Is gameplay that references real-life diseases and treatment allowed?

Hey everyone!

So I was working on a game with a friend. This game has a virus/infection script in it that affects players, and thus they visit a hospital in-game to get diagnosed and treated. My friend brought up that Roblox’s ToS might not “like” some of the viruses/infections that can happen, for example, Hepatitis, which is caused by the exchange of bodily fluids like blood, saliva and other things I won’t say. It’s considered to be an STD. Now, in the game, there is no reference to how this is spread. The only thing in the game is the disease itself.

Another question:
This game has a hospital in it, thus it has needles to inject vaccines and cures for diseases. I also know Roblox doesn’t like needles, but we specify what the needles do and why they are used. Would a disclaimer at the start of the game help in aligning with the ToS?

Lastly, in the hospital, there would also be pills to prevent infections. These would be antibiotics and would be labeled accordingly.

Please let me know if these would be allowed, and if not, would there be a possible way to include any of these without violating the ToS?

Thanks!

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I think it is not allowed, but that depends on what diseases and treatments you do:

I think pills are not allowed, they are basically drugs.
Vaccines (I don’t know if that’s written correctly) are allowed, i saw Hospital RPs using it.

And diseases:

I think stuff like a guy vomiting every minute is allowed.

Cancer, AIDS, etc. I think that is not allowed.

So, since Roblox is for childrens, you must add children stuff, which can be accepted. Like Hospital RPs.

Someone just said that Ro-bio was always being taken down because of that.

Thanks for reading :+1:

Well I think the main reason Ro-Bio was taken down was because of the fact that you were attempting to kill “prisoners”, injecting them with diseases, etc.

All medicines are considered drugs, but I would assume antibiotics should be allowed. I read something about someone saying it may be acceptable if you label the bottle as a needed medicine.

I don’t see any reason why cancer wouldn’t be allowed. Also could you explain what vacuums are? I assume it’s not what you use to clean up a floor, haha.

In my mind I would assume these to not break the ToS as they are labeled for medical use to treat illnesses, and do not have illegal drug-like side effects. It’s just confusing because the lines for this are very blurred.
(Also this game isn’t a hospital role play and isn’t targeted towards young children)

I think we all know what STD means. Please don’t.

Pills often contain drugs, even if for medical use. Maybe substitute it with a special drink, like an elixir?

Thanks for the advice, good idea with forming an elixir. Do you think liquid antibiotics would be allowed?
And what about needles, by that I mean things like IVs.

For the example on hepatitis, you don’t have to “perform the action” to get it, you could possible get it from getting someone’s blood on you. For example, " It’s also possible to get hepatitis B by sharing an infected person’s needles, razors, or toothbrush."

I’m sure we all do, but nowhere in the game would there be a reference to that. When explaining how someone could get it, in the game the person would say what I stated above.

Thanks for the feedback though!

Sorry i’m stupid: I meant vaccine

And cancer: i prefer to have precautions and don’t add it.

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Most diseases would violate ToS. For refrence; STD’s, and HepC.

Drugs, pills, alchocol, all of this is against ToS. Most pills contain drugs. Also note, you’re not allowed to put pill bottle’s in your game. I would reccommend you read the ToS before getting too far into development with this game.

Thanks for the advice, but what about diseases that can be caught through multiple ways other than only being ST? For example, a disease that could spread by bodily fluids. If it wouldn’t be allowed, I assume that would mean any disease that spreads through bodily fluid wouldn’t be allowed?

Also, do you know if liquid antibiotics would be allowed?

Keep in mind that it doesn’t actually show you how you catch the disease. In the game, you catch diseases based on how contagious it is and if you’re near someone with it. Technically it’s just the name of the disease in the game, nothing more.

Thank you for your response :slight_smile:

I don’t think liquid antibiotics are allowed either, due to some containing medical drugs. If you want medicine of sorts, bandages, potions, and elixers should be fine.

This is probably not allowed either. Read the ToS to be exactly sure.

The “how” almost never matters, it’s the what. We are talking about a sexually transmitted disease.

An under-13, out of curiosity, might search it up. Do they really need to know the specifics of this.

Thanks, a few last questions(sorry if I seem persistent I just want to make sure of things)
Now back on the topic of bodily fluid really fast, according to google and other sources

sexual content is material depicting sexual behavior . A disease does not depict this, instead, it depicts the act of having that disease and what it can cause.
Of course, if a disease can only spread through sexual transmission I would understand why that wouldn’t be allowed.
(Again, sorry if it seems I’m pushing for this to be allowed, I just want to make sure that I have all the right information)

Now on the topic of antibiotics, if it were just a bottle with a pink liquid, and it didn’t “Specify” what it was and instead staff told the player that it would prevent infections(not referencing any drugs), do you think that would be allowed? And would it still be allowed if we gave it a custom name that’s not related to any medicine, but just made up?

I’m still not sure about IVs. Roblox’s ToS states “Pills, syringes, or other content representing drug paraphernalia or drug use are not permitted.”
IVs are not syringes, and they are used in a medical environment to help a person get better, so I would assume they would be allowed.

I think that’s the last of my questions. Thanks for your responses!

It doesn’t matter if you depict it or not, the nature of the disease is what makes it not allowed.

Yes

I would leave that aside until given the green light

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Also, if you read in the ToS, syringes/vaccines are not allowed, even if its use is intended to be good or not.

Update real fast:
I did some more digging into the ToS and I may have found a green like…
“Illegal drugs or prescription drugs without a prescription;”
It says prescription drugs without a prescription, therefor I would assume that if we gave a player a superscription for a liquid antibiotic, that would be allowed. I’m not to familiar with the ToS just yet so if you have anything that contradicts this, please let me know!

In the ToS, it states “Pills, syringes, or other content representing drug paraphernalia or drug use are not permitted.”
However, like I said in a recent comment, it does not disallow IVs. I would assume that you could give vaccines through the IV. I would also assume that something like Saline is allowed as it’s used to replenish fluids, and is made from sodium chloride and water.

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