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Orange_Swirl The construction worker/garbage collector. Since: Feb, 2019
The construction worker/garbage collector.
Jul 4th 2021 at 7:30:08 AM •••

How is the Survival Sandbox genre not an example of a Wide Open Sandbox?

Especially in the way they described it (survival sandbox is an example of having an open world without a sandbox).

I'm removing it as an example, and I'll replace it with a more appropriate one.

Edit: Can't find a more appropriate example.

Edit 2: Removed Survival Sandbox as an example, however I added Immersive Sims as an example of sandbox gameplay without an open world.

Edited by Orange_Swirl No one wants to be the rat man. So I have to be.
SeptimusHeap MOD (Edited uphill both ways)
Mar 22nd 2021 at 7:38:36 AM •••

Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: A Mess, started by BritBllt on Dec 24th 2010 at 4:10:02 PM

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
NiGHTS Since: May, 2011
Jul 27th 2018 at 5:54:40 AM •••

I suppose Hunter (Amiga/ST) should be mentioned, as it is a pioneer of this genre.

Unknownlight Since: Aug, 2009
May 3rd 2017 at 2:36:00 PM •••

I removed these Zelda games from the page:

None of these games are Wide-Open Sandbox games in the way that we typically view the genre. They're Action RPGs. The original Zelda is definitely an open world, and Breath of the Wild definitely is too, and I think all these other games got mistakenly included just because they're part of a series that occasionally has proper open worlds.

Seal Since: Nov, 2010
Aug 23rd 2012 at 7:36:33 PM •••

I see you have all the main Fallout games. While it's true that they're all much more open than many games, does Fallout 1 really qualify? It's got a time limit, not really a lot of locations/content, and generally a much larger focus on completing the game.

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ACR Since: Oct, 2011
Aug 27th 2012 at 8:31:02 AM •••

Fallout 1 isn't really any more linear than the other Fallout games (You can go straight to the Super Mutants' base, it's just directly west from the starting location). Retrieving the water chip isn't even part of the main quest.

Pavlov Since: Jan, 2001
Odysseus Anarchist Since: Mar, 2010
Anarchist
Aug 11th 2011 at 2:29:16 PM •••

Do Terranigma and Landstalker really count as examples of this trope? I haven't played either game, but from their trope pages they seem more like Zelda-like Action RP Gs...

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necrogirl Since: Feb, 2011
Sep 3rd 2011 at 7:16:30 PM •••

well I haven't playes landstalker so can't comment on that but terranigma definately isn't, it only becomes a bit non linear near the end but so do most rpgs so i'm removing it.

Gizensha Since: Jan, 2001
Jan 18th 2011 at 2:58:22 AM •••

Removed "(As many of the criticisms for Final Fantasy XIII were on its linearity; whereas this wasn't brought up in Final Fantasy X which followed a similar format.)" since I explicitly recall criticism of FFX, when it wasn't focused on the voice acting, was based on how linear the game was in comparison to previous FF games - Basically the exact same things that FFXIII was criticized for - That the game felt like a very long corridor.

The context of the criticism may have changed (It now being 'as opposed to GTA 3'/Oblivion,' while at the time it was 'As opposed to most jRPGs with a world map connecting towns rather than a corridor of random encounters connecting them', but a lot of the criticism for FFX were due to its linearity.

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gfrequency Since: Apr, 2009
Jan 24th 2011 at 7:50:56 AM •••

True, but people complained a lot less about video games back then, so it was a lot easier to miss said criticism. If FFX came out today, it'd be torn to shreds. Your point still stands, of course.

129.13.72.197 Since: Dec, 1969
Mar 28th 2010 at 3:27:14 PM •••

Mass Effect? You gotta be kidding me. How is Mass Effect a sandbox game?

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Gizensha Since: Jan, 2001
Jan 18th 2011 at 2:48:11 AM •••

While the poor design of the non-story planets discourage it significantly, Mass Effect is about as open as , just without a wilderness between bits of content (Granted, with the non-story planets the content is often just 'a bumpy sphere with a few monsters and a shack')

BritBllt Since: Jan, 2001
Dec 18th 2010 at 5:59:24 AM •••

Okay, I know the Sliding Scale of Linearity vs. Openness can make this trope a tough call sometimes, but Wide Open Sand Box is more than just a game with exploration. Keep in mind we have other tropes for non-linear games, such as Metroidvania, Opening the Sandbox, Action RPG and RPG Elements.

Removing the following examples from the "notable" list, which should really focus on the clearest examples (I haven't touched the actual foldered examples yet)...

Air Fortress has linear levels and the only possible action is to jump, hover and kill the enemies. At best, it's an early Metroidvania game. Blaster Master is a more clearcut Metroidvania, but still a Metroidvania.

I've only played a little bit of it, but from all indications from The Other Wiki, it's a straightforward, albeit mostly first-person Role-Playing Game. Almost all RPG's have sidequests and the ability to explore the game world - that alone doesn't make it a Wide-Open Sandbox.

Castlevania has linear levels and a time limit for each one. It's most definitely not a sandbox of any sort. The other two games are Metroidvania... in fact, they're half the trope namer.

That's Opening the Sandbox. They're otherwise straightforward RPG's.

Great game, but totally straightforward RPG.

That's Metroidvania with RPG Elements.

Those are RPGs.

Those are RPGs.

Metroidvania.

The first game wasn't a Wide-Open Sandbox, it had levels and points you had to earn to move to the next one. GTA2 began the trend, and the GTA3 series codified it.

That's not even a game!

Metroidvania - it's the first half of that trope name.

It's a simulation, so there's no player avatar in the game that can do anything, much less everything. There's no goal, but there's also no exploration of a game world.

That's just an Action RPG.

Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret Of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3 are RPGs. I haven't played Legend Of Mana, but I'll add it back since The Other Wiki's description does sound like one.

Those are free-roaming platformers. Maybe Metroidvania, but not Wide Open Sandboxes.

Edited by BritBllt "And for the first time in weeks, I felt the boredom go away!" Hide / Show Replies
TriggerLoaded Since: Oct, 2011
Dec 24th 2010 at 7:19:48 AM •••

Taking out the following:

Those are RP Gs.

Adventure games.

See above.

RPGs

  • Yume Nikki - Adventure/Exploration. No sidequests.

And now I'm really suspicious about some of the others. But not knowledgeable enough.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.
TriggerLoaded Since: Oct, 2011
Dec 24th 2010 at 7:19:48 AM •••

Taking out the following:

Those are RP Gs.

Adventure games.

See above.

RPGs

  • Yume Nikki - Adventure/Exploration. No sidequests.

And now I'm really suspicious about some of the others. But not knowledgeable enough.

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.
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