Roblox s can now put their enthusiasm for building to good use thanks to a collaboration with Red Wing Shoes that aims to turn virtual homes into real ones for those in need. The massively popular game platform was an early entrant to the metaverse, spearheading mainstream adoption of virtual spaces where players could create and gather. It remains one of the most-played games in the world, drawing in predominantly young gamers.
With the rest of the tech world now on the metaverse bandwagon, brands and celebrities have flocked to Roblox as a way to get in on the action with a readymade audience waiting to greet them. Interest has, naturally, drummed up since the onset of the pandemic. Over the last few years, the Roblox metaverse has welcomed everyone from Miley Cyrus, Charli XCX, and Paris Hilton to fashion giants like Gucci, Nike, and Tommy Hilfiger. It’s also upped its philanthropy efforts, launching multimillion-dollar funds for education and COVID relief.
Red Wing’s Roblox experience, BuilderTown, is now a place where players can learn directly from real professionals to design tiny homes that are suitable to live in. They’ll have access to a contractor, electrician, roofer, and carpenter through the new Builder Exchange Program, and for every virtual home built, the footwear company will make a donation to Settled. The charitable organization has been working to create permanent housing for homeless individuals by way of built-to-last tiny homes. “As more -generated virtual homes are built in the metaverse, more will be built in the real world,” Red Wing pledges.
Bringing Virtual Skills Out Of The Metaverse
The program is now live on Roblox, meaning virtual builders can get started creating the tiny homes of their dreams and making a real-world impact. As a proof of concept, Red Wing tapped game developer Naomi Clemens to design a tiny home on Roblox, which she then helped build in real life. Clemens worked alongside General Contractor Kemi Ndolo and the Red Wing team to make her metaverse creation a reality.
The goal, the company says, is to connect the young people of Roblox — many of whom are ionate builders in the metaverse — with resources that could help them pursue their interests offline, too. “More and more people are building today; the catch is that they’re building in the metaverse and not in the real world,” says Dave Schneider, Chief Marketing Officer at Red Wing Shoe Company, which specializes in work boots. Amid ongoing labor shortages in the skilled trades workforce, Schneider says Red Wing is trying to bridge that gap. What better way to capture the attention of the youth than by ing Roblox?
Source: Red Wing Shoe Company