Why Roblox is a great introduction to game design

Roblox is a game that is entirely sold on the ability for players to unleash and share their creativity, and to experience what other players have to make as well.

Some cars I've made using #Roblox! At first I was helped by a friend to adapt the chassis, which I am very thankful, then made my own designs, which are visible here!#RobloxDev pic.twitter.com/lTVaKvLRaF

— TFPs (@ArtTfps) January 14, 2021

The tools Roblox gives its players are incredibly simplified and easy to learn, even for an absolute beginner. It’s not likely that someone can learn an advanced programming language through creating with Roblox. However, this game is an excellent way to get an introduction to the basics of game design.

Roblox and the simple way it gets players to learn design skills

soo hi i made another pair of hand drawn jeans and there's a speed design on yt for this ! https://t.co/DrcV9NHvpn pls go like n subscribe 😁#roblox #robloxart #RobloxDesigner pic.twitter.com/O65jEExEXU

— Paradolls // keoriku (@paradollz) September 13, 2020

Design is a skill, and like any skill, it can be learned, trained, studied, and improved through experience. What Roblox does is actually reduce the barrier to learning those skills significantly, by providing creators with a simple graphical design tool.

This means that creators can design worlds and games by placing objects on the map and changing how they work with simple toggles and switches. This might seem like a small change, but for many creators, the complexities of programming languages, model design, and animation, are too much to tackle.

Roblox gives players the tools to have these features without needing to learn multiple distinct and advanced skills themselves. Instead of needing skills to learn more skills, Roblox lets creators skip directly to design.

Design is where creators can experiment with game mechanics, level design, and just figuring out what’s fun.

How Roblox encourages good design

A major part of what keeps players invested in learning how to improve their design skills is the fact that Roblox has a simple, functioning economy, where creators can install microtransactions into their games. If players buy something in a game, the creator gets that money, and can even have it exchanged for real world money as well.

While this isn’t something done explicitly to encourage creators to get better at creating, this simple reward structure is enough that good designs can be rewarded, while poorer designs can be ignored.

This can also function as a basic, albeit imprecise, metric, for judging what makes a particular design good or not. Creators who notice a significant change in their income following a change in their design, can use that as feedback to determine what works and what doesn’t.

Unfortunately, there are a number of other variables involved in changing how frequently players spend their in-game currency. It goes beyond what a single creator can control, so this shouldn't be completely relied upon.

Nevertheless, anyone eager to get their first taste of game design should absolutely take a look at the Roblox Studio creator and see what they can come up with.