Over the last couple of months Roblox has begun the transition in terminology to “Experiences” whilst leaving the former name of “Games” behind. Whether this is actually due to the Apple v. Epic controversy or not, this is the direction Roblox has chosen to move in.
It now only makes sense to rename this section of the forums Experience Design just for the sake of uniformity since there isn’t even a reference to “games” in studio any longer.
Personally I’m not a huge fan of the terms changing but if that is the language the website is moving towards as a whole it really doesn’t make sense for this to stay the same.
It’s definitely not. Roblox has dropped the word “game” out of the vocabulary.
The website now offers “experiences” therefore if you need help designing one of your “user created experiences” it makes more sense to post under “Experience Design” rather than a Game Design section
Games are a major subcategory of experiences on Roblox. As such, #help-and-feedback:game-design-support can happily continue to exist. Support for showcase design works in #help-and-feedback:cool-creations. If you come across another significant subcategory of experiences that does not have a home on the forum, feel free to bring it up.
I definitely get that we see them as games (I will never not refer to one of my games as a game)
However what I was attempting to point out is that the word “game” essentially disappeared from the website alongside the word “play” that used to be the prompt to join in on every ga- I mean experience.
So from a uniform standpoint and a terminology standpoint it still just feels a bit weird to change it everywhere but here.
And if games are going to remain as an officially recognized sub-category than I wish there was a way for the developer to categorize their experiences into showcases,games, ect on the website
This is needless pedantry. The existing categories perfectly suit the grand majority of topics relating to developing experiences on Roblox just fine. There is no need to change the name of one of them when there are other categories that non-game related topics would otherwise fit into. Not to mention, changing the name of the category is a destructive process, and can destroy links on the forum.
It seems just as needless to rearrange the entire way you define your “user experiences” after nearly a decade and a half of having it laid out in a consistent manner but it was changed.
Also to your earlier point - there are not “other categories for non-game related topics” If somebody is working on something that is not a game (any kind of project that is an experience that doesn’t include gameplay elements) yet needs help with it they are not supposed to go to #cool-creations as it is merely a place for “discussion and feedback and shouldn’t be used for support”
So if they aren’t having an issue isolated to building or scripting they are left to turn to Game Design… with an experience that is not a game. Hence the issue I’m attempting to point out here.
If games are now experiences than the Game Design category is not inclusive enough to support the original overarching purpose of the sub-forum
Does the minor change in vocabulary bother you that much? Not only is experiences such a minor change, but is also probably more honest and representative of what ROBLOX hosts. Showcases, Movies, etc etc. aren’t always “Games”, but rather just… well… an experience.
As for “Experience Design”,
Games are a subcategory of experiences, hence why the forum has different threads to help with said subcategories. Building, Animation, Coding, etc.
Games was too vague to be showed on the front page, just because the general description for experiences on roblox was changed, that doesn’t mean that every instance of the word “Game” should either.
Not everything on Roblox is a game. Experience is better suited for describing showcases and homestores, for example. These can have little to no gameplay elements at all, so calling them “games” is incorrect. Right now, yes, the vast majority of experiences on the platform are indeed games, but using the broader, more inclusive term “experience” works in Roblox’s long term vision of “being the metaverse”.
I understand your urge for change so as to keep consistency within the experience-game terminology, but this change might lead to unwanted confusion between users. Also, as @ineedpotatodev kindly mentioned in their post, Game Designing is a development field and not just a name label given by Roblox.
