Take this tought experiment: Joe wants to build a wagon so that he can haul freight to distant towns and make money. He gathers the materials and builds a wagon. He then tames two wild draft animals and teaches them to pull the wagon. He starts a business and local merchants pay him to haul their trade goods.
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I want to rob Joe. I know the roads he travels so I chop down a tree to block the road knowing that he'll have to stop to remove the tree.
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What game can handle this sandbox scenario? Eve? No. UO? Hardly. The only game that can handle this scenario is pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons. If Joe can convice the Dungeon Master that he has the skills, the Dungeon Master could rule that Joe has built his wagon.
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Likewise I would declare my intent to chop down the tree to block the road to the Dungeon Master who would decide if it was feasible. If the DM determines that it happens, I could then ambush Joe.
The DM functions as a mutable on-demand toolset. He can allow for emergent gameplay as it occurs. PnP RPGs are, by far much more of a sandbox environment than most CRPGs and MMORPGs, specifically because of the human element present to oversee and adjust the gameplay to accomodate the very small and very controlled group present for the campaign. To say that negates various MMOs as being sandboxes is like saying that a can of playdoh negates PnP RPGs as being sandboxes.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Comments
The DM functions as a mutable on-demand toolset. He can allow for emergent gameplay as it occurs. PnP RPGs are, by far much more of a sandbox environment than most CRPGs and MMORPGs, specifically because of the human element present to oversee and adjust the gameplay to accomodate the very small and very controlled group present for the campaign. To say that negates various MMOs as being sandboxes is like saying that a can of playdoh negates PnP RPGs as being sandboxes.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Complete freedom is not sandbox!
That is sandbox. /
Now if you want a sandbox with total freedom...
Well, keep dreaming, maybe someday...