Roblox needs to provide an incentive or award system for Developers. Its seriously uncool to not have any physical reminders or messages from Roblox about accomplishments.
If you wanna skip the read, here’s the audio version.
@berezaa recently brought an idea I’ve had for a while to the forefront of my mind with a strand of Tweets. Berezaa talked about Roblox making connections with developers through small gifts or acknowledgement and recognition. I want to discuss some advice, changes, rewards, and viewpoints on the Roblox-Developer Relationship.
The Situation
Recently, Roblox has sent out toys to many developers that have greatly contributed to the platform. I think this is an amazing idea and love the fact that Roblox is awarding its developer community. This is very odd though as Roblox has never done anything of this manner before outside of the awesome RDC swag bag and a small box sent to members of the Star program, also a neat reward. Seeing this, I believe that Roblox could bring Developers happiness and support through rewards such as the aforementioned ones.
Movement towards a closer Developer-Roblox relationship
A closer Roblox developer relationship would be amazing. Developers greatly rely on the Roblox platform. Everyone would benefit from the average developer being more closely linked in with Roblox. I feel that Roblox is very able and open to taking in feedback from developers. There are many outreach methods to Roblox. While Roblox is great on the receiving end, Developers are not. This is not because most developers cannot take input, but rather the fact that we don’t get any input. There are no “good jobs”, “congratulations” or rewards coming from Roblox. This is saddening, especially seeing the takeoff and gifts that the Youtuber community is getting form Roblox. DO NOT TAKE AWAY FROM THE YOUTUBERS, upgrade the developers and what we get. Many developers find it degrading when we make the platform and then the gifts go elsewhere. This topic of balancing Youtubers and Developers interests is elegantly discussed in @KonekoKittenWasTaken video in the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvgoE8HrOW0
Reward and Outreach Ideas
My reward ideas range from extremely simple to neat to amazing. Regardless, getting a reward from Roblox is awesome and uplifting.
The first reward that came to mind was sending out plaques and rewards for achieving a certain amount of visits on a game, reaching a certain amount of group members or achieving a certain amount of likes on a game or favorites, the opportunities are pretty wide in scope. This idea probably came to my mind due to how YouTube rewards their creators at certain milestones and I believe Roblox would certainly benefit from a system of the sort. It is not only cool, decorative, and inspiring, but also is a physical reminder that Roblox is there for me. This is the idea I want to emphasize the most, plaques/rewards for milestones.
Another Idea is automated messages. A cool reward message or badge (like how Roblox used to do [bricksmith]) would be neat as well. Simple things and achievements could be noted like reaching 100 concurrent players on a game. This would both benefit developers while also coaxing others into development to expand and help Roblox.
Mental Health
Mental health is important to every developer. I remember constantly stressing out and getting frustrated during development. It would often tire me out and make me cranky. I believe other developers encounter these same issues as well as other ones such as depression. Roblox linking into the developer community with simple acts of recognition could definitely go a long way. Roblox has the incredible opportunity to support its developer base’s mental health and I believe they could easily do so.
Cheers to the New year
Cheers to everyone regardless of status or if they get recognition. Developers, your hard work is awesome and I truly hope you enjoy every moment of what you do to the fullest. Thank you Roblox for the awesome opportunities and gifts you have given us, you empower us as creators. We have a whole new year ahead of us. I look forward to making an impact and growing as a community in 2020.
Happy Holidays and See ya next Decade,
GoatRBX