FIRST® and Filament Games Join Forces with Roblox to Create First-of-its-kind Online Educational Robotics Experience

USA - English

• USA - English

MADISON, Wis., Nov. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- FIRST®, a robotics community that prepares young people for the future, and Filament Games have joined forces to collaborate on an exciting new virtual robotics game based on RoboCo that will broaden access to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning. Through open-ended sandbox play, problem-based challenges, and competitive virtual tournaments inspired by contemporary eSports championships, this new experience aims to provide a virtual adventure that complements the hands-on, engaging robotics programs offered by FIRST.

FIRST and Filament Games will bring the RoboCo experience to Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), a global platform bringing millions of people together through shared experiences. Designed in collaboration with robotics experts, this new game incorporates the excitement and project-based learning principles from FIRST, and offers a competitive and cooperative multiplayer robotics experience which leverages the platform's robust social features and massive audience of more than 200 million users to enable learning and creation in the metaverse.

"Across 16 years of developing learning games, few platforms have excited me as much as Roblox," said Filament Games CEO Dan White. "It allows us to rapidly reach millions of users with impactful STEM experiences. It allows us to iterate on those experiences in dialog with users and avoid the fate that often befalls static fire-and-forget learning games: rapid-onset obscurity. It empowers users to create their own interactive experiences; the pinnacle of Bloom's Taxonomy. Roblox has all the necessary ingredients to become a key operator in the interactive education ecosystem."

"FIRST is thrilled to enter the virtual gaming environment by partnering with Filament Games and Roblox to bring an immersive, exciting robotics experience to players of all ages," said Chris Rake, Chief Operating Officer, FIRST. "Increasing the accessibility of STEM education opportunities for students is core to the FIRST mission, as is making these activities fun and inspiring. We are honored to be a part of this groundbreaking launch, and hope that these virtual experiences will get kids interested in pursuing STEM careers in 'real life.'"

The announcement of the upcoming FIRST and Filament Games game coincides with Roblox's focus on the education market and the launch of Roblox Community Fund announced today in Wall Street Journal. Roblox Community Fund is Roblox's philanthropic fund initially geared towards funding high-fidelity educational experiences on the platform. As part of this initiative, Roblox Education will be dedicated to supporting teaching and learning in the metaverse, both through integration of Roblox Studio in STEM curricula and through the nurturing of high-quality educational experiences such as those by FIRST and Filament Games on Roblox.

"Both FIRST and Filament Games are known throughout the industry for their ability to deliver STEM learning experiences that inspire awe," said Roblox Head of Education Rebecca Kantar, "We're thrilled to bring these partners to the Roblox platform to serve educators, curricular and instructional providers, families, and students by creating approachable robotics education shaped by the experience and proven impact provided by FIRST. We expect FIRST and Filament to pioneer cooperative and competitive robotics events in the metaverse, and we look forward to many other educational organizations learning from their example as we strive to fuel 100M students learning in the metaverse by 2030."

Currently in pre-launch development, the game being developed by FIRST and Filament Games provides an open-ended play space in which Roblox users can build and control robots to engage in various competitive challenges. In the experience, users claim a build zone and construct their robots from a menu of classic robot components. After they build their robots and climb aboard, users go head-to-head in multiplayer matches loosely inspired by popular team sports, with up to three users per team.

Additional details regarding the new virtual robotics game will be made available in the coming months.

About Filament Games
Filament Games is a boutique game development studio with a 16-year track record of success and leadership in the educational game space. We're all about delivering positive impacts as well as legitimately engaging game play - simultaneously! Sounds crazy, but it's both our specialty and our #1 priority, whether the intended impact takes the form of new knowledge, broader empathy, or a fresh perspective. With more than 200 projects completed for heavyweight clients like National Geographic, the Smithsonian, Oculus, McGraw-Hill, Scholastic, and more, our team brings an expert hand to creating stunning educational games that can reach any age, leverage any platform, and teach any topic.

About Roblox
Roblox's mission is to build a human co-experience platform that enables shared experiences among billions of users. Every day, tens of millions of people around the world have fun with friends as they explore millions of immersive digital experiences. All of these experiences are built by the Roblox community, made up of over eight million creators. We believe in building a safe, civil, and diverse community—one that inspires and fosters creativity and positive relationships between people around the world. For more information, please visit corp.roblox.com.

ROBLOX and the Roblox logo are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of Roblox Corporation in the United States and other countries. © 2021 Roblox Corporation. All rights reserved.

About FIRST
FIRST® is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs. An international not-for-profit organization founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Boosted by a global support system of mentors, coaches, volunteers, alumni, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, and build robots, then compete and celebrate at local, regional, and international events. High school students are eligible for more than $80 million in college scholarships. Learn more at firstinspires.org.

Media Contact

Brandon Pittser, Filament Games, +1 608-251-0477 Ext: 105, [email protected]

SOURCE Filament Games