If a game starts out Themepark, it starts adding in sandbox elements slowly to keep people playing. Lets look at WoW, and garrisons, or battle pets, or pets, or achievements, or really a whole slew of play your own way rather than on the rails gameplay they have added over the years.
If a game starts out Sandbox, it becomes themeparky by it's natural order of progress, by adding in more and more content to a sandbox the sand castles become themeparks. Look at Minecraft, THE SANDBOX, I doubt you'll find anyone disputing that. Yet it slowly added in traditionally themeparky elements over the years, dungeons, exp, things to spend it on. etc.
They aren't incompatible, nor are they really accurate descriptions, but we still keep using them.
When forumers use sandbox they mean "A game that is exactly how I want", especially if it has FFA PvP.
I think a bunch of them fall into two categories: 1. Those who want a UO clone in 3D with modern graphics, or 2. Those who want a SWG clone that hasn't been gutted and turned into a themepark.
Maybe not so much on the FFA PVP emphasis from the SWG people, and definitely not full loot for them. This is probably the closest fit (of the ones you mentioned) for me personally (in my thinking of MMORPG Sandbox).
Ken Fisher - Semi retired old fart Network Administrator, now working in Network Security. I don't Forum PVP. If you feel I've attacked you, it was probably by accident. When I don't understand, I ask. Such is not intended as criticism.
When forumers use sandbox they mean "A game that is exactly how I want", especially if it has FFA PvP.
I think a bunch of them fall into two categories: 1. Those who want a UO clone in 3D with modern graphics, or 2. Those who want a SWG clone that hasn't been gutted and turned into a themepark.
Maybe not so much on the FFA PVP emphasis from the SWG people, and definitely not full loot for them. This is probably the closest fit (of the ones you mentioned) for me personally (in my thinking of MMORPG Sandbox).
This is pretty accurate I think when most people say they want to play a sandbox mmo what they mean.
The people who didn't enjoy those games or haven't played them probably are thinking more like Minecraft but massive scale. Which if you think about it is a full loot game.
If a game starts out Themepark, it starts adding in sandbox elements slowly to keep people playing. Lets look at WoW, and garrisons, or battle pets, or pets, or achievements, or really a whole slew of play your own way rather than on the rails gameplay they have added over the years.
If a game starts out Sandbox, it becomes themeparky by it's natural order of progress, by adding in more and more content to a sandbox the sand castles become themeparks. Look at Minecraft, THE SANDBOX, I doubt you'll find anyone disputing that. Yet it slowly added in traditionally themeparky elements over the years, dungeons, exp, things to spend it on. etc.
They aren't incompatible, nor are they really accurate descriptions, but we still keep using them.
There's one game that shows how compatible they both are, though I always feel kind of silly bringing up Runescape. You can log in every day for a month and do something completely different every day. The only thing it really lacks is a way to "force your will" on other players, which depending could be a big or small part of your play.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
Where do the zombie survival games fit into this? H1Z1 I think is one of them... not a game I've seen.
Really sorry if these are dumb questions. Just consider the source :-)
Ken Fisher - Semi retired old fart Network Administrator, now working in Network Security. I don't Forum PVP. If you feel I've attacked you, it was probably by accident. When I don't understand, I ask. Such is not intended as criticism.
Sandboxes are and always have been huge. A lot of people have mentioned Minecraft, and have you seen how many titles The Sims has on the top sellers of all time?
What hasn't really developed, despite a lot of hot air, is any sort of true upswing in sandbox MMORPGs. That particular subgenre has never gotten over the "sandbox = unrestrained world of ganking" attitude.
Comments
I see a lot of misconceptions here.
If a game starts out Themepark, it starts adding in sandbox elements slowly to keep people playing. Lets look at WoW, and garrisons, or battle pets, or pets, or achievements, or really a whole slew of play your own way rather than on the rails gameplay they have added over the years.
If a game starts out Sandbox, it becomes themeparky by it's natural order of progress, by adding in more and more content to a sandbox the sand castles become themeparks. Look at Minecraft, THE SANDBOX, I doubt you'll find anyone disputing that. Yet it slowly added in traditionally themeparky elements over the years, dungeons, exp, things to spend it on. etc.
They aren't incompatible, nor are they really accurate descriptions, but we still keep using them.
I think a bunch of them fall into two categories: 1. Those who want a UO clone in 3D with modern graphics, or 2. Those who want a SWG clone that hasn't been gutted and turned into a themepark.
Maybe not so much on the FFA PVP emphasis from the SWG people, and definitely not full loot for them. This is probably the closest fit (of the ones you mentioned) for me personally (in my thinking of MMORPG Sandbox).
This is pretty accurate I think when most people say they want to play a sandbox mmo what they mean.
The people who didn't enjoy those games or haven't played them probably are thinking more like Minecraft but massive scale. Which if you think about it is a full loot game.
There's one game that shows how compatible they both are, though I always feel kind of silly bringing up Runescape. You can log in every day for a month and do something completely different every day. The only thing it really lacks is a way to "force your will" on other players, which depending could be a big or small part of your play.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
Is this [ Albion Online Announcement ] an example of the new generation of Indie Sandboxes?
Where do the zombie survival games fit into this? H1Z1 I think is one of them... not a game I've seen.
Really sorry if these are dumb questions. Just consider the source :-)
There was never a shortage of indie company's making sandbox mmorpg. People on this forum just keep complaining they are not good enough.
Large game studio are pulling the plug on making more mmorpg. Seeing how those new themepark mmorpg didn't do so well recently.
Hmm, you mean the exact same treatment they give to every themepark since 2004?
What a shocking revelation.
It's almost like: what they enjoy most about MMOs is complaining about MMOs. And nostalgia.
What hasn't really developed, despite a lot of hot air, is any sort of true upswing in sandbox MMORPGs. That particular subgenre has never gotten over the "sandbox = unrestrained world of ganking" attitude.