Sandboxes are a type of MMO that emphasize player freedom and expression. They frequently include mechanics for building, crafting, trading, character customization and development, roleplaying, destruction, and significant interaction with the world and other players. A sandbox that is dominated by an open-PvP or free-for-all ruleset is sometimes pejoratively called a gankbox. Contrast with the themepark.
sandbox
Exploring ‘The Video Game Debate’: Moral panic and online griefing
Welcome back to our ongoing exploration of Rachel Kowert and Thorsten Quandt’s book The Video Game Debate. As you can guess, the book itself focuses...
Black Desert will start selling pre-orders soon but won’t be having an open beta
While more closed beta tests will be coming before Black Desert's western launch early next year, Daum Games said that it will not be...
Steam’s Halloween sale includes The Secret World, ARK, and more
This week sees a big Halloween sale over at Steam, which includes several MMOs that you might want to pick up while they're at...
Star Citizen makes major flight model changes for alpha 2.0
Modeling deep-space flight in Star Citizen involves thinking a lot about vectors, acceleration, and maneuvering thrusters. That's always been the case. The game is...
Chaos Theory: The Secret World’s Halloween event haunts our dreams
It's finally here! This is truly the holiday I wait for all year, and The Secret World has the MMO event I anticipate all...
Old School RuneScape introduces Deadman Mode
Are RuneScape's 2007 servers not quite old school and hardcore enough for you? Well then, Jagex has a solution to help you keep your edge:...
Perfect Ten: Ten really great races from MMOs
Here I go, here I go, here I go again. Girls, what's my weakness? Non-human races. But oh, so many MMOs let me down...
Darkfall hosts a Halloween event, a free weekend, and a subscription sale
There are many different sorts of fear. There's the sort of fear that comes from being absolutely certain that something horrible is lurking around...
CCP has sold White Wolf and World of Darkness to Paradox
CCP Games has apparently sold White Wolf and all of its properties -- including World of Darkness and Vampire: The Masquerade -- to Paradox,...
The Daily Grind: Will you play Worlds Adrift?
Worlds Adrift is one of those titles that gets more fascinating the more I follow it. Initially I was put off by the open PvP,...
The Scream Team: Hanging out in WildStar’s Halloween dungeon
The Shade's Eve celebration is in full swing in WildStar, and part of the festivities include investigating a creepy town and its equally odd...
Black Desert gets a new action trailer and some other videos
Does Black Desert's combat make you dizzy? Me neither, but I've heard some people say that, so I had to ask. In any case,...
Revival clocks in a full year of production
It's been a year of full production on IllFonic's sandbox Revival and there's a lot to catch up on regarding the title. The team...
Pocket MapleStory launches while Age of Wushu Dynasty preps closed beta
Looking for a mobile fix of your favorite MMOs? There are many possibilities coming down the road, including Age of Wushu Dynasty and Pocket...
New video shows off how to get started in Das Tal
If you know nothing else about Das Tal, you know that it's a sprawling open-ended sandbox. (If you didn't know that, well, you know...
EVE Vegas 2015: The future of PvE in EVE Online
While the focus of EVE Vegas 2015 was definitely on the new Citadel structures and the capital ship overhaul coming next spring, the topic...
Take a look at the first planetary combat footage for Elite: Dangerous
In Elite: Dangerous, space is a dangerous place. That's kind of implied right off by the name; it's not called Elite: Everything is Safe...
Trove summons the bone dragon
Even as Trove is in the throes of a "very, very squarey" Shadow's Eve celebration, it's also summoning the fearsome bone dragon to terrorize...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 35: Expansions galore
Justin and Larry deep-dive into SWTOR's Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion, with news on Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, Halloween, EVE Vegas, ArcheAge, WildStar, and Star Trek Online.
Black Desert slides into alpha testing
What's the next hot MMO import? For many it's the luscious Black Desert, which will be coming out in the west early next year....
