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'''Roblox''', stylized as '''RŌBLOX''', is a [[MMORG|massively multiplayer online game]] created and marketed toward children and teenagers aged 8–18. In the game, players are able to create their own [[virtual world]], in which they or other [[online]] members may enter and socialize within the blocks of varying shapes, sizes, and [[color]]s.<ref name="cnet">{{cite news|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-19882_3-20070969-250/roblox-a-virtual-world-of-lego-like-blocks/ |title=Roblox: A virtual world of Lego-like blocks |publisher=[[CNET]] |accessdate=29 February 2012|date = 14 June 2011|last = Needleman|first = Rafe}}</ref> Games on Roblox can be [[script (computing)|script]]ed using a [[Sandbox (computer security)|sandboxed]] edition of [[Lua (programming language)|Lua 5.1]], to affect events that occur in-game and create different [[scenario]]s. The game has been known to be quite educational as children will learn computer programming, stocks, ratios, the advertising world and marketing throughout their choices on Roblox{{Citation needed|date = November 2013}}. The company's main source of [[revenue]] comes from the "''Builders Club''" virtual benefits, in which users who have created an [[User (computing)|account]] may purchase either ''Builders Club'', ''Turbo Builders Club'', or ''Outrageous Builders Club'', otherwise known by users as ''BC, TBC, and OBC'', respectively.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|last=Shedletsky|first=John|title=Builders Club is Coming…|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2007/08/builders-club-is-coming/|publisher=Roblox Corporation|date = 2 August 2007}}</ref>
== History and development ==
Roblox was created by founder and co-founder David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004 and officially launched into its beta version in 2005. By then, ROBLOX officially launched its website in 2006.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=32789865|title=Roblox Info on BusinessWeek|publisher=[[BusinessWeek]]|accessdate=20 September 2009}}</ref> It was named after a portmanteau of the words ''robots'' and ''blocks''.<ref name=":3">{{cite news|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2009/09/interview-with-telamon/|title=Interview with Telamon|publisher=Roblox Corporation|accessdate=20 September 2009|date = 14 September 2009|last = Herndon|first = Becky Lee}}</ref> Roblox was created in [[Silicon Valley]], in the [[United States of America]].
=== Early history (2006–2009) ===
In early 2006, Roblox had one currency, known as ''Roblox Points'', which was subsequently discontinued and replaced with "tickets" and "Robux". In mid-2007, Roblox added more customization to user characters to allow items such as hairpieces to be worn.<ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2007/05/more-character-visuals|title=More Character Visuals|publisher=Roblox Corporation|accessdate=22 March 2010|date = 8 May 2007|first = John|last = Shedletsky}}</ref> Roblox badges were first introduced on 22 December 2006. One of the badges was the "Bloxxer" badge.<ref>
{{cite news
| url=http://blog.roblox.com/2006/12/roblox-badges/
| title=ROBLOX Badges
| first=David
| last=Baszucki
| date=22 December 2007
| publisher=Roblox Corporation
| accessdate=15 March 2013
}}</ref> Meshes were added, and so were the abilities of sending friend requests to other players, and sending messages. Other things accomplished in 2006 were searching through players, places, and items, multiplayer places, stats, and inventories.<ref>
{{cite news
| url=http://blog.roblox.com/2007/01/2006-in-review/
| title=2006 in Review
| first=John
| last=Shedletsky
| date=1 January 2007
| publisher=Roblox Corporation
| accessdate=15 March 2013
}}</ref>
In 2007, character customization became possible.<ref>
{{cite news
| url=http://blog.roblox.com/2007/01/blox-james-blox/
| title=Blox. James Blox.
| first=John
| last=Shedletsky
| date=12 January 2007
| publisher=Roblox Corporation
| accessdate=15 March 2013
}}</ref> In late January, the abuse report queue was introduced, with the ability for any user to report content as inappropriate through the "Report Abuse" buttons disseminated throughout the site.<ref>
{{cite news
| url=http://blog.roblox.com/2007/01/report-abuse/
| title={{-"}}Report Abuse!!!{{"-}}
| first=Erik
| last=Cassel
| date=31 January 2007
| publisher=Roblox Corporation
| accessdate=15 March 2013
}}</ref> In March 2007, Roblox became compliant with [[COPPA]], with the addition of safe chat, a change which made users who indicated to be under the age of 13 at registration only able to communicate by selecting predefined messages from a menu.<ref>
{{cite web
| url=http://blog.roblox.com/2007/03/a-new-day-dawns/
| title=A New Day Dawns…
| first=John
| last=Shedletsky
| date=27 March 2007
| publisher=Roblox Corporation
| accessdate=15 March 2013
}}</ref> In August 2007, Roblox added ''Builders Club'', a premium membership, and applied server improvements.<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://blog.roblox.com/2007/08/builders-club-is-here/
| title=Builders Club is Here!
| first=John
| last=Shedletsky
| date=16 August 2007
| publisher=Roblox Corporation
}}</ref>
[[File:Roblox Profile Page.png|thumb|A RŌBLOX profile page.]]
=== Exclusive features and game features (2010–2012) ===
In 2010, Roblox began creating body shapes which ''Builders Club'' members could purchase using virtual currency.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2010/05/do-you-need-any-body/|title=Do You Need Any Body?|date = 14 May 2010|last = Shedletsky|first = John|publisher = Roblox Corporation}}</ref> These body shapes were available in the catalog as packages, which included many items that were all obtained when the package was bought. These packages varied in size and price and occasionally went on sale.
In the year 2011, more than 5.4 million games were created by users.{{Citation needed|date = November 2013}}
At the ''Roblox Game Conference'', Roblox released a system that allowed members with a premium membership to ''trade'' collectible items with other users who have ''Builders Club''. Over time, other features have been added to the system such as increasing the value of a trade, adding Robux to a trade, and owning and trading multiple copies of the same collectible item.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2013/04/purchase-and-trade-multiple-copies-of-limited-items/ |title=Purchase and Trade Multiple Copies of Limited Items Today |publisher=Roblox Corporation |date=16 August 2013 |accessdate=26 June 2013|last = Venugopal|first = Sairam}}</ref>
On 13 January 2012, Roblox announced on the blog that their first ''Hack Week'' had been held. The post announcing it described it as a week where developers worked on projects they chose that they then had to present to the company and that, if considered interesting, could be put further work on.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Hack Week: The Series!|date = 13 January 2012|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2012/01/hack-week-the-series|publisher = Roblox Corporation|accessdate = 19 December 2013|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130308210449/http://blog.roblox.com/2012/01/hack-week-the-series|archivedate = 8 March 2013}}</ref> Projects worked on by developers were later described by blog posts during the rest of the year. They included the implementation of the possibility for user interface elements to rotate,<ref>{{Cite news|title = Hack Week: Implementing Rotatable GUIs|date = 1 August 2012|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2012/08/hack-week-implementing-rotatable-guis|archivedate = 2 October 2012|last = Chandrasekaran|first = Deepak|publisher = Roblox Corporation|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20121002074233/http://blog.roblox.com/2012/08/hack-week-implementing-rotatable-guis/|accessdate = 19 December 2013}}</ref> which was later added to the game engine, the exploration of a system for crafting items,<ref>{{Cite news|title = Hack Week: Exploring a Crafting System in ROBLOX|date = 30 July 2012|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2012/07/exploring-a-crafting-system-in-roblox|last = Lal|first = Navin|publisher = Roblox Corporation|accessdate = 19 December 2013|archivedate = 8 March 2013|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130308210306/http://blog.roblox.com/2012/07/exploring-a-crafting-system-in-roblox}}</ref> the suggestion of a system that would allow game developers to connect many games together,<ref>{{Cite news|title = The Big Bang at ROBLOX: Universe Creation|date = 13 January 2012|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2012/01/the-big-bang-at-roblox-universe-creation|last = Lal|first = Navin|publisher = Roblox Corporation|accessdate = 19 December 2013|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130308210441/http://blog.roblox.com/2012/01/the-big-bang-at-roblox-universe-creation/|archivedate = 8 March 2013}}</ref> which was also later added to the engine<ref>{{Cite news|title = Game Universes and the Quest for Massive Scale|date = 18 December 2013|last = Haak|first = Andrew|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2013/12/game-universes-and-the-quest-for-massive-scale/|publisher = Roblox Corporation|accessdate = 20 December 2013|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20131220050214/http://blog.roblox.com/2013/12/game-universes-and-the-quest-for-massive-scale/|archivedate = 20 December 2013}}</ref> and the creation of a mobile website to replace the normal website for tablets and cell phones.<ref>{{Cite news|title = ROBLOX’s Mobile Site, m.roblox.com, Now Live for Testing|date = 24 August 2012|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2012/08/robloxs-mobile-site-m-roblox-com-now-live-for-testing/|last = Teel|first = Toby|publisher = Roblox Corporation|accessdate = 20 December 2013|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20130308204911/http://blog.roblox.com/2012/08/robloxs-mobile-site-m-roblox-com-now-live-for-testing/|archivedate = 8 March 2013}}</ref>
On 5 June 2012, Roblox announced that a new water material was released to add to the existing collection of "high scalability" terrain cell materials.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2012/06/the-water-is-running-in-roblox/ |title=The Water Is Running in ROBLOX |publisher=Roblox Corporation |date=5 June 2012 |accessdate=26 June 2013|first = Andrew|last = Haak}}</ref>
On 11 December 2012, Roblox released the ability to play games on iOS.<ref>{{cite news|title=ROBLOX Mobile Is Out of Beta: Download and Play Today!|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2012/12/roblox-mobile-is-out-of-beta-download-and-play-today/|publisher=Roblox Corporation|accessdate=14 December 2012|date = 11 December 2012|last = Bromley|first = Dylan}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/12/26/mmo-family-roblox-ceo-david-baszucki-talks-mobile-app-plans-fo|title = MMO Family: Roblox CEO David Baszucki talks mobile app, plans for the future|last = Bryan|first = Karen|publisher = Massively|date = 26 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/12/roblox-mobile-ipad-iphone-now/|title = Roblox goes mobile in time for the holidays|publisher = VentureBeat|date = 12 December 2012|last = Grubb|first = Jeffrey}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.maclife.com/article/news/roblox_brings_millions_user_created_games_ios |title=ROBLOX Brings Millions of User Created Games to iOS |date=12 December 2012 |website=Mac{{!}}Life |last=Clark |first=Matt}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2012/12/12/the-worlds-most-popular-kids-site-take-its-games-mobile/|title = The World’s Most Popular Kids Site Takes Its Games Mobile|date = 12 December 2012|publisher = Forbes|last = Konrad|first = Alex}}</ref> The current iOS devices compatible with running Roblox games are the iPad 2 and newer devices including mini, iPhone 4 or newer, and the iPod touch 5th generation. The mobile Roblox application gives users the ability to customize their character, shop in the virtual catalog, play games, view their profile, and respond to messages. Previous to the release of the mobile Roblox application, the company created 20 virtual Roblox tablets. Players who purchased one received a brand new [[iPad 3]].{{Citation needed|date = November 2013}}
On 21 December 2012, featherweight parts were introduced. This feature enhanced game performance heavily by decreasing the usage of file space for each part in a place.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2012/12/featherweight-parts-one-million-parts-one-roblox-world/ |title=Featherweight Parts: One Million Parts, One ROBLOX World |publisher=Roblox Corporation |date=21 December 2012 |accessdate=26 June 2013|first = Simon|last = Kozlov}}</ref>
=== Contemporary history (2012–present) ===
The co-founder of Roblox, Erik Cassel, died on the morning of 11 February 2013 after a three-year battle with cancer.<ref>{{cite news|last=Baszucki|first=David|url=http://blog.roblox.com/2013/02/in-memory-of-erik-cassel/|title=In Memory of Erik Cassel|publisher=Roblox Corporation|date=12 February 2013|accessdate=12 February 2013}}</ref> The safe chat feature was removed and was replaced by a system based on a [[whitelist]] for users under 13 years old and on a [[Blacklisting|blacklist]] for other users. This new system allows users under the age of 13 to create content on the website, which they were not able to do previously. It applies to all parts of the website and to in-game chat.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2013/07/new-white-list-system-gives-everyone-a-voice|title = New "White List" System Gives Everyone a Voice|date = 22 July 2013|last = Liu|first = Allen|publisher = Roblox Corporation}}</ref> The lighting system was improved with the addition of [[dynamic lights]] implemented in a [[voxel]]-based fashion.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.gamezebo.com/news/2013/05/17/roblox-introduces-new-dynamic-lighting-engine|title = ROBLOX introduces new Dynamic Lighting engine|date = 17 May 2013|last = Jasko|first = Joe|publisher = [[Gamezebo]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2013/05/lights-on-dynamic-lighting-and-shadows-are-here|title = Lights On: Dynamic Lighting and Shadows are Here|last = Kapoulkine|first = Arseny|publisher = Roblox Corporation|date = 9 May 2013}}</ref> Dynamic lights were later added to the mobile version of Roblox.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://inventorspot.com/articles/roblox_launches_dynamic_lighting_ios|title = Roblox Launches Dynamic Lighting On iOS|last = Greene|first = Nicholas|publisher = InventorSpot|date = 5 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2013/05/lights-on-dynamic-lighting-and-shadows-are-here|title = Lights On: Dynamic Lighting and Shadows are Here|date = 9 May 2013|publisher = Roblox Corporation|last = Kapoulkine|first = Arseny}}</ref> Recently{{When|date = November 2013}}, animations have made a debut in Roblox, with an overhaul of the default Roblox character animations. In December 2013, an animation plugin was made available to be used. Users also became able to insert basic humanoids through the interface of the studio.<ref>{{cite news|url = http://blog.roblox.com/2013/10/new-movements-set-stage-for-keyframe-animation-system/|title = New Movements Set the Stage for Keyframe Animation System|date = 2 October 2013|publisher = Roblox Corporation|last = D'Amelio|first = Vince|accessdate=3 October 2013}}</ref>
Around August 2013, the minimum price for catalog items increased from 5 virtual tickets to 300 tickets{{Citation needed|date = November 2013}}, but this was met by criticism from the community,{{By whom|date=November 2013}} and it was reduced to 100 tickets.
On October 11, 2013, body packages became available to all members of Roblox, including those who did not have a premium membership.<ref>http://blog.roblox.com/2013/10/body-packages-now-available-to-all-robloxians/</ref>
Somewhere around September 2013, ROBLOX releases a feature called ''Developer's Exchange''. It is used today for famous ROBLOXians to turn Robux into real life money. For example, 100,000 Robux is 1,000 US Dollars.
Around October 2013, players became able to change their usernames to unused ones for 1000 Robux. The feature also allows the player's original name to be saved in case a user changes back.
== Gameplay ==
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