School age and tween library users will let you know the hottest computer gaming webpages—just ask them or watch them. I remember the days of high IMVU use, which I admit was not a personal favorite. I was thrilled when Minecraft became all the rage, as it allows users to create and build…in other words, teaching young people geometry and spatial skills underhandedly, while they were having fun.
While kids still play Minecraft, I would wager that most of my fellow children’s librarians are currently seeing a new “hottest” gaming website: Roblox.
My first, uninformed reaction to Roblox was unfavorable. It wouldn’t work on every browser at my branch, so it took some tinkering to get kids onto the site. Updates to the security of our operating system temporarily blocked the site, leaving distraught young patrons. A log-in is required to use the game, and our younger users always forget their log-ins. And, most glaringly, several children in a small area playing Roblox are likely to get louder than acceptable for a library.
However, this is where so many of our young patrons want to spend their time online. Can we do anything to engage that interest?
Simply scrolling down from the main Roblox webpage taught me something of which I was unaware, though perhaps you were—Roblox users are its creators. Users, just like our young customers, are the ones who created the 15 million plus games on the site. So yes…the use I see daily in my branch is always kids simply playing games others have created. But could we, as youth programming professionals, “flip” that, and create experiences where students use the website (that does not require any additional 3-D software) to create their own games?
I think we can. I myself am just beginning to explore the possibilities now, on the Roblox Wiki Page, on this tutorial page (envatotuts+), and on Roblox Studio itself. I’ve also ordered The Ultimate Roblox Book by David Jagneaux. I’m not a natural at this, based on my first forays, but I will continue!
Has anyone already used Roblox in programming? I’d love to hear what you have done!
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Maria Trivisonno is a Children’s Librarian at the Warrensville Heights Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library, and can be contacted at mtrivisonno@cuyahogalibrary.org. She loves being an aunt, reading and discussing kids’ books, and all things Star Wars.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
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Johanna Talbott
I’ve had several kids ask me if I would do either a Roblox or Minecraft class or club at our library, but I didn’t know anything about it. I just this afternoon started fiddling around with it and it’s actually kinda hard! But it also is making me think about this in relation to other 3D design models. Skills learned from creating a Roblox game could really be transferrable to 3D modeling, both using traditional software (like various CAD programs) or even when making the jump from regular illustration tools to Virtual Reality illustration tools.
Thanks for this post! It’s been very helpful!