sandbox-design
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Dig through the sand(box) in the latest Camelot Unchained devblog
Camelot Unchained continues its foundational principles series of dev blogs with entry number 11, in which Mark Jacobs talks about what exactly constitutes a sandbox game and the philosophy behind the sandbox elements in Camelot Unchained. He starts off with a clarification that "CU is not a true sandbox MMORPG" because "a true sandbox MMORPG would allow the player to build out his stats, skills, alter the world, etc. without most of the fixed conventions and limitations that are found in CU and most other RPGs." Regardless, Jacobs believes that his studio "can learn from and adapt the concept of [sandbox games]." Jacobs goes on to talk about how and where he decided to implement traditionally sandboxy elements into Camelot Unchained and where he decided it was best to go a different route altogether. For instance, he argues that "in a true SBRPG a player's actions within the game would dictate evolution and progression." Jacobs claims that while CU earns some "sandbox points" because of its relatively unrestrictive class system, it loses some simply because it utilizes a class system. He spends the rest of the post running through the game's list of features and explaining the rationale behind the sandbox elements (or lack thereof) in each one, so if you want to get into the nitty-gritty of Camelot Unchained's sandboxiness (which is now a word), settle in and read the full post at the game's official site.
Some Assembly Required: How to screw up your sandbox
Between bouts of Global Agenda, Age of Conan, and a stack of single-player games, I've been taking my own advice lately and looking for a new sandbox. The end of Star Wars Galaxies is forcing my hand, and I figured I'd better start now if I don't want to be stuck with nothing to play on December 16th. While there is a veritable ton of different sandboxes to choose from, I must admit to being a bit frustrated with nearly all of them. If it's not one thing, it's another, and most are such glaring deficiencies that I can't help but wonder what was going through the minds of the development teams during the construction process. Join me after the cut for a few things you should consider if you're making an MMORPG sandbox.
