Kid Charlemagne
I am the Very Model of a Modern Moderator
I guess you could describe my preferred style of game as an "hourglass" style - the players playing around at the top of the hourglass would feel like they're playing in a sandbox, and they have wide latitude to make their own path - however, the sand is draining out of the hourglass at the bottom, and there is a single overall metaplot that they will need to eventually interact with (although exactly how they do this will be largely up to them). At a certain point, the sand is draining through the bottleneck, and the players choices are inherently limited, whether its a town that must be defended, a nation threatened, or the potential end of the world...
). RC, your view seems to focus on the overall campaign idea where player goals define a sand box. Merric, your view looks like it's based in an adventure environment view. I think you're both right in your own regards, which is why I think we should start making a distinction between sandbox adventures and sandbox campaigns. The former, I believe, are characterized by having a large (relatively) environment with many possible choices and interactions for the players to explore. Because it needs and ending of sorts, a sand box adventure still might have to resort to establishing a goal or two that the players have to accomplish to complete it. Sand box campaigns, on the other hand, are defined by placing the players' goals in priority over almost all other considerations (fun being the most notable exception) and providing an expanding and developing environment in which those goals can develop.
