Sandbox video game
A sandbox video game is a term used for something which meets both the criteria for a sandbox game and a video game. The titles in this genre grant the player enough freedom to creatively alter the game world, often by including mechanics like world building, open worlds, emergent game play, and user-generated content.
Some games, like SimCity, are entirely designed around the sandbox concept and don't even feature a way to win, but still have enough game mechanics to prevent it from being more than an intricate toy. Others, like Ultima VII: The Black Gate, are adventures with a primary quest, but have an open world with environmental interaction, so the player can keep themselves busy playing with other things for hours.
Personal
As an introverted child, I loved playing alone with my toys, especially those which encouraged creativity like blocks and Legos. I would often intermix all my toys to build large structures which I would destroy in spectacular cataclysms. A few years after I became interested in video games, I discovered sandbox titles, like those of the Sim series, and was completely smitten, spending a huge number of hours playing them. Now, as a parent, I don't really have time for sandbox games unless they're the ones I can play cooperatively with my daughters.
Examples
This is a list of sandbox video games that are important to me. For all games in this genre, see the category.
| Title | Released | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Minecraft | 2011-11-18 | Lots of crafting and an open world, but redstone really allows for creativity. |
| SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony | 1991-12-06 | Literally lets you dig in the sand to create your own ant colony. |
| SimCity (SNES) | 1991-04-26 | Takes the original game and adds more game-like elements. |
| SimCity 2000: The Ultimate City Simulator | 1993-??-?? | Increases the complexity of the original adding a lot more room for creative play. |
| Stardew Valley | 2016-02-26 | A far more intricate version of Harvest Moon. |
| Terraria | 2011-05-16 | Tons of crafting, lots of customization, but also a solid story line. |
| Ultima VII: The Black Gate | 1992-04-16 | A long twisting story, but a big open world with lots of sidequests and crafting. |
| Ultima Online | 1997-09-24 | No primary story, instead, tons of crafting and quests. |
Links
- giantbomb.com/sandbox/3015-453 - Giant Bomb.
- store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Sandbox - Steam.
