Would this be against TOS?

[sebi210]

I don’t know if this is the right category.

But I got idea to make game about opium war.
Since Opium is a drug, would this be against TOS?

Players won’t consume opium; but there’s the backstory.
It would be normal FPS game.

Thanks for response in advance.

[slimjim541]

This heavily depends on how you execute your idea and use the terminology for what you need. If you’re very openly showing negativity in tone of writing towards opioids and drugs from what your backstory is, then it should be fine because the TOS from my brief check says paraphernalia being instruction based on use. If you’re simply giving details explaining that the war is over opioids without detailing beyond that into them, you should be fine.

[Craftero]

Although you don’t plan for players to consume the drug in question, “Pills, syringes, or other content representing drug paraphernalia or drug use are not permitted” within Roblox games, as per Section II, Heading 3 of the Roblox Community Rules.

The discussion of illegal substances is also prohibited under Section I, Heading 11 “Dangerous, unethical and illegal activities”.

As such, it’s best to avoid these topics.

[Ewanophobia (Ewan)]

I think having Opium is just a bad idea in general, surely there’s another way to execute what you’re trying to do?

[AwesomePossum212]

Also, to quote a post by @Aotrou on a similar-ish topic, it can depend on how you portray it. See below.

Question about the drug use rule in ROBLOX

In contrast to what AwesomePossum said; I’ve said this before on the forums - if there’s a narrative reason behind having a specific asset or design, you can generally have it in your game. In this case, you’re probably fine. For instance, if I needed a syringe for a character that narratively needs insulin injections, then that’d be fine. If I needed the syringe so my players can use illicit drugs for the hell of it, obviously not. Same asset, narratively different. They’re case-by-case guide…

However, I would still recommend avoiding illegal drugs in general, since they can be portrayed and interpreted in many ways.

[colbert2677 (ImagineerColbert)]

Was just about to post this.

If you ask me personally though, I don’t like to take risks when it comes to things that I need to question or think about thoroughly before adding. Why opioids? Can it not be something else, even just something that you creative for the sake of narrative?

In these scenarios I tend to butcher the spelling of an existing word to form a new one. It helps for starting ideas and then it’s all down to context.

[madattak]

If your game has content that’s generally considered taboo for kids in the US to interact with, regardless of the context or the technicalities of the ToS, you’re at risk of an over-zealous moderator taking the game down. Any direct reference to Opium or just generally using the word ‘Opium’ anywhere will probably get you in trouble. Anything that would clearly resemble an opium den, even if not called such, may get you in trouble. Simply having a setting of China fighting the British in the 1800s will not cause any problems if you don’t refer to the war by name.

[Automationeer (Eleanor)]

The opium wars is apart of the history curriculum, but as others have said, ‘opium’ is labeled as a bad word.

Have you considered keeping the name, but making slight edits to remove drug references (considering the war is about a nation getting another nation’s people addicted to drugs)

[sebi210]

Thanks for response you all!

I won’t risk it.