Sandbox Gaming – What Is It?
Those who keep an ear to the ground when it comes to video games will hear frequent talk of a style of game known as a “sandbox game”. But what is that exactly?
It helps to think of games in term of their structure. A game which involves a number of levels and has a linear style of play – everything that might be encountered is on the screen at the one time, and only when you have dealt with whatever needs to be dealt on that screen can you move on – is very much the way things used to be. More recently, a style of game has been developed where action can take place off-screen, and the player can move to that area to take part in said action.
Think of the “sandboxes” in which small children often play. You can be sitting in one part of the sandbox, and if you decide that there are better toys, more sand or anything else you like in the other part of it you can get up and go to that spot. You don’t need to complete any task before you move, you can just go. Sandbox games work in much the same way.
This aids the realism of a game because, in real life, if you are getting frustrated with a task you can always move off and do something else. Similarly, in a sandbox game you can change your environment quickly and spend some time simply exploring, engaging in specific battles and tasks only when you wish to.