Why do you not like Sandbox games?

Blidgu Feb 13, 2015 @ 11:53am

i love sandbox games :D

#1

Naedmi Feb 13, 2015 @ 11:55am

Most sandbox games lack anything but creativity. And I like stories and fully voiced NPC interactions. So Skyrim, Fallout and any other game with lots of talking and character role play is my thing.

#2

Admiral Hackett [N7] Feb 13, 2015 @ 11:58am

I love also sandbox games and Story based games (RPG's) like Mass Effect Trilogy, caus its cool when u make some choices in ME 1 and still have influence / impact on ME2 and ME3, and the harder the choice the better ;)

#3

supertrooper225 Feb 13, 2015 @ 2:33pm

Sndbox games can have a story. But if you mean the build em up games....they just have no point besides survival. All you do is build stuff and collect stuff to build more stuff. But there is no use for the stuff you build besides shelter (like Minecraft) or something like that. It is a cool concept but there is nothing beyond that crafting/building mechanic. It simply gets old.

#4

MissCreep Feb 13, 2015 @ 2:56pm

I like both.

#5

Charlie Feb 13, 2015 @ 4:04pm

I love Sandbox games and Story driven games are the best. I'm a lore-♥♥♥♥♥

#6

KyoKayne Feb 13, 2015 @ 4:47pm

I enjoy both usually. A problem with many sandbox titles though is that though there may be an abundance of content, much of it feels empty and soulless. Not all sandbox titles are like this, but there are some where the repetition is just terrible.

A good example to me of lots of content are series like GTA and Batman.

A bad example (to me, in my humble opinion) is Prototype. Lots of fun for a couple of hours, but it turns into a grind fest fast.

#7

chibilibi Feb 13, 2015 @ 5:32pm

TheDean described it pretty well. Pure sandbox games like Minecraft and its seemingly-infinite imitations and spinoffs that lack any sort of goal just aren't that interesting to me. I need some sort of goal. Something specific to work towards.

Even in games like Just Cause 2, an open-world sandbox type game (one in which I have spent a lot of time), there are end goals:

1. Complete all the missions and challenges.
2. Blow EVERYTHING up.
3. Collect all the collectables.

If I have no particular goal to work towards, I never feel like I'm making any type of progress, and that in turn bores me.

The other reason is that sandbox games tend to lack... substance. Because they are sandbox games and the whole point of them is that there is a limitless amount of things to do, there usually isn't one thing that the game is REALLY good at. Jack of all trades, master of none.

EDIT: I think Mr_Stompy put it best: "there may be an abundance of content, but much of it feels empty and soulless."

Last edited by chibilibi; Feb 13, 2015 @ 5:35pm

#8

Sir Dookface McFerretballs Feb 13, 2015 @ 6:48pm

I like both if done right.

#9

Kargor Feb 14, 2015 @ 12:54am

Because there's nothing happening in "sandbox games", no story to discover, no actual change?

Sandbox games are like early tests of a new game -- you've the game mechanics and some models/animations, and putting this together into a kind of tech-demo before starting to work on the actual game.

Last edited by Kargor; Feb 14, 2015 @ 12:56am

#10

Aspalax Feb 14, 2015 @ 1:10am

Sandbox games feel to me like testing the mechanics of a larger unseen game. That would actually have a story.

#11

CJHRRIHRH Feb 14, 2015 @ 2:06am

In a lot of sandbox games you'll basically be doing the same thing for hours on end with no real progression or narrative so for me the whole experience feels a little empty. The biggest challenge sandbox games face is actually having a compelliing narrative and not burning out the player in a few hours by presenting them with all of the content.

#12

Crystal_Ignition (exo) Feb 14, 2015 @ 2:33am

when going sandbox a certain amount of structure is always lost thats just the nature of things. a good sandbox encourages players to find their own fun thats the whole point of a sandbox, but it should also be noted that while doing this pacing and intrigue are completely lost which is way things like horror for example cannot function in a sandbox. that means sandbox is a genre on its own and its just like every genre you cant for example criticize an rts fan just because your shooter mind couldnt handle micro managing

Last edited by Crystal_Ignition (exo); Feb 14, 2015 @ 2:34am

#13

Tux (Banned) Feb 14, 2015 @ 8:45am

this is all interesting to me. I can help explain sandbox to some of you but I doubt I would change the experience you are haivng because its a bit like a painting you either like or dont like.

the 'story' you experience in a sandbox game is the story you create by interacting with the game. Example.

Currently in my 7 Days to Die game play I needed to get food and water, lots of iron etc so that I can build my first base to get me thru the 7th day alive.

I built it, I made it thru the night...story 1 complete.

Now I really could use a better food source but where I am dose not have much food, so I need to find some things I can grow. Only problem is the nearest town is so far it will take me a full day to go back and forth. I can do that, so I need to build a second base. However, the horde on day 14 will be stronger so I need to make a larger base in the same amount of time.

There are multiple stories in that player experience. as well as multple goals. its just not spelled out for you.

#14

chibilibi Feb 14, 2015 @ 9:41am

Originally posted by Tux:
this is all interesting to me. I can help explain sandbox to some of you but I doubt I would change the experience you are haivng because its a bit like a painting you either like or dont like.

the 'story' you experience in a sandbox game is the story you create by interacting with the game. Example.

Currently in my 7 Days to Die game play I needed to get food and water, lots of iron etc so that I can build my first base to get me thru the 7th day alive.

I built it, I made it thru the night...story 1 complete.

Now I really could use a better food source but where I am dose not have much food, so I need to find some things I can grow. Only problem is the nearest town is so far it will take me a full day to go back and forth. I can do that, so I need to build a second base. However, the horde on day 14 will be stronger so I need to make a larger base in the same amount of time.

There are multiple stories in that player experience. as well as multple goals. its just not spelled out for you.

And that's why I don't like them. I need a long-term goal, something way off in the future to be working towards. Even Skyrim has goals like that. All the side quests and adventuring you do is leading up to one thing: killing Alduin (or Miraak if you have the Dragonborn expansion and you have it set up so that Miraak is level 100 and DB doesn't start until after you've killed Alduin).

All of these sandbox games tout "survive and build stuff and do whatever you want" as the thing that will get you hooked, but there's only so long one can survive before getting bored.

In Minecraft (before you say "but not all sandbox survival games are like Minecraft!" they seem to all have this problem), this is what usually ends up happening:

1. I spawn into the world.
2. I get tools.
3. I burrow into a mountain or climb on top of a mountain or something
4. Survive the night
5. Get seeds
6. Build a farm
7. Continue expanding house until it contains all the necessary things (bedroom, garbage disposal, tree farm, etc.)
8. Done

This is how basically every world in MC goes for me, and whenever I look at all the other "build! craft! survive!" games, they all seem to have the exact same problem. I'll build a base, expand it, and be done. And when you've done that once, you've effectively done it in every survival game ever.

The TL;DR of it is that I find that all survival games are basically just variations on the Minecraft formula, and that I don't think the vague "goal" of surviving is all that interesting to play.

#15

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