I’ve recently been playing games that share the sandbox label. Like a lot of things in game design, however, it lacks a formal definition which (right or wrong) would aid communication and facilitate analysis. Here, I will try to describe some of the most prominent features of games that have been adorned with the sandbox label. I don’t pretend to be fully comprehensive and additions or corrections are always welcomed.
Characteristics of Sandbox Games
- A virtual world that exists independently of the player (but can change due to player actions in some games) and which the player can traverse.
- A persistent main character/cast -or- A persistent setting with a changing character/cast (consider GTA IV with its two DLC add-ons.)
- A set of core mechanics that define the prominent interactions between character and setting through the agency of the player.
- (Optional) A set of secondary mechanics that are either variations on the core game-play mechanics or auxiliary mechanics only used for encapsulated sections of the game.
- A number of formally structured portions of game-play (missions/activities/objectives.) These sections might use the core game-play mechanics, variations on them or ones that are completely different.
- The ability for the player to engage in any of the available structured portions of game-play (missions) in the order he desires or to interact with the setting outside of them.
Thoughts on the Concept
The term sandbox is evocative of the idea of a geographical location or terrain where play happens; this play is only defined by the sandbox as much as any activity can be defined by its setting. The idea of a sandbox (a literal one) is closer to the idea of kids playing with toys rather than playing a game.
If we extrapolate this to video-games, we could then say that a sandbox would be composed of a setting, a number of elements within that setting and a set of rules that describes the possible interactions between those elements and the actor (the player through his character), those elements among each-other and between both of these and the setting.
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