Why Sandbox? How Sandbox?

Knucklecloud

Hi! I made a post on my blog touching the subject of sandbox MMOs and why I think it would be a viable option to create a well executed game in that genre, considering the state the market is in at the moment. I actually posted about this same subject over half a year ago and I've kept some of the points in the text, but I've amended it much beyond what it was back then. I've also tried to explain the basics of the "how to" with a few core mechanics and ideas from the perspective of making the sandbox genre more approachable to the casual gamer.

If you're interested about that kind of thing at all, do check it out over here.

It's relatively long, so if you don't have the time to read through it all, you can just happily skim through the parts in bold and have a look at the paragraph in the beginning. They should give you some sort of an idea on what I've wanted to say in the text. One of the main reason I wrote this was to evoke discussion, so all kinds of opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Henchdwarf

great blog. i agree with everything you've said. i feel like im awaiting some messianic sandbox mmo.  i got my start in shadowbane, and pretty much every game ive played since has felt pretty lack luster.  i think questing is absurd, and all artifices of most current mmo fail to comprehend the purpose.  

the main barrier against widespread acceptance of sandbox type games, is the question of open pvp and ganking.  what do you say to such problems, for people who would love to play in an open world, but who just dont feel like having participate in perpetual, nonconsensual warfare?

 

Knucklecloud

 

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Originally posted by Cruoris

great blog. i agree with everything you've said. i feel like im awaiting some messianic sandbox mmo.  i got my start in shadowbane, and pretty much every game ive played since has felt pretty lack luster.  i think questing is absurd, and all artifices of most current mmo fail to comprehend the purpose.  

the main barrier against widespread acceptance of sandbox type games, is the question of open pvp and ganking.  what do you say to such problems, for people who would love to play in an open world, but who just dont feel like having participate in perpetual, nonconsensual warfare?

 

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Thanks!

I actually briefly addressed the problem in the article. I think that EVE Online has done a great job in getting both crowds playing the game because of the system they've created. Here's a snippet from the blog:

 

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Another thing that makes casual gamers repel from sandbox games are the often harsh death penalties and the fact that more often than not those penalties can face you pretty much anywhere. I think EVE has handled this problem well with the security rating system, where you're (almost) absolutely safe in some areas, not all that safe in some and not at all safe in the zero security systems. This system gives the players space to progress in a pace they want to and face the risks when they're ready.

The great part of the system CCP have created is that even the people that aren't all that interested in getting into fights with other people will be able to enter zero security space, because it's all controlled by different alliances and the players be protected by their own if they belong into one of them. Players can act on time, avoiding complete surprise ganks, mainly because EVE's world is basically a gigantic collection of small maps: The world is divided into thousands of solar systems and you can tell if someone enters into your territory through the public system chat. (Example: The same thing could be done in a non-divided world by giving guilds the ability to assemble watchtower buildings that give a notification to the guild's players if someone enters the vicinity of them and limit the amount of them in a ratio of one tower per one city in order to not have the whole map covered in them.)

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Henchdwarf

i see. must have missed this the first time through

 

when i first heard the warcraft was being optioned as an MMO, i was ecstatic.  i imagined a large world, will several dynamic NPC wars going on.   Simply left to themselves, a perpetual stalemate would be inevitable.   i thought the role of the players would be to augment the the faction or race they joined, and attempt to invade/repell opposing player/npc coalitions, fueled by internal player economies.

 

how colossally disappointed i was but a dumbed down version of EQ.   

 

it seems another big hurdle facing any quality sandbox mmo's  ever being produced, is the lack of solidarity in the players themselves.  fans of such are so varied in specifics of tastes, that no sane company would ever put serious money into a project that would capture only a handful of us at best, at worst (or even at normal) being mocked by the rest of the sandbox loving community.

 

i would love to see a sandbox lovers community, union, organization of some kind form.  at least so we could stand together as consumers to begin communication to producers what our trade standard preferences are.  the single players lovers morph effortlessly into theme park buyers bloqs.   its a shame we cannot do the same.

Knucklecloud

Originally posted by Cruoris

it seems another big hurdle facing any quality sandbox mmo's  ever being produced, is the lack of solidarity in the players themselves.  fans of such are so varied in specifics of tastes, that no sane company would ever put serious money into a project that would capture only a handful of us at best, at worst (or even at normal) being mocked by the rest of the sandbox loving community.

 

i would love to see a sandbox lovers community, union, organization of some kind form.  at least so we could stand together as consumers to begin communication to producers what our trade standard preferences are.  the single players lovers morph effortlessly into theme park buyers bloqs.   its a shame we cannot do the same.

That's a valid point, but I think that the general lack for a well produced sandbox (besides EVE) on the market creates a situation where a lot of the people would buy the game if it had the core features most sandboxers are after. I think the following features are on top of the list for most, if not all of sandbox gamers: an open world, player ran economy, parts with completely open PvP and looting, politically controllable areas, the ability to build your own shelter or headquarters.

These are general features which can be built in a way that would appeal to both, the casual gamer and the hardened sandbox veterans. Even EVE online has quite a large amount of subscribers, being built in the very niche fashion that it is, because it's the only well functioning sandbox right now and people are drawn in by that. However, there's still a large quantity of sandboxers who aren't playing EVE online because of various reasons, like its setting or slow pacing.

I view that the sandbox crowd can definitely be attracted to a working game, if it contains most of the core features which are what makes sandbox a sandbox. There is not much else on the market for them to quit for and that's why I think they are a more unified market than the themepark gamers, at the moment.