The Building Blocks of Sandbox and Open World Games: Eve, GTA,
Minecraft, and Beyond The term “sandbox” has become a bit of an
overused buzzword over the past few years, with many games using
it to attract attention. It’s a difficult concept to define due
to its abstraction, so I’m going to take you on a journey
through gaming history to help you understand the evolution of
sandbox games, and the advantages and disadvantages they offer
to a game designer. Minecraft: A Good Modern Example A picture
of a castle made by a player, Luís Prado, in Minecraft Minecraft
is a great example of a popular modern sandbox game. It’s sold 8
million copies, yet its community is still growing. The game
allows you to construct buildings in a randomly generated world
made of cubes. You can gather resources, craft, explore and
combat strange creatures to survive in the world – but mostly,
you are free to do anything you want. The goals come from your
imagination; there is no ultimate objective. (At least, none
that you must aim f