Defining the Sandbox

Well, as far as I'm concerned, it all comes down to freedom. Freedom to do what you want within any given MMO. In case you're wondering what i mean by 'freedom' I'm going to make a little example with two pretty well-known MMOs. 

1st example: World of Warcraft

Right off the bat when you enter the world there's very few options available to you. You'll quickly find that many or all of what you can do in-game is restricted by your character level. This means you need to start the much-dreaded level-grind; killing mobs, doing quests and doing PvP, when you finally reach that sweet maximum level there's a bit more to do, everything is still scripted though and you can't influence or change the world because that's not how the game was made; it was meant for you to enjoy the ride and nothing more, and that is what defines the themepark MMO. Oh, and don't start thinking I'm a senseless hater now just because i said themepark MMOs are restricted, I've played them for a long time and i still do - there is nothing wrong with themepark MMOs. I just want to point out the difference between the themepark and the sandbox.

2nd example: Eve Online

If you come directly from WoW you might wonder where your experience bar is and how long it takes to hit the level cap. You'll quickly come to realise there is no max level, the game leaves you completely alone to explore a vast universe (and by vast I'm quite serious, you will never see 10% of the map, accept that challenge and the joke's on you). You can choose to gather crafting materials, be a trader, settle planets and extract planetary resources, start mass production of spaceships, invent new items or technology, be a mercenary, be a scammer, a con-man, fight for the military and so much more, the choice is yours, you get to choose why you want to play the game - there is no bright marker showing you the way and no definitive end-game goal - for better or worse, this is pretty much the opposite of WoW. Eve has freedom in overwhelming (if not discouraging) amounts at a first glance. This is your definition of a Sandbox MMO (not in the spaceship sense, but in the freedom of choice).

The picture i want to paint here is pretty simple (no shit); You shouldn't ask if a game is or isn't a sandbox game. Instead, you should ask "How much of a sandbox is this game?". 


That's my take on that broad concept of a sandbox MMO, I've seen a lot of misconceptions concerning about this genre; like from people thinking a game is a sandbox just because it doesn't have a level grind and vice versa or that it's means the game is F2P (Free to Play). So, in case you didn't already, you will now (hopefully) have a better idea of what it means for a game to be a 'sandbox' title and why you should care.