discussion Never really understood why devs make sandboxs, the concept is a failure yet they keep doing it.

[Wannabe]

Like any other game, a sandbox can be a lot of fun if it's designed well with a large and diverse enough "world" to play in and plenty of payoff when the player discovers or accomplishes something. A good sandbox design thus can't be hurried through production. It's going to take a lot of work and a lot of time to develop a good one.

 

[Monokuma]

I feel like a lot of the arguments in this thread are disingenuous... I 100% understand people having their own preferences, people liking what they like, but to call out "The concept is a failure" is incorrect - who is defining success here? Have we checked these game makers patreons to see who is making money and who isn't? Or are a few people in an internet forum deeming something a failure simply because it doesn't cater to their taste?

Niches exist for a reason - for one, Lewd Corner itself exists due to a niche - a broad niche, but "Adult games" is still a niche (and Members+ even more so). Sandbox, visual novel, kinectic novel, 2D Side Scroller, RPGM, games with NTR, all these things that people proclaim ruin a game, only do so subjectively, there is very much still an appeal to someone else out there.

As with almost all mediums in the world - somthing can be good or bad depending on it's implementation, depending on it's concept, depending on it's vision, depending on the passion of it's creator, etc etc. It can be said that there are almost no bad concepts, just bad implementations of them. If a Sandbox has a bad grind - and as someone that plays a lot, I can admit that many many do - it is poor implementation, not a failure of a whole genre.

Also, on the topic of Game Dev itself, Adult Games suffer from being part of a smaller community and, therefore, are often worked on by Solo Devs who can't necessarily advertise their work or work full time on them. Things like "the grind" comes out in playtesting and QA. These Devs don't have access to that. Do we think when games like Final Fantasy get made, the XP grind is perfect from the moment they play it? Of course not, it gets manipulated 100s of times before we see it. It's just a luxury Devs of Adult games don't often have. It's why, in my opinion, VN games are far more prevalent - It's a story, or a glorified choose your own adventure when choices are added (not to do the Devs a disservice, writing a good story/producing the scenes/putting in the time is still HARD and making it a decent game is even harder) - but it doesn't require a Dev to go to the lengths that producing a Sandbox game would - it is exponetially bigger on almost every side.

 

[Monokuma]

Like any other game, a sandbox can be a lot of fun if it's designed well with a large and diverse enough "world" to play in and plenty of payoff when the player discovers or accomplishes something. A good sandbox design thus can't be hurried through production. It's going to take a lot of work and a lot of time to develop a good one.

You snuck in just before me with a comment very similar to mine and expressed it far more concisely haha. I need to learn to stop sometimes...

 

[armanigol]

I agree with this

 

[e6mill]

A question for those who believe sanboxes are a "failed concept": How many copies of Skyrim do you own?

 

[LiquidTremelo]

Some sandbox avns can be good. The ones that are "talk to this person over and over to gain +1 affinity" shits for 10 days in a row can fuck right off though.

 

[Loliholic]

Never really understood why players hate sandbox. They are a failure and yet they keep spamming about it.

 

[Kaeru]

Some sandbox avns can be good. The ones that are "talk to this person over and over to gain +1 affinity" shits for 10 days in a row can fuck right off though.

Agreed. It turns a fun game into a grind and causes me to want to cheat instead. it's an unnecessary time-wasting mechanic.

 

[SegmentCoalescing]

It makes the game feel longer, they basically hide the lack of content behind time wasting mechanics.

 

[lich]

really depends on the game most times I prefer straight VN games but sand box can be good for a change every now and then if done right

 

[Chase22Roge]

My opinion is that they are a failure and that they break immersion, point and click on the other hand are a very nice addition to visual novels.

They just never learn it - they will never now, what is time-pacing, multiple events, set time-events, attention to player

 

[Gunny965]

You snuck in just before me with a comment very similar to mine and expressed it far more concisely haha. I need to learn to stop sometimes...

Don't sell yourself short. You made some very concise and logical points.

 

[blackstar42]

Here's the why they do it:

It's an easy way to add playtime to your game without too much effort. Higher playtime makes the game feel more "valuable" in people's minds. So basically it is a push-up bra for porn games.

 

[jackycain68]

Twisted world is a good one I play. Summer memory is also a sandbox I think?

 

[Traveller19]

Somehow, when there is a sandbox game, porn or not, if a japanese guy is making it, I feel a strange confidence that at some point it will get done, usually at the expense of the guy's health which is never okay. I myself love sandbox type games of all kind.

 

[jarpyjarp]

I agree with OP

 

[floydrowx77]

True, although not all sandbox games are bad take for example "The Mist" and "Desert Stalker." They have unique UI that makes them stand out from the regular point-and-click games.

 

[flabbyy]

Sandbox is just difficult to do. Sandbox works only if the interactions with the world and characters are as procedural as possible, but that's difficult when you're scripting very specific behaviors and plots.

 

[User_80256]

I enjoy playing sandbox games. Of course, provided that grind there is not present solely for the sake of grind and it does not completely overshadow the development of the plot, the development of characters. I personally can't accept the conception of kinetic novels. In my opinion, they are designed for people who are unable to read normal literature. And the artistic level of KN is usually at the level of amateur fanfics.

 

[User_68260]

Bro that's what I'm saying sandbox is trash guys pure trash