Engineering ROBLOX for the iPad, Part 4 (Control Design)

By Andrew Haak - November 19, 2012

Thus far, our Engineering ROBLOX for the iPad series has focused on iPad development through a performance-optimization lens. It has seen us go into the trenches with several ROBLOX developers to learn about and document their roles in building a stable, smooth mobile gaming experience with the unique challenge of user-generated content as the centerpiece. In the final installments of the series, we’ll stray from the path and look at the development of interactive components, starting with control design.

ROBLOX Game Engineer Ben Tkacheff is an expert when it comes to iOS controls. He’s played a lot of iOS games and cites Gameloft’s titles as examples of consistently good, mobile-optimized controls. First-person shooter N.O.V.A. stands out to Ben; the game is unabashedly reminiscent of the Halo series, but it isn’t just a console game ported to iOS – it’s a mobile game, in large part due to great controls.

Achievement Unlocked: 100,000 Concurrent ROBLOX Users

By Andrew Haak - November 14, 2012

Last weekend, ROBLOX reached a milestone: 100,000 concurrent users. This achievement inspired us to do some research about where this figure stands in the greater scheme of gaming and online entertainment.

Before getting to the facts, note that “100,000 concurrent players” means 100,000 authenticated ROBLOX users were playing games, building in ROBLOX Studio and browsing Roblox.com at the same time. It does not include every visitor at Roblox.com – that would make it a much larger number – nor does it represent guests (players who are not logged into a ROBLOX account). We estimate there were 20,000 guests playing at the time.

ROBLOX Mobile Gaming is Coming to iPad…

By John Shedletsky - November 13, 2012

ROBLOX is in the process of bringing our 9.8 million user-created games to the iPad. The first release of ROBLOX Mobile that supports online play is almost here. To raise awareness in the ROBLOX community of our imminent launch, we’re running a promotion targeted at ROBLOX game developers that will give them an opportunity to win a brand-new iPad 3.

What Games Are ROBLOX Developers Playing?

By Alan Fackler - November 8, 2012

‘Tis the season of gaming, so we thought we’d sit down with a handful of ROBLOX employees to find out what they’ve been playing this holiday season. We’re all gamers at heart, and this proves it. Enjoy.

Kip Turner (Content Team)

I’ve been playing Orcs Must Die 2–it’s so fun. You defend these massive dungeons against hordes of enemies, and you can place traps all around the map. It also introduces co-op, so you can slay orcs with your friends. From a developer’s perspective, I really get a kick out of the physics system. All the traps have physics parts built into them, and you can use them to send orcs flying off the edge of cliffs into a murky abyss.

Five Impressive Video Game Conversions in ROBLOX

By Andrew Haak - October 3, 2012

In September, a team of 40 volunteers capped off roughly eight years of development with the release of Black Mesa. The game is a near-complete recreation of the influential 1998 first-person shooter, Half-Life, in Valve’s current Source engine. The project brought new life back to an old game, and got us thinking about game conversions. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most interesting game conversions that we’ve found in ROBLOX.

ROBLOX Launches Game Templates, Starting with CTF

By Sorcus - September 15, 2012

ROBLOX’s Content Team has been hard at work as of late creating Game Templates, which are freely available starter levels with the nuts and bolts of a specific genre already in place. Our first template gives you the basic elements you need to build a game of the popular multiplayer shooter variety, Capture the Flag. You can find the template — and more in the near future — from the “Templates” ROBLOX user profile.

Spotlight: Gusmanak Returns to ROBLOX With Apocalypse Rising

By Alan Fackler - July 25, 2012

17-year-old Gus Dubetz, or Gusmanak, started using ROBLOX in 2008, due primarily to a life-long fascination with physics. By 2010, Dubetz decided to take a short break to focus on clay and wood sculpting.

It wasn’t until two years later, shortly after the release of Day Z, a hugely popular add-on to ArmA 2, that Dubetz, with long-time friend and scripter Ethan Witt (aka ZolarKeth) asked, “what if we went back?”

That question lead to the birth of an idea—Dubetz and Witt didn’t just want to make another “generic shooter”, they wanted to make a full blown game—something with ambition, scope, replayability, and, most importantly, zombies. That idea became Apocalypse Rising.