back to article Teens take a million metaverse Ryanair flights in Roblox

Of all the things parents might suspect their little darlings of doing on game creation platform Roblox, replicating Ryanair flights likely isn't one. And yet here they are, checking in luggage, queuing at security, wading through duty free, and grabbing a dirty burger before making the arduous trek to the gate, where there is …

  1. abend0c4 Silver badge

    Pixelated meta-tat

    The thing that struck me about this is that it's just a long series of brand names. That may well replicate the flight experience, but it's depressingly uncritical.

    1. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: Pixelated meta-tat

      Next on the agenda is realistically replicating a slaughterhouse.

  2. xyz Silver badge

    They should do a McDonald's* where you have to order stuff via touchscreen then fight your way through herds of Glovo riders to get your stuff and as you scoff more and more you start rurning into a balloon and rolling about the place.

    *other food taterias are available.

  3. Peter Prof Fox

    Bathroom?

    For a readership who pride themselves on precision and accuracy, you fail us by referring to the Toilet as a Bathroom. Why use an ambiguous word then there's an exact one in everyday use. If you feel there are Americans who may have a fit of the vapours then use a phrase like Where you pay the water rates or Turn my bike around or Ease the springs. There are many picturesque euphemisms to choose from.

    1. abend0c4 Silver badge

      Re: Bathroom?

      I'm afraid "toilet" comes from "toilette", a small cloth, and was associated with dressing and, later, washing. It came to mean a dressing room, particularly one with washing facilities - see also "lavatory". And, indeed, "Water Closet".

      Its use in this context is as much a euphemism as "bathroom".

      1. Aladdin Sane

        Re: Bathroom?

        There's no actual term for the room in question, it's euphemisms all the way down.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Bathroom?

          Shithouse?

          1. captain veg Silver badge

            Re: Bathroom?

            Crapper?

            -A.

            1. b0llchit Silver badge
              Coat

              Re: Bathroom?

              Dum[pb] store.

              1. Snowy Silver badge
                Coat

                Re: Bathroom?

                Head.

            2. katrinab Silver badge
              Thumb Up

              Re: Bathroom?

              Yes, saying as the flushing toilet was invented by Thomas Crapper, that is as good a name as any.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Bathroom?

                More branding !!

        2. chivo243 Silver badge
          Coat

          Re: Bathroom?

          Latrine?? Library seems good too!!

          1. abend0c4 Silver badge

            Re: Bathroom?

            Latrine comes from the Latin verb "lavare" (to wash) - see a pattern here?

            The equivalent (reflexive) Spanish verb is "lavarse" which, recast in an Anglo-Saxon context, is probably heading in the right direction.

            1. chivo243 Silver badge
              Angel

              Re: Bathroom?

              Baño!

          2. Scott 26

            Re: Bathroom?

            Prince John : Such an unusual name, "Latrine." How did your family come by it?

            Latrine : We changed it in the 9th century.

            Prince John : You mean you changed it TO "Latrine"?

            Latrine : Yeah. Used to be "Shithouse."

            Prince John : It's a good change. That's a good change!

        3. JRS

          Re: Bathroom?

          Bog

          1. captain veg Silver badge

            Re: Bog

            I'd say that counts as euphemism.

            -A.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Bathroom?

            Not sure of spelling -

            Karzee

      2. cookieMonster Silver badge

        Re: Bathroom?

        The jacks

        1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

          Re: Bathroom?

          Dunny

          And an outside one at that.

          {Flies are mandatory}

          1. Glenn Amspaugh

            Re: Bathroom?

            And Spiders.

            1. Diogenes

              Re: Bathroom?

              and a python in the rafters.

      3. 43300 Silver badge

        Re: Bathroom?

        Yeah, that may be the etymology but 'toilet' and 'lavatory' are now pretty unambiguous terms.

        To most of the English-speaking world a 'bathroom' is a room with a bath in it (it may or may not also have a toilet / lavatory / shitter / crapper).

    2. Winkypop Silver badge

      Re: Bathroom?

      Thunderbox

  4. Tron Silver badge

    If teenagers have this much free time...

    ...couldn't we deploy residential treadmills. They could spend a few hours of each day generating green electricity for the family, working off some of that teenage energy they usually devote to vaping, gaming and filling their bedroom bin with soiled tissues.

  5. MattPi

    Honestly, this isn't *that* different than those long MS Flight Simulator flights I did as a kid on the Amiga. At a point, you kind got the plane going the right direction and it was a lot of watching the world go by.

    Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_Simulator_series

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Devil

      The difference that Roblox is not just a game like Minecraft, but also an engine like Unity and a payment platform.

      The result of this wondrous alignment is, as well as the usual tales of kids charging their unsuspecting parents' credit cards to spend in Roblox games, you get people slave-driving other kids to make Roblox games for them and in return the kids may even receive some chump change from profits that these people earn from the first set of kids. And Roblox is sitting at the top taking their share of course.

      The trouble with Roblox, the video game empire built on child labour

      Truly disruptive.

      Normally you'd just need to get kids to understand that they can play if if they want, but no money for battle passes, skins, etc... will be forthcoming under any circumstances for any game, however in Roblox's case the article author is wise to say that Roblox is off limits because if they've got any creative spark in them there's the danger of them ending up working for a Roblox sweatshop.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        No blacklung and no scrotal cancer. Exploitation is not what it used to be.

  6. dhawkshaw
    Boffin

    Is it bad that I recognise the airport ?

    Leeds/Bradford LBA.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    We replicate things

    Jesus (...) Christ

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    there's no such thing

    as bad publicity :(

  9. martinusher Silver badge

    Don't knock Ryanair until you've tried the American equivalent

    Ryanair at least tried to cut costs to give the passenger the most air miles for their money. It had its rough edges but it seems to be positively benign compared to contemporary US model where its not about passenger experience but literally squeezing the most out of each passenger. The ultimate in bad experiences is a US budget airline where even the aircrew are screwed for all their worth.

    (The very pits of flying experience is flying a typical 'crammed to the gills' 737-8 flight. Not only is everyone on top of each other but getting into -- and out of -- the couple of toilets at the back is virtually impossible for anyone who is not petite.)

    The idea that kids are lining up to take these flights -- virtually or not -- just shows the innocence of youth.

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Don't knock Ryanair until you've tried the American equivalent

      its not about passenger experience but literally squeezing the most out of each passenger... even the aircrew are screwed for all their worth

      I would have thought that was the very definition of Ryanair, I'm having trouble imagining how US airlines could be worse.

      1. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge

        Re: Don't knock Ryanair until you've tried the American equivalent

        Have you ever tried sitting in a seat next to someone who weighs in at 360lbs?

        At least Ryanair charge them 2 tickets

      2. martinusher Silver badge

        Re: Don't knock Ryanair until you've tried the American equivalent

        Spirit is rumored to be "an interesting experience". From what I hear it could teach Ryanair a few things about how to run a budget airline efficiently.

  10. Blackjack Silver badge

    Obligatory videos:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gXlauRB1EQ

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTMF6xEiAaY

    Honesty Roblox model is based on monetizing crappy Lego rip off games made by kids, and scamming kids of money while they ignore the blatant abuse and crime going on thanks to Roblox.

    Yeah Roblox is worse that a porn site, let that sink in. The place should be outright be added to ban lists in schools and any olace with public wifi.

  11. xyz123 Silver badge

    Its not really Ryanair unless everyone has noclip turned on and are partially INSIDE the next passenger over.

    Also the flight from one city to another has to land so far away, that its in an entirely different game.

    1. Winkypop Silver badge

      Noclip

      I see you have activated “noclip”.

      There’s an extra charge for that.

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      "Also the flight from one city to another has to land so far away, that its in an entirely different game."

      I've often wondered if anyone has done any assessment or calculations on short haul flights and discovered there are routes that end up starting and landing so far from the "source" city and "destination" city that you actually travel further on the ground than in the air, ie it would be simpler to just drive or use a train/bus.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ducking brillianr

    Bring on the next generation, they sound great

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