi novels. Just wish they had better support for their users getting hacked. I know a young lady who lost everything recently to a hack and can get no response from the company to help.

uncledave 6y ago

No they just had a shit load of marketing and the whole social network effect of it caused it to escalate. It's still a janky as fuck attention grabbing upsell platform. Like an ultra-capitalist minecraft. My kids don't use it - they got bored quickly.