Roblox

Roblox (stylized as "RŌBLOX") is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) virtual playground and workshop designed for children aged 6 and over. It can be played for free, though several features are omitted unless you purchase a subscription to the game. The game is made up of building bricks of various shapes and sizes. Players can build anything and share their creations with the Roblox community. Roblox users script the places they create with a modified version (which is commonly referred to as RBX.lua) of Lua 5.1. Roblox is part of the TRUSTe privacy program and the Better Business Bureau.

History and development
Roblox was created by David Baszucki in Silicon Valley, California and is based in Redwood City California. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Robots" and "Blocks". In mid-2007, Roblox considered the concept of a Megablocks-style character to avoid infringements on any copyrights held by Lego Group and allow for more complex clothing such as hairpieces to blend with the character. This was however rejected later for the minifigure design which was already in use. In mid-2008, Roblox added a feature to allow non-registered users to enter places with restricted functionality. Roblox has raised $2.3 million in funding after an equity issue. On 21 January 2010, Roblox donated $5472 to relief efforts for the Haitian Earthquake, allowing players to buy one of two virtual items: the Red Hat for Haiti, which contributed 65 cents for every person who bought it, or the Blue Hat for Haiti that contributed 10 cents for every person who bought it. Roblox has recently been featured on Click, the BBC’s flagship technology programme. Roblox has also been shown in a survey of users and parents to have a positive effect on academic performance in children aged 10 to 16.

Character Customization
Players customize their characters with items in the Catalog. The Catalog contains Roblox and user created items such as clothing, images, models, gear, sets, heads, and faces.

Bodies
On May 14, 2010 bodies were introduced to Roblox members with subscriptions only, in packages. Packages have arms, legs, and torsos in them. Bodies and packages are made only by Roblox staff.

Models
Players can add their creations to the Roblox catalog, where the model can be commented on, taken (if it is public domain) and favourited by other players. Dependent on what the model contains, the model's thumbnail differs.

Games
Users have a choice of over nearly 10,000,000 (ten million) possible games to play, varying in design from what the creators of places have wanted to create. Types of places vary by the feature where the creator of the place can choose a genre for their place. Users also have the choice to use public domain items created by Roblox users, or they can build their own.

Places
Players in Roblox have the ability to construct up to 100 places, depending on membership type, using an unlimited supply of virtual building blocks. Bricks can then be interacted with through Lua scripting. Competitive places are the most common gamemodes in Roblox.

Scripting
When a player is building their place, they have the option to script via Lua. Using this they can do many things, such as creating a button.

GUIs
GUIs can be used while creating a builder's place. Before they were released to public, only Roblox administrators could create GUIs. Using GUIs, scripters can add Lua to them, to create anything from a control panel to a game.

Roblox Studio
Roblox Studio is a program very similar to Microsoft Visual Studio, used to build and test places. Users use this program in order to do things such as scripting and advanced building.



Economy
Roblox has its own virtual economy. Players earn and trade money currencies, called Robux and Tickets. Users are awarded Tickets when other users visit their virtual places, and when they log in, once a day. Users can provide their creations to other members for a price or for free.

RoblEX
On November 21, 2008 the RoblEX was introduced to Robloxians. Tickets and Robux can be exchanged for one another on the RoblEX. Robux are generally worth more than tickets. Some people take advantage of the RoblEX and make money off of it from trading schemes.

Upgrades
Members paying for a Builders Club subscription receive an additional daily allowance of Robux every day automatically. Builders Club is a paid service that costs from $5.95/month. Turbo Builders Club is $11.95/month with added benefits. The 'Outrageous Builders Club' is $19.95 a month. There is also a feature in which users can buy Robux. Paying members get better deals when buying Robux than non-paying users do.

Refrences

 * 1) ^ "Roblox Game Review - MMO Hut". MMOHut. http://mmohut.com/browser-games/roblox. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
 * 2) ^ "Roblox as an educational program language". Kids Like. http://kidslike.info/roblox_using_roblox_as_an_educational_programming_language. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
 * 3) ^ "Roblox at TRUSTe". TRUSTe. http://www.truste.com/trusted_sites/index.html#R. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
 * 4) ^ "BBB Review of ROBLOX in Redwood City, California". Better Business Bureau. http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-francisco/business-reviews/internet-gaming/roblox-corporation-in-redwood-city-ca-316031. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
 * 5) ^ "Better Business Bureau Accredited". Roblox Corporation. http://blog.roblox.com/?p=1885. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
 * 6) ^ "Roblox Info on BuisnessWeek". BusinessWeek. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=32789865. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
 * 7) ^ "Interview with Telamon". Roblox Corporation. http://blog.roblox.com/?p=1540. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
 * 8) ^ "Roblox Developers' Journal >> More Character Visuals". Roblox Corporation. http://blog.roblox.com/?p=123. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
 * 9) ^ "Be Our Guest; Buy Our ROBUX". Roblox Corporation. http://blog.roblox.com/?p=371. Retrieved 26 September 2008.
 * 10) ^ "Roblox Raises 2.3M". VentureBeat. http://games.venturebeat.com/2009/08/14/roblox-raises-23m-to-help-kids-build-casual-games/. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
 * 11) ^ "ROBLOX Uses Virtual Goods to Help Kids Donate to Haiti". Earthtimes. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/roblox-uses-virtual-goods-to-help-kids-donate-to-haiti,1132480.shtml/. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
 * 12) ^ "Webscape on games site Roblox and Please Rob Me". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8589033.stm. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
 * 13) ^ On August 12, 2010, a "glitch" spread hugely around ROBLOX, preventing everyone from joining or building games, a short time after the new theme, ROBLOX 3.0, was added. "Poll Shows Positive Academic Impact on Students Who Use ROBLOX". 2010-06-30. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Poll-Shows-Positive-Academic-bw-3251454798.html?x=0&.v=1. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
 * 14) ^ "Do You Need Any Body?". http://blog.roblox.com/?p=2339. Retrieved 11-07-2010.
 * 15) ^ "Roblox - A Cool Lego-Based Free Virtual World for Kids". makeuseof.com. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/roblox-lego-meets-webkinz-equals-fun-games/. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
 * 16) ^ "It’s the Economy…". http://blog.roblox.com/?p=440. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
 * 1) ^ "Roblox - A Cool Lego-Based Free Virtual World for Kids". makeuseof.com. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/roblox-lego-meets-webkinz-equals-fun-games/. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
 * 2) ^ "It’s the Economy…". http://blog.roblox.com/?p=440. Retrieved 19 July 2010.