[bradford]

Highly addictive to my kids for reasons that I can't grok.

Unfettered social interaction with other participants in an unmonitored environment that superficially 'looks' like a video game. This social interaction leads to bullshit purchases. Not purchasing the bullshit leads to peer pressure and bullying.

Is it a technical problem? is it lack of content moderation? or do social networks that are catered towards children simply lead to a toxic environment? I can't say if it's more one or the other, which makes it a challenge to try and fix.

[_heimdall]

That sounds a lot like any other childhood in my opinion. Sure I wasn't feeling pressured to buy digital assets on an online game but I would noticed when half the school has the same LL Bean fleece jacket or backpack with their initials embroidered on it.

Was there peer pressure and potential for bullying based on what others had? Absolutely. Should a state have intervened with a required mandatory dress code and government-approved backpack? Hell no, there's always going to be peer pressure and bullying no matter how oppressive laws become.

[genewitch]

I watch my son play Roblox sometimes. The chat is heavily censored.

He also learned most countries, their capitals, and their flags. And that was just a few servers with "country balls".

I find the YouTube videos involving those far more insidious, because children don't really understand biting sarcasm and satire as well as adults, and I'll often make him switch videos.

But I haven't noticed anything necessarily harmful about Roblox.

Then again, don't they make like a billion dollars a year?

I'm more upset that they screw content creators so badly that the "bullying and peer pressure" seems to be necessary.

Roblox is one of those things that seems impossible on a technical level. And with a billion dollars, they could hire social workers, moderators, etc.

[geraldwhen]

But have you actually played Roblox? It’s absolute toxic trash.

Almost every single game is a front for purchases, and those that aren’t are barely games at all. Many Minecraft mods are one time purchases that are way, way better than anything Roblox produces, but Minecraft is so buggy that it’s truly not suitable for kids, or anyone for that matter. Minecraft will continuously corrupt saves, so you need to fully reinstall the game, and log out of your Xbox/MS account and fail to authorize.

I grew up on counterstrike and StarCraft mods, and there is nothing available today that fills the same role. I’ve played chess implemented in StarCraft, DOTA before it was standalone, and zombies maps that wouldn’t be brought to other shooters for years ahead of time.

My kids aren’t allowed to play games I wouldn’t play. The list of actual-games-that-arent-ads is huge, and there is no need to let in Roblox.

[7sidedmarble]

>Minecraft is so buggy that it’s truly not suitable for kids,

>My kids aren’t allowed to play games I wouldn’t play.

Nothing says 'hacker mindset' like your parents deciding for you what games you should and shouldn't like.

[newjersey]

This is such a difficult topic. On one hand I want to give the next generation the same freedoms that I enjoyed but on the other hand the “game” has gotten more… everything. Even adults can’t avoid falling for these traps. I’ve seen with my own eyes someone justifying spending USD 90+ on candy crush saying it isn’t that much compared to bla bla.

It is a frightening thought though to think — am I more conservative than my parents?

[wholinator2]

I'm certainly not. Though i have different conservations in different directions than they could've ever dreamed possible, i doubt that adds up to anywhere near the real conservatism of watching Bill O'Reilly or god forbid Tucker Carlson every night

[genewitch]

considering nintendo and sega cartridges were upwards of 60 1980s US dollars, compared to the amount of "game" we get now for the same price, it's almost a wash.

Freemium games make sure there's enough "there" there to keep casuals almost happy. The trick is to make the $5 and $10 premium purchases let you do around 4-12 hours of gameplay advancement, but that's it. Consider something like Shop heroes (or whatever) where you can put thousands of hours into the game for free, a day or two "skip" for $10 isn't a good value proposition. But skipping a week or a month? maybe after someone has put $10 in a few or several times and gotten that little jolt they want to feel the big jolt of a lot of money.

I know i spent around $100 in the blizzard RMAH (Real Money Auction House) on diablo III and it netted me nothing - nothing at all. So i learned my lesson real quick. Real money for virtual goods is a non-starter.

Now as far as robux goes, I want my child to understand that it's ok to pay people for their work (designing the levels, making items/skins). So he can choose to spend his money on hotwheels, paints, robux, google giftcards, whatever, $5 at a time. I do sometimes make a frowny face when he chooses robux, though; because as i said, a billion dollars!

[geraldwhen]

I would play most any game that isn’t in app purchase multiple-premium-currency trash. I have multiple consoles and macs, so most things are covered.

Games explicitly banned: Roblox, for ads and IAP

Minecraft, because the second time I had to reinstall it on a ps5 to fix a corrupted installation was too much.

Any game by gameloft, etc. If it has a purchase price it’s probably fine. I also don’t let my young kids watch game of thrones.

[mrguyorama]

I would not let my child pay for in app purchases period. They are entirely built to trigger the same broken mental pathways as gambling and we generally try to avoid letting kids gamble

[stametseater]

> Many Minecraft mods are one time purchases

> Minecraft is so buggy that it’s truly not suitable for kids, or anyone for that matter.

> Minecraft will continuously corrupt saves you need to fully reinstall the game

I don't recognize the game you are describing. I've never heard of a paid minecraft mod, they're all free. Buggy? It has some odd in-game behavior that you could reasonably call bugs, but the only crashes I've ever gotten were during modding, caused by incompatible or low quality mods. Corrupting saves? I've never experienced it, nor can I imagine how a corrupted save would be addressed by reinstalling the game. What is the supposed connection between a save file being corrupted and needing to reinstall the entire game?

You've obviously got some strange prejudices about this game which simply don't resemble reality.

[_heimdall]

Sure sounds like a game that will suck and go unplayed if kids just aren't allowed to click the buy button. Children don't have to have access to spend money online and a parent is well within their right already to not add a credit card.

That one change would make Robolox a terrible game based on how you described it. Isn't that problem solved without the need for a complex law full of arbitrary definitions and one-off carve outs?

[8note]

Roblox is neopets afaict

There's a game engine/a large variety of games combined with a common community. The games can be silly, but they're silly with other people who recognize they're silly, and others who aren't in on the joke yet

[watwut]

My kids never paid anything on roblox. Also, the bullying you describe sounds like issue with real world bullies in group ofnkids your kids know personally. That sux and is hard to fix, but blaming roblox is weird. I would blame those kids parents.