Having been created by the legendary Jim Henson of The Muppets‘ fame, Sesame Street has been a staple of children’s television for over 50 years. The lovable puppets have been on a bit of a rollercoaster this year, with threats to cut off their funding to collaborations with major networks. Now, the characters from 123 Sesame Street are making the leap to gaming experiences with Sesame Street: Neighborhood Adventures on Roblox. The experience puts you in the shoes of a completely customizable visitor of the fictional neighborhood as you meet familiar faces, earn stickers, and play minigames.
The experience is narrated by Guy Smiley and allows you to explore the iconic street and various people who inhabit it. You can locate Cookie Monster and play a collection of minigames that award you with numbers that can be used to purchase even more customizable items. Considering the family-friendly tone of the experience, even including the same educational standards you’d expect from Sesame Street, those aware of the controversies happening with Roblox feel that this might be the right direction for the platform. Even one fan in the comments said, “YES i am an adult YES i will be playing immediately.”mashable
According to Aaron Bisman, senior vice president at Sesame Workshop, the focus of the brand is the same, with him saying, “With gaming and immersive experiences growing in popularity alongside streaming video platforms, this launch is a vital new contribution to our audience-first, omni-channel approach. Our mission is to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder, and our new Roblox Hub is an exciting new way we’re delivering on that. We can’t wait to welcome fans of all ages to explore our neighborhood.”
The experience itself comes from a grant from the Roblox Development Fund and was created by Shovel Team, the development studio behind Care Bears: Caring Quest and Super Slime Simulator, alongside Exclusible and MindTrust. The nonprofit has previously been involved in creating Roblox experiences aimed at providing STEM chalenges for players four years old and up.
Currently, the Roblox platform has been the target of various controversies, including one involving YouTuber Schlep after he was banned from the platform for exposing various pedophiles. Even Chris Hansen is reportedly in the process of creating a documentary about the platform and how those with ill intentions use Roblox. One commentator under the above video seems to be on the fence about the entire situation, even saying, “I love this but unfortunately Roblox is no longer a safe space for children.”
Sesame Workshop explained to Mashable that various settings have been put in place for the safest experience, stating, “​​Our approach to developing the Sesame Street Hub on Roblox has been guided by rigorous safety standards and child-centered design. Within the Hub, there are no social features that could expose children to harmful interactions. For example, the chat is disabled and users create their own avatar with kid-friendly elements (so children are not exposed to avatars that may not be age-appropriate).” Sesame Street: Neighborhood Adventures also acts as a hub for other Sesame Street-related experiences, including Sesame Street: Magical Beastie Quest, allowing players to switch games without leaving the experience.
