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<blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 6506816" data-attributes="member: 6775477">I love DMing and Playing in Sandbox games, but it requires work on both sides of the DM screen to make it work.The DM has to create an area that is pretty well fully developed. This includes NPCs, locations, and events that will take place (barring PC interference). The DM has to present these to the players in a way that will peak their interest, and the best way to do that is to create an antagonist that will play a role in most of the Events. If you know the players and PCs well, figure out a way to make sure the antagonist really annoys them early and often. This will keep the players engaged in trying to block the antagonist's plans (if only because they're irritated).The Players also have some responsibility: they have to be proactive. They have to take the potential plot hooks and take action. They have to drive the session towards achieving a personal goal. They cannot, as too many players do, simply react to the DM's world. This is, IME, why sandbox games usually fail. I would say that less than 25% of all players are proactive enough for a true sandbox game, and if only 1 or 2 in a group are proactive, then the game revolves around them (causing others to become bitter).A great example of a good sandbox adventure is Murder in Baldur's Gate. It has a fully detailed city for the players to explore, including many, many side plots, but it revolves around a series of major events. Those events take place even if the PCs choose to ignore them for other things. This creates an living city that the PCs are a part of, but not the center of, which is what a sandbox game is all about.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Shiroiken, post: 6506816, member: 6775477"] I love DMing and Playing in Sandbox games, but it requires work on both sides of the DM screen to make it work. The DM has to create an area that is pretty well fully developed. This includes NPCs, locations, and events that will take place (barring PC interference). The DM has to present these to the players in a way that will peak their interest, and the best way to do that is to create an antagonist that will play a role in most of the Events. If you know the players and PCs well, figure out a way to make sure the antagonist really annoys them early and often. This will keep the players engaged in trying to block the antagonist's plans (if only because they're irritated). The Players also have some responsibility: they have to be proactive. They have to take the potential plot hooks and take action. They have to drive the session towards achieving a personal goal. They cannot, as too many players do, simply react to the DM's world. This is, IME, why sandbox games usually fail. I would say that less than 25% of all players are proactive enough for a true sandbox game, and if only 1 or 2 in a group are proactive, then the game revolves around them (causing others to become bitter). A great example of a good sandbox adventure is Murder in Baldur's Gate. It has a fully detailed city for the players to explore, including many, many side plots, but it revolves around a series of major events. Those events take place even if the PCs choose to ignore them for other things. This creates an living city that the PCs are a part of, but not the center of, which is what a sandbox game is all about. [/QUOTE]

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