BLOXtober 2013

Bloxtober (stylized as BLOXtober) was a Halloween event that took place throughout October 2013 on Roblox. The event was inspired by the success of the 2013 Roblox Easter Egg Hunt. The event featured purchasable gifts, Halloween costumes, and a scavenger hunt for minifigures called "BLOXikins."

Game
The idea of a Halloween game was first introduced during the 2013 Virtual BLOXcon. The map had an area of 20,000 by 20,000 studs, making it the largest official Roblox event game to date. The map was dotted with multiple swamps, forests, and pumpkin patches. There were also several "landmarks", most of which had NPCs who would give you quests.

The objective of the game was to defeat Bloxhilda, a wicked witch whose goal was to conquer and rule the city of Bloxburg, where the game takes place. Players could collect costumes and be assisted by NPCs (Roblox admins) in order to complete this task. The game contained several key components to game-play. One of these concepts was that of companions. Companions were animals that were created to aid players in completing their required tasks. They could be customized and upgraded by players as they gain more experience.

Another key component to the game-play of the place was a consumable. Consumables were items that could be purchased in game multiple times that helped players in their conquests. Some examples of things that consumables could unlock include currency, keys, and ammunition.

Early Access Items
These items were given to players who purchased early access to the game.

Gifts
There were a total of thirteen gifts put on-sale during Bloxtober 2013. The gifts were revealed over a time period of thirteen days. Each of these gifts could only be obtained by purchasing it. The gifts were only on sale for a certain amount of time before they are taken off sale. Each gift was be opened a few days after it was taken off sale.

Costume Contest
On October 14, Roblox announced a virtual Halloween Costume contest. It was a contest judging a player's virtual Halloween style, and the winners were awarded prizes. The winners (Top Three), received a free virtual item. Also, in the Halloween Event, if any Robloxian wears one of the winning packages, they received a helpful item in game. More information here.

Reception
The catalog items released during BLOXtober 2013 were well received, and the community enjoyed speculating what the Big BOOtiful Gift of Destiny contained. Although many ideas were thrown around the forums before the gift opened, such as Dual Ghostwalkers or a new Dominus, much of the community already predicted that the gift would contain Ghosdeeri or a retexture thereof. BLOXikins were a favorite among many members of the community, anticipating that Roblox would create more of them down the line. Alas, the last official BLOXikin was released in Bloxgiving 2014 and were never seen again.

The event received the most criticism for its event place, The Witching Hour. Players complained that the event's map was unnecessarily large and emphasized that the event was nearly impossible to complete without purchasing the Hallo-Cycle for 999 Robux. Lag and bugs plagued many of the game's servers, making it difficult to play. Consequently, mobile players were unable to play the event.

Another common complaint about the game conveyed that the admins' questlines were too long and obnoxious, as they often required players to collect dozens of items that could have only been obtained through lootboxes (in the form of Quest Chests) or from killing monsters by going from door to door. The loot generated from fighting each monster was randomly generated, adding to the difficulty players faced in completing each quest.

Links

 * https://web.archive.org/web/20131025053506/http://www.roblox.com:80/event/halloween