The Sandbox: A Guide to the Metaverse

 

 

Introduction

 

The Metaverse must be built by its users, and there are vast tools that enable the daily construction and innovation of unique Metaverses. The SANDBOX allows users to create and test their 3D games for free, create and market their NFTs, lease land, create interactive spaces, and more. To do this, they can use any element created with VoxEdit, such as land, avatars, buildings, as well as other assets from the community-developed library. Its interface is user-friendly and doesn't require programming knowledge, thanks to visual scripting tools. In this article, we invite you to discover the potential of this Metaverse.

 

 

What is The Sandbox and How Does This Metaverse Work?

 

It's a play-to-earn game that combines blockchain technology, DeFi, and NFTs in a 3D world. Here, players can create and customize their games, avatars, and other digital assets using the free design tools offered by the platform. Virtual assets can be monetized as NFTs and sold for SAND tokens on The Sandbox marketplace. Originally created by the game studio Pixowl in 2011, this game aimed to compete with game creators like Minecraft and Roblox in the mobile gaming industry. Although its success was evident with around 40 million downloads worldwide, its founders wanted to take it to the next level. 

 

In 2018, Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Borget, co-founders of The Sandbox, decided to explore and build a different experience in a blockchain-based metaverse. In this metaverse, users could own their creations through NFTs and earn rewards while interacting in the ecosystem. In a short time, the game gained popularity in the crypto world, alongside Axie Infinity and Decentraland. In November 2021, The Sandbox raised $93 million in funding, led by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. The game also attracted over 50 partnerships, including well-known gaming company Atari, CryptoKitties, hip-hop star Snoop Dogg, among others.

 

 

 

How Does The Sandbox Work?

 

This gaming platform features three integrated products that make the user-generated content (UGC) experience smoother. These products also allow community members to secure ownership of their content through blockchain and smart contracts.

 

 

 

 

VoxEdit, for Creating NFTs

 

This software enables users to create, modify, and animate their own NFTs based on voxels. Voxels are 3D pixels resembling LEGO blocks that can be shaped using various functions of the platform. Different elements that can be created here include equipment, clothing, or weapons for avatars, animals, vegetation, and real estate. Any asset created in VoxEdit can be minted and transformed into an NFT, later sold on the marketplace for SAND, the platform's official token. Since its inception, thousands of features have been added to make it user-friendly for new community members and the wider crypto world.

 

 

 

 

The Sandbox Game Maker, for Creating Games

 

Here, users can create and test their 3D games for free. They can use any element created with VoxEdit, such as land, avatars, buildings, as well as other assets from the community-developed library. Its interface is intuitive and doesn't require programming knowledge, thanks to visual scripting tools.

 

 

 

 

NFT Marketplace, for Trading Digital Assets

 

This marketplace joined the NFT boom in 2021 to make the experience in The Sandbox even more interactive. Here, players can upload, publish, and sell their NFTs. Assets are first uploaded to an IPFS network for decentralized storage and then registered on the blockchain to prove ownership. Once registered, they can participate in the marketplace.

 

 

 

 

What Are the Digital Assets in The Sandbox?

 

Various types of tokens are used in The Sandbox to ensure a circular economy among different platform users: players, creators, curators, and landowners.

 

 

 

LAND

A unit of LAND (land) is a digital piece of real estate in The Sandbox metaverse that players purchase to create interactive experiences. Once land is acquired, it can be used as part of a game or populated with any type of NFT. Each LAND is a unique (non-fungible) token on the public Ethereum blockchain (ERC-721). This is the asset around which the entire ecosystem revolves. There are 166,464 LANDs, which form The Sandbox metaverse map. Two types of parcels are available among the lands.

 

LAND: The basic unit of the map. Each land has an area of 96 x 96 meters in the game world, enough space to create any kind of experiences.

 

ESTATE: A combination of multiple LANDs. This is where users can create larger and more immersive experiences.

 

These LANDs allow players to monetize gaming experiences in various ways. They can charge others (in SAND) for visiting their lands, playing their games, or sell their land for additional profit.

 

 

 

SAND

It's an essential part of The Sandbox's circular economy, introduced on the Binance platform in August 2020. SAND is a utility token created on the Ethereum blockchain, serving as the currency for transactions within The Sandbox. Additionally, it has the following uses:

 

Platform Access: Players use SAND to buy assets, customize avatars, acquire land, and other elements. It's also required to list NFTs on the official metaverse marketplace.

 

Governance: The token allows SAND holders to participate in platform governance decisions using a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) structure. They can exercise voting rights on key matters, such as allocating funds to content creators or shaping the platform's roadmap.

 

Fee Model: A 5% fee is charged on transaction volume carried out in SAND, and 50% of the revenue goes to a fund as rewards for token holders, with the other 50% going to the foundation.

 

The Foundation: The foundation's role is to support The Sandbox ecosystem by offering grants to incentivize the production of high-quality games and interactive content on the platform.

 

 

 

ASSETS

An ASSET is a term for a token referring to voxel assets found on the marketplace. Once these assets are registered on the blockchain marketplace, they automatically become ERC-1155 smart contract-based NFTs. Anything that adds design elements to the Game Maker or equipment for avatars counts as an ASSET. Assets can be used for in-game experiences, added to land, used to create gameplay experiences, or for trading. Assets fall into three categories:

 

Entity: Functions as a level design asset. It can be an environmental asset like a tree, a building, or a giant dragon flying over land.

 

Equipment: Anything that can be attached to an avatar, from a Viking axe to a pair of cat ears.

 

Block: In addition to the basic blocks available in the Game Maker, players can create new blocks to be used in creating unique experiences.

 

 

 

The Sandbox Game Maker

 

 

 

 

The Sandbox Game Maker is the toolkit you need to bring your imagination to life. Create your game - No coding required! Anyone can create 3D games for free. Contribute to a vast metaverse, filled with amazing creations and experiences.

 

Create for Free

Craft incredible 3D games for free using thousands of voxel models (NFTs) created by the community with VoxEdit.

 

Build and Share

Building your game is as fun as playing it. Share your creations in the gallery with your friends and make something they'll remember forever.

 

No Coding Required

Easy to learn. It's simple and intuitive to create behaviors and edit attributes.

 

Play to Earn

 

With The Sandbox Game, you can monetize the games you create! Play-to-Earn is unlocked through our rewards model for players and creators, who have strong incentives to play and create with rewards that hold real-world value.

 

Turn Your Idea into Reality

There's a brilliant game waiting to be created, and you're the one who can make it happen. Start crafting your masterpiece now with The Sandbox Game Maker app and leave your mark on Sandbox history.

 

How to Win in The Sandbox Game?

 

Play GAMES, earn rewards

Create GAMES, monetize them

Create ASSETS, trade them

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

Sandbox is one of several crypto metaverses striving to reshape the dynamics between creators, players, and gaming platforms. Sandbox and its peers are paving the way for a new gaming market where players own the products of their creative work and are rewarded for the substantial value they generate for platform operators. The metaverse must be built by the people, and in this regard, the tools and universe of The Sandbox contribute to an ecosystem of constant innovation and creation for a Metaverse that never stops growing.