The True Sandbox!! The Right Thing for You??

Sandboxes are special games, so special that you can even count with your fingers how many mmo sandboxes exist right now. If you see a sandbox under development, you are watching a very rare episode inside the mmo industry. It is very rare to actually see a sandbox game that is also a mmo.

I know that there is a bunch of single player games that claim to be sandboxes, but those games are not sandoboxes, they simply have an open world and let you roam around, that alone is not a sandbox. A true Sandbox refers to the mechanics of a game that let you do what you want, without artificial boundaries, you play your own way and there is no such thing as the right way to play. In other words, sandbox is more than just a game that let you screw around the map, it let you mess with it in more deeper and significant ways.

The problem is that sandboxes are not for everyone. Some people love them and some others don't like the concept at all. If you want to know if you are a sandbox lover you need to try a sandbox by yourself and make your mind. If you have doubts about this kind of game style, let me share a few guidelines that I found during my adventures in a sandbox games. How to know if you are going to like the game or you are actually going to enjoy a sandbox game?

First: If you play a sandbox game, the first thing you need is an open mind and the ability to set up your own goals, the game won't give you a big brother that will take your through the whole adventure like in a theme park mmo, the idea of the sandbox is that you sit down in front of the computer and then you build up your own adventures and set up your own objectives and goals.

Having a hard time in this task alone (finding something to do), is a sign that sandboxes are not for you, not everyone can generate its own goals. Some people enjoy games that have a sense of direction and predefined objectives, there is nothing bad if you can't figure out what to do in a sandbox, they are simply not for you.

Second: There is no such thing as the right way, that is the very basic credo of the sandbox, so you can go outside and do something, anything you want and if you actually enjoy it, then you are cool in the sandbox, keep exploring and tinkering with the game and sooner or later you will play like an expert, just keep in mind that there is no such thing as a right way! Do what you want in the sandbox, but at least do stuff that give you rewards and don't get you killed all the time.

People who think that a game is played in only one way and stick to that way in a sandbox is going to be frustrated all the time, because that way is going to get boring sooner or later. Remember, in a sandbox is not about finding the best way to do something and then do it all day because you want to be the top cat. (EVE mission running???). Experimentation and flexibility are key factor in a sandbox game.