When it comes to sandbox games, many people first think of the game "Minecraft", "Minecraft" was released on May 17, 2009, as soon as it was launched, it has swept the world, so far, sales have exceeded 200 million +, ranking second in the world, and the first place is "Tetris" released in 1984, sales reached a terrifying 500 million +.
In May 2016, the game giant NetEase obtained the exclusive distribution rights of "Minecraft" in China, and the mobile game was launched in 2017. During the growing sandbox game market, a company called Mini Play Technology Co., Ltd. seized the opportunity and prioritized the launch of a sandbox game of "Mini World" before NetEase obtained exclusive rights.
"Mini World" was launched on PC in August 2015, and was launched on Android and iOS in 2016.
Due to the extremely similar game style and gameplay, NetEase believed that "Mini World" copied the "Minecraft" game, and filed a lawsuit with the Shenzhen Municipal People's Court in 2019, demanding that "Mini World" stop operating and pay 50 million yuan in compensation.
After the court trial, it was held that the core gameplay elements and game screens of "Mini World" constituted copyright infringement, so it ordered Mini Play to delete the relevant elements and compensate NetEase 21.13 million yuan.
In response to this result, both NetEase and Mi You Play were not satisfied and appealed to the Guangdong Supreme People's Court.
On November 30, 2022, the Guangdong Higher People's Court made a final judgment in the case, requiring Shenzhen Mini Play Company to compensate NetEase 50 million yuan and delete about 230 infringing elements in the game. Although NetEase won the case, the court did not support NetEase's request that Mini Play stop the operation of the "Mini World" game. So far, this case is also the highest amount of damages awarded in domestic game infringement cases.
At this point, players of the two games can finally end the 4-year dispute and scolding war.
Sandbox World
What kind of game is a sandbox game?
As the name suggests - a sandbox, it is a pile of sand. Throw the player into a pile of sand, do whatever they want, no type, no function, completely according to the player's independent will to change and create the game.
On May 22, 2021, Mr. Yuan Longping, the "father of hybrid rice" in the mainland, passed away, and some players built a portrait of Yuan Longping in "Minecraft" in order to remember Mr. Yuan Longping.
This highly free gameplay is perfect for the kind of player who is imaginative and likes to explore and create.
However, the premise of creation is to attract the player's attention and make the player interested in this pile of sand, and then he will be willing to use it to build something he likes.
In addition to Minecraft, let's take a look at how well-known sandbox games are designed to attract players at the beginning:
The beginning of each series of GTA is basically a movie, and the conflicts of the characters are clearly arranged, cleverly teaching people how to drive, shoot, and so on. "Portal Knight" uses RGP's linear story method, which can give players a complete process in the early stage, allowing players to follow the process to understand the design and the role and application of various elements in the game; "Far Cry" is even more than that, directly creating the experience of the protagonist, leaving the player on the island to tinker with various things, so that the player feels the same.
There are plenty of other great sandbox games, but Minecraft is the exact opposite of them.
Minecraft begins by throwing the player into a sandbox world, and there is no guidance at all, leaving it up to the player to figure it out on their own. Still, Minecraft was a success because Minecraft designers identified a problem that ordinary sandbox games don't have—the importance of interaction.
interaction
The timing of the emergence and development of "Minecraft" is very lucky, the Internet has appeared for many years, players who enter the game always want to do something, in the face of completely unguided games, players can only test little by little, perhaps in the process can find that trees can be cut into wood, land can be reclaimed, etc., when these are found, the kind of dazedness that is just in contact will be instantly replaced by freshness, and can also enrich the imagination and creativity of players. Other games are guided, and although they can get the player up quickly, the player's ideas are limited.
For example, if you throw a child into the sand, if you leave him alone, he may choose to build the scene he has in mind, although it may not be successful, but it must be what the player wants; And if there are parents next to guide them: "Let's build a castle!" Let's dig a tunnel! "Wait, this kind of guidance, although the result presentation may be very successful, but this is not what the child thinks, he is just following the parent's guiding idea.
Story
A good story doesn't necessarily make a sandbox game, but a good sandbox game must be backed by an excellent storyline.
Many players often complain that it is difficult for them to stick to a sandbox game, and in essence it is not because the player can't stick to it, but because the story content of the game is not done well and not attractive enough, which is very fatal in sandbox games. There is no way to continue to provide players with freshness and motivation, it is easy for players to jump out of the sandbox world and return to reality, naturally not interested, and a good sandbox game can immerse players in the sandbox world.
Explore and learn
explore
The word "exploration" is the core thing of the sandbox game, which is as large as a castle and as small as a flint, all of which are composed of several tiny parts, these things involve the whole body, and if you find one, there will be countless new worlds waiting for you to discover, and the unknown is always full of passion and freshness.
The difference is that other games such as after swiping off copies or passing levels, the dropped rewards are taken to upgrade, and after use, they are gone, while the sandbox game "Minecraft" is different, where you find something in it, its usage is not fixed, you can use it to compose other things, rather than like a fixed part, waiting for the player to discover it, and then use it to complete the mission.
Learn
There's a lot to learn as you explore the open world. For example, the places of interest and monuments around the world that you have not had the opportunity to go to, the mountains and rivers that you have never seen, various architectural structures, etc., can be seen in a game, and while playing the game to get fun, it also deepens the insight and understanding of the world.
Not only that, many students can also start learning programming by themselves through game mechanics, just to be able to study more possibilities in Minecraft. It's all a credit to the game creation ecology.
Not only do you learn by yourself, but you can also export culture. Last year, Shanghai's first "High Line Park", Baixi Park, was moved into "Minecraft", recreating the latest real beauty of the magic capital in the virtual world. In the world's most popular sandbox game, hundreds of millions of players will be able to download and install the "Centennial Park" map and "stroll" around Shanghai's newest Internet celebrity community park.
Come to an end
The pace of life is too fast, so the adult world is always too busy, and most adults are exposed to games that can bring control, visual or ability improvement. Children don't have this problem, so they don't care about time costs, they will do it as long as they want, which is why the game "Minecraft" is relatively young.
In fact, at your leisure, you might as well slow down the pace, throw yourself into the sandbox world like a child, empty yourself, and maybe experience the different charm of this game.