Yeah, calling it a "game" is underselling it. My nephew and niece were really into Roblox, so I thought I'd be the "cool uncle" and have a go at making something for them in Roblox Studio.
I dragged out my macbook (as there was no Linux support) and it was ridiculously easy to make a 3D multiplayer game that millions of people could play instantly (sure, only a handful of their friends played my creation, but still - if you made something good, the audience is there!). It was also a great introduction to my niece on using 3D software - she loved adding tonnes of random stuff and moving it around into weird structures.
I've tried to make multiplayer games in the past, and it's a nightmare. Having a giant player base already authenticated, with all the plumbing in place - it's just a really fun environment to develop for.
I wish there was something similar (and as popular) for making "more serious" games.
As someone not in the target age group, the game Phantom Forces in Roblox is one of the greatest FPS games to date. All of the weapons have very visible stats, no pseudo-stats displayed with bars (that sometimes aren't even accurate.) Newer FPS games are starting to get this right, however.
Phantom Forces even had a sponsored event with Disney.
I tried Phantom Forces and got the impression that the main thing going for it was being available in Roblox and a clone of a great game. There are many fps clones in Roblox and PF may be the best of them but I don't think it is comparable in quality to games like CSGO and Valorant.
Last time I played and watched neighbor kids play it all just felt like a great idea implemented in a crappy way. Watching kids playing games with micro transaction scams and terrible experiences was disappointing, but the idea is probably the future. It would be intriguing to see a company like Mojang create a much higher quality system with a similar approach.
I dragged out my macbook (as there was no Linux support) and it was ridiculously easy to make a 3D multiplayer game that millions of people could play instantly (sure, only a handful of their friends played my creation, but still - if you made something good, the audience is there!). It was also a great introduction to my niece on using 3D software - she loved adding tonnes of random stuff and moving it around into weird structures.
I've tried to make multiplayer games in the past, and it's a nightmare. Having a giant player base already authenticated, with all the plumbing in place - it's just a really fun environment to develop for.
I wish there was something similar (and as popular) for making "more serious" games.