I banned my kid from Roblox.... what next?

As we all know, Roblox is garbage tier gameplay structured around psychological cues to get children to fill an endless pit with fake money bought with real money.

So I banned my kid from it. He used it a little bit socially with a few friends of his. What online or local multiplayer games should I help him to replace it with? (He’s 10, so please don’t recommend Diablo 4 or anything else that has quite that much gore)

He and his friends have an Xbox Series X|S at home.

Edit: keep your judgemental shit out of here. His whole social group (5 kids he knows from school) got banned on the same day. Me and the other parents are trying to be nice and replace it with better quality games so it isn’t just a punishment.

Edit2: Thanks guys. I got him Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge

NaibofTabr,

For everyone saying OP should let their kid play Roblox and just ban spending money… just no.

Roblox exploits child labor for profit and they have terrible scummy business practices. If you have even marginal ethical qualms about child labor and/or capitalistic exploitation of vulnerable people, you should be keeping yourself and your family away from Roblox. In your mind they should be in the same category as multilevel marketing, crypto scams and door-to-door religion peddlers.

WetBeardHairs,

Roblox really is the lowest of the low.

NaibofTabr,

I actually think it’s fair to call them child predators. They’re exploiting kids for money instead of sexual gratification, but it’s the same power dynamic. Child exploitation is their business model.

Omega_Haxors,

A lot of sexual child exploitation goes down there too, so you don’t even need a roundabout definition of child abuse.

nilloc, (edited )

My son just turned 6 and I was thinking of looking at the game (he really likes actual Lego, and his buddies are into Minecraft and Roblox), but another parent at a bday party a few weeks back asked if we played, and then warned my that I needed to keep a close eye on it, because the suggested games algo was pushing really sketch things to his daughter.

So I started looking and decided the shopping aspect was something I didn’t want to expose him to yet. But these revelations are making me glad we haven’t yet used it and never will.

piyuv,

Do you have written sources for these? I’d like to educate myself but I can’t stand YouTube videos.

ferralcat,

This guy’s argument would literally be that Mario maker is encouraging child labor because it doesn’t pay kids who make levels in it.

GalaxyBrain,
@GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net avatar

Considering the newest Mario game got a shitload of ideas from Mario maker levels, anyone who was good at mario making enough to be creative with the formula had their labor stolen as RnD for Wonder

ZeroHora,
@ZeroHora@lemmy.ml avatar

Roblox sells the idea that you can actually make money with it, it has its own economy with job hunting and salaries. Mario Maker is just a community game.

ICastFist,
@ICastFist@programming.dev avatar

That’s an entirely different thing, because Mario Maker doesn’t lure anyone with the bait of financial gain.

clearleaf,

That’s horrible. These 10 year olds are learning programming and game design skills for nothing. Good thing THAT was nipped in the bud.

NaibofTabr,

This is addressed directly in the linked videos. Development for Roblox doesn’t translate outside of Roblox.

ICastFist,
@ICastFist@programming.dev avatar

Nearly everyone knows a bunch of skills “for nothing” or, worse, for fun! Gasp! Shocking, isn’t it?

Also, did you know that modding is a thing at least since the 90s? You know, people that made modifications to games without expecting any financial return or job opportunities? People must be crazy if they’re putting so much effort just to have fun and share it, amirite?

clearleaf,

I couldn’t stop myself from being sarcastic there, sorry. The utter cynicism struck me so hard I didn’t know where to begin explaining how wrongheaded I think people are being about that. I would for sure prefer Roblox not encourage mtx so much but sheesh man. I don’t think Timmy is trying to make the next Genshin Impact.

AOCapitulator,
@AOCapitulator@hexbear.net avatar

it would be if the word literally meant figuratively or mario maker psychologically tortured children into spending cash for the privilege

NaibofTabr,

Intent makes a big difference. The value of Roblox as a platform and as a business is based on the work done by children to develop for it, and it was set up that way on purpose. They created an incentive model to encourage it.

Nintendo’s value as a company is not based on kids creating Mario Maker levels, nor does Nintendo push kids to do so with the promise of earning money.

LemmyIsFantastic,

This guy’s video could just as well be about foss development. Nearly every point has a direct parallel.

NaibofTabr,

Nobody dangles a carrot of earning money in front of potential FOSS developers. Nobody goes into FOSS thinking they’re going to get a big payout.

FOSS is not pay-to-play. There’s no equivalent to Robux for FOSS developers.

FOSS developers are consenting adults who volunteer their time for freely distributed software projects, not kids creating content for a video game company that charges them for access and then makes a profit from their work.

asg101,

RunEscape has a pretty expansive free to play game. Cartoonish gore.

WetBeardHairs,

God runescape is still a thing? I played that in middleschool…

PlasterAnalyst,

I think it's more popular in poorer countries because you don't need a high end PC to play it.

chaogomu,

I remember playing it a bit back in 2001.

And yes, it's still around.

There are even two versions that Jagex maintains, the main branch, and Old School Runescape, which is based around how the game was back in 2007-2009. (but with new stuff still added all the time)

WetBeardHairs,

Whoa that is a rabbithole I really should not let him know about. Talk about a time sink - people have been playing that for decades now.

nomecks,

Does he like off road trucks? Spin Tires. My 5 year old loves it.

WetBeardHairs,

Reminds me I should see if monster jam is coming around again. He had fun there last year.

Poem_for_your_sprog,

Minecraft

fsxylo,

Minecraft is turning to shit, do mine clone 2 instead, or whatever Minecraft alternative strikes your fancy. Microsoft is bleeding that brand dry.

Poem_for_your_sprog,

Oh that’s lame. I haven’t played it since before the nether was released

AngryCommieKender,

Factorio provided you want a group of kids that you never see again that can all program their own PLC devices

Valkyronix,

If shooters, beer visuals, and light swearing (think damn, shit, the voicelines are pretty rare and can be disabled with mods) are alright for your kid, check out deep rock galactic. its on steam as well as xbox, and is a 1-4 player coop mining and shooting game where you collect minerals and shoot the ant looking bugs trying to eat you. its incredibly fun and ive sunk over 2500 hours into it without feeling for even a second that any of it was predatory.

Nacktmull,

ROCK AND STONE!

Xanis,

Moreover, the community is absolutely fantastic. Literally just a bunch of half-drunk space dwarves having a good time.

WetBeardHairs,

Yeah that’s 100% going to be gifted to him and his social group for xmas due to the recommendations in this thread

Xanthrax, (edited )
@Xanthrax@lemmy.world avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    stewsters,

    Roblox content generation is hella preditory though. Just make sure they know that they probably wont be able to get any real cash out.

    pivot_root,

    Just going to drop this here as something to watch for any people who may not believe you:

    youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ

    stagen,
    @stagen@feddit.dk avatar

    I recommend Astroneer - a solo / multiplayer survival game about collecting resources, refining stuff and building up bases on several planets. It’s hecking fun in multiplayer and it doesn’t have combat. There’s a ton of things to do and if the kids are good at communicating with each other they can quickly conquer the game. The only microtransactiony stuff it has is cosmetics (but it’s not being pushed upon you in any way), but you can unlock some of these through progression as well.

    HerbalGamer,
    @HerbalGamer@sh.itjust.works avatar

    Just rediscovered Battlefield Heroes through the fanmade Rising Hub.
    Pretty sure it’s the perfect kinda game for a group of 10 year olds to play and socialize on.

    AOCapitulator,
    @AOCapitulator@hexbear.net avatar

    Golf with friends

    CrypticCoffee, (edited )

    Try Minetest - www.minetest.net

    It’s a FOSS voxel engine, so they can play multiplayer with their friends for free. MineClone2 is a Minecraft clone on Minetest, so even if their friends don’t have Minecraft, they can still play with friends.

    For paid games, consider indie games, as they’re less likely to be micro-transaction bullshit. Raft, Stardew Valley, Two Point Hospital are good options. Not so much multiplayer, but Stardew supports it. Multiplayer wise, maybe Among Us if the parents are comfortable with that.

    Surp,
    @Surp@lemmy.world avatar

    Gary’s mod, Minecraft

    realitista,
    @realitista@lemmy.world avatar

    Videos I look at seem rather violent with a lot of guns. Are these included by default or addons? My son’s 6 and just getting into minecraft but I don’t want to turn it into an FPS for him.

    Microw,

    Garry’s Mod includes various games/game modes but the most popular one is Trouble In Terrorist Town, where you have to shoot each other. I wouldn’t recommend it for a 6 year old, in a few years it will fit better.

    realitista,
    @realitista@lemmy.world avatar

    Thanks.

    can,

    gmod is great. Another game with several other games inside.

    Coskii, (edited )
    @Coskii@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

    It would be helpful to understand what types of games the kid was playing in the first place to suggest alternatives. I ripped this answer from quora on how to see which games within roblox your child was playing

    • Game History: Roblox used to have a “Game History” feature that allowed users to view a list of recently played games. This feature showed the last few games you played, but it was limited in terms of historical data. It’s worth checking if this feature is still available in your account settings.
    • Roblox Account Activity: You can check your Roblox account’s activity feed, which may show some information about recent game interactions and achievements. However, this feed typically doesn’t display a comprehensive game history.
    • Roblox API: Some third-party websites and tools may offer services that attempt to retrieve and display more extensive game history data by accessing Roblox’s API. Be cautious when using third-party services and make sure they are reputable and secure.

    I went looking for any kind of account tracker and to no one’s surprise they are mostly about account value from items, not so much about worlds/experiences they have been on.

    Most of the responses I’ve seen on here are just suggesting games which may or may not be to your kids looking purely based on those games being generally accepted as good.

    jack,

    If you’re that kind of person, throw away the Xbox too, pure garbage. Everyone deserves the open environment of a PC where one can tinker and learn about the system, maybe even make some mods for games.

    sooper_dooper_roofer,

    I don’t think there’s a problem with restricting internet access for your kids, especially if you can get other parents (of your kids friends) to do it too

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