This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Asa Conroy. Find them on Instagram at @asakayconroy. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Dress to Impress is the viral Roblox game that’s taking the world’s runway by storm. You’ve probably seen rising stars and trend setters slay the virtual catwalk with the hopes of becoming Roblox’s next top model across social media. The competitive fashion game recently gained a massive boom in visits when popular streamers such as CaseOh and Madison Beer strutted their stuff. However, the Dress to Impress community has recently struck up some not-so-stylish inter-generational drama as Millennials, Zoomers, and Alphas can’t seem to agree how fashionable the other generations can be. Or how safe it is for a fan base to have this wide of an age-range.
Arguments about internet safety have been brought up because of the age difference between the players. Many older players believe this dress-up competition is too mature for younger audiences, while some believe that the adults are creating a hostile and unsafe environment when they interact with children through this game. This portion of the debate is actually split into two sections. The kids think the adults need to leave, while the adults feel the same way about the kids.
Isn’t Roblox a Kids’ Game?
If that were the case, the drama would be over. Roblox has changed quite a bit from when many of us used to play it as kids. Originally, the online gaming platform and game creation studio began in 2006 with an age-rating of 13+. While the ESRB rating has maintained that rating, Roblox has expanded its safe-chat and features to become more welcoming to children under the age of 13. The fan base continued to grow and change, the user-created games reflecting the kids and teens that made them. Roblox changed with its players. Only for that to became accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many older players returned, and many younger players discovered the online platform.
In September 2022, Roblox added new categories to reflect all the ages of the players creating and playing games on their platform: All Ages, 9+, 13+, and 17+. Dress to Impress is categorized as All Ages.
Problem Solved! It’s For Everyone!
Problem unsolved. Not everyone agrees with that sentiment. The source of the discourse stems from the fact that no one can decide who the game is for. Each generation complains that the others cannot understand their references and trends as they serve looks inspired by their favorite piece of media or era of fashion. Trends and styles change over time, but everyone wants theirs to reign supreme.
The challenge of Dress to Impress is to create a hair, make-up, and clothing look based on a randomly selected or user-generated theme. They run around a salon with styles ranging from the always present classics to recent trends just about every store is selling. So, really, there is something for everyone when we walk down the runway in our respective looks and judge each other on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. It all depends on how you dress, how much the other players are impressed, and how well you can handle losing.
Why is the Game Becoming so Toxic?
It’s not uncommon to go on TikTok or Youtube and find someone’s ego-crushed rant about how other players (who are conveniently always either younger or older depending on the age of the creator) are too uneducated and unfashionable to understand their perfect references and impeccable fashion sense. I understand the heartache of trying your best and not even making it to the podium. The solution for many players is to take to twitter and ask if they were robbed. Even for those whose looks are safely secured, so to speak.
While some of these players may be exaggerating about the things they say for comedic effect, it does touch on the issue of toxicity. If you’ve played any online games, you know toxicity will always be there. Apparently, this behavior is also rated for all ages, even if the word choice seems a little harsh for what you are directing at younger players for not seeing the theme the same way as you.
The same could be said for younger players and older players as well. Like all players, many kids’ first instinct is to go with a movie they love or a famous singer. They’re not going to be impressed with a reference that is older than they are. A part of me can’t blame them when I put it into perspective. I mean, how often do you think about the shows your parents or older siblings watched? Or the video games they played? I really don’t.
What are We Teaching the Children?
Unfortunately, unkind words said in rants aren’t the only unacceptable behavior witnessed by players. Since the game has increased in popularity, many have noted an increase in hateful and inappropriate looks on the runway. Some players are going out dressed as stereotypes mocking race, culture, religion, and sexuality such as hijabs being used for “terrorist looks” or enslaved person and master. Additionally, sexually explicit looks haven’t gone unnoticed by players. Others are submitting looks such as stripper and prostitute for the dream jobs category.
The players seem split on who is causing this behavior: Adults with offensive or “edgy” humor or children who are learning that behavior? The answer may seem clear, but the only reason the split exists is that we don’t know whether the children are learning from adults in-game or in their lives. Either way, every fashionista in this generation is looking for a solution.
Is There a Solution?
The most popular and debated solution was put forth by the older players, the introduction of 16-18+ servers. The answer varies depending on how generous the person suggesting feels toward teenagers. Regardless, the answer to some is to separate children from the adults. While many people claim this will protect the younger generation, there is no suggestion on how to follow through.
Roblox has been criticized for not having proper moderation or parental locks because of how often things slip through the cracks. Players under the age of 18 can still get around parental consent or playing without supervision. The chat filtering system may be in-place, but once again, children can get around that too. Some players have noted that if they do not block hostile players after reporting them, they usually continue to see them in future lobbies. On top of all of that, 18+ servers would not stop 18+ players from going into a “kid’s lobby” and continue to behave inappropriately.
Although, the biggest problem with attempting this for Dress to Impress is that most of the development team is under the age of 18. Some of the older members just celebrated their 17th birthday in August. If they were to follow through with this, the team would be alienating around half of their developers. These adult themes or items that older players desire could not be properly created, and play tested by the 14-17-year-old modelers who work on the game. I, and many others, cannot see how this would be a viable solution.
Is This Game For Everyone?
Yes, and admitting that may be what some players need to understand. So many people have gotten caught up in this separation of “adult spaces” and “kid spaces” that they’ve forgotten that some spaces are for everyone. These young developers are inviting us players into their space, and they’ve decided that everyone is welcome. We should respect that instead of blaming them or suggesting they don’t belong in an inclusive, online space because of how some players behave. If you wanna play the game, you should focus more on your exclusive looks than excluding players.
What do you think about this Dress to Impress Roblox drama? Let us know in the comment section below!
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