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
Frontier turns Elite bug into community event
Frontier has turned an Elite: Dangerous bug into a canonical community event that is still ongoing through March 26th. A player purportedly fired on...
Factions: Origins of Malu’s early access launch and interview
Origins of Malu has certainly had a long, bumpy road to launch. Showing up on our radar back in August 2011, this title has...
Big changes are in the works for EVE structures
CCP has released a giant dev blog that covers EVE Online's new structure system. Much of it is "highly theoretical," and the company says...
Asteroids: Outpost tests out the ore buggy
Classic video game-cum-MMO Asteroids: Outpost is making strides forward in its testing, according to updates on Steam. While the game is in pre-alpha testing...
EVE Evolved: CCP’s Andie Nordgren on new structures and sovereignty
I've been pretty critical of EVE Online's upcoming sovereignty and nullsec revamp, calling the constellation-wide battle fake and its use of reinforcement timers unnecessary....
Shroud of the Avatar talks dev events, a community app, and more
Shroud of the Avatar's latest update is typically meaty. It features the usual footnotes related to in-game tweaks and changes as well as blurbs...
Star Citizen 1.1 adds ships, landing system
Friday was patch day in Star Citizen, so that's the good news. The less-than-good news is that you'll need to reinstall the game to...
Revival says it will feature ‘graphic sex’
Those of you with sex on the brain may find the latest Revival dev post enlightening. Before we get to the bumping and grinding,...
Make My MMO: March 21, 2015
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, SOE fans banded together and attempted to Kickstart this year's Fan Faire. You might recall that Columbus Nova...
Trion makes amends for ArcheAge’s dolphingate
During its official ArcheAge stream earlier today, Trion Worlds explained just how it will make amends to its players for the dolphingate fallout -- dolphingate being,...
Pathfinder Online shows off group play video
What does it look like when you get a whole lot of players in Pathfinder Online taking on monsters, fighting one another, and milling...
EVE Fanfest 2015: Project Legion may be in development limbo
At last year's EVE Online Fanfest, developer CCP Games announced Project Legion, a complete reimagining of failed console MMOFPS DUST 514 for the PC....
Perpetuum spotted in movie trailer
It may appear only for a split-second, but Perpetuum is making its silver-screen debut in the official trailer for the movie Max.
The sci-fi MMO...
EverQuest Next opens up the Qeynos Foundation Museum contest
EverQuest Next is getting ready to lay the groundwork for the city of Qeynos, and the design team is turning to Landmark to make...
EVE Fanfest 2015: CCP opens VR Labs, unveils four new side projects
The story of how virtual reality dogfighter EVE: Valkyrie was born is a great indicator of shifts within the games industry. While the big...
Trion says it ‘missed the mark’ with ArcheAge promotion
Yesterday's revelation that Trion was handing out significant gifts to former ArcheAge players to entice them to return to the game -- gifts in...
Massively Overthinking: Making MMOs ‘sticky’ without vertical progression
Today's Massively Overthinking question comes to us from Kickstarter backer Jersey C, who asks,
If you were asked to design an MMORPG without vertical progression...
Elite: Dangerous starts Mac beta test on March 31st
Mac Elite: Dangerous fans who are feeling grounded while their PC brothers and sisters are cruising the stars will soon have their own chance...
Das Tal is considering a buy-to-play model
After a careful consideration of the pros and cons of various business models, including those of Crowfall, Guild Wars 2 and ArcheAge, the Das...
EVE Fanfest 2015: EVE is getting customisable structures and player-built stargates
It's often said that EVE Online is ultimately built by its players and that the developer's job is to produce the tools for players...
