As we’ve covered a lot in the last week, video game universes like Roblox are being hit with various accusations regarding “child safety.” These accusations are not unfounded, as just recently, there have been many stories and even released research studies highlighting how the game, among others, doesn’t have the strictest age-restriction policies, and even certain programs meant to “filter out bad behavior” can be easily overridden or tricked. The CEO of this gaming universe even noted that parents should just “not let their kids play the game if they’re worried about it,” which has led to even more backlash. However, another program may be able to solve this problem.
That program is called GuardianGamer, and as VentureBeat broke down in a chat with its creators, the program is meant to not just watch over the young children playing things like Roblox, but to alert the parents when certain things are happening.
“We’re creating a solution that bridges the gap between parental oversight and children’s gaming freedom. It’s not just about making gaming safer – it’s about making it better for everyone involved,” Vogel Brockmann, one of the program’s creators, said in the interview.
The reason he said it like that is that GuardianGamer uses special generative AI to look over the kids’ gaming session within certain titles, and then the parents will get special “highlight reels” afterward to see what their kids have done. That way, they don’t just know what the kids played, but how they did, which can lead to more interaction and trust between the two.
That being said, there are still security measures within the system so that parents aren’t caught off guard by the kid’s actions in-game. For example, the program sets up alerts so that the parents know when a microtransaction has happened or when potentially inappropriate behavior has been spotted in the game.
It even has a feature for a private voice chat that can only be filled up with people that the parents have specifically approved. Thus, they don’t have to worry about “shady characters” sneaking in to talk with their kids.
So, is this the solution to issues within games like Roblox? It’s a little too early to tell. Sure, it all sounds promising, and the fact that it’s already cross-platform compatible is a big win, but it’s not the only way that bad things can happen in the games themselves.
Only time will tell if this is everything it’s promised to be and more.
