What is Sandbox and how it works?
The Sandbox is a virtual world where users can build, own, and monetize their gaming experience, thanks to the use of the Ethereum blockchain and the SAND platform token.
Players can create digital assets, in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens and upload them to the marketplace, or integrate them within a game using Game Maker.
The Metaverse is composed of LANDs, i.e., plots of digital land that collectively make up The Sandbox. Once users purchase a LAND, they can fill it to their heart’s content with games and assets of various kinds.
The different LANDs bordering each other create districts, just as happens in a city in the real world.
The LANDs in The Sandbox number in the tens of thousands, are explorable via an interactive map, and represent the heart of the entire metaverse The Sandbox.
Let’s go deeper and analyze this interesting platform!
Attention: The Sandbox is not a project related to Sandbox VR.
Index
The Sandbox: key features
Let’s analyze the features of The Sandbox, the metaverse focused on customizing the user experience. This special feature is made possible by the built-in editors and the absence of entry barriers on programming skills, which are necessary to build in the Sandbox game.
NFT and VoxEdit
VoxEdit is a three-dimensional image modeling software provided by The Sandbox.
Using three-dimensional pixels (called Voxels, hence the name of the program), we will be able to create and bring to life three-dimensional objects such as people, animals, plants, and objects.
The elements created can then be integrated within our LANDs in the form of NFTs.
Marketplace
The marketplace in The Sandbox allows users to upload, publish and sell their creations.
NFT aseets are first uploaded within an IPFS network and then registered within the Ethereum blockchain to certify their ownership. The standard adopted is the ERC-1155 standard.
The various assets can later be sold through offers for sale on the marketplace. OpenSea also plays a leading role in the buying and selling of the Sandbox game assets.
This open marketplace allows the exchange of tokenized objects between various chains and platforms, always guaranteeing their basic characteristics of authenticity and ownership. This demonstrates The Sandbox’s commitment to remain open to the interoperability and evolutions of this marketplace.
Is The Sandbox game free? Yes it is, but you will have to pay for lands, objects and so on.
Decentralization
The creation of three-dimensional assets in the form of NFTs introduces a different paradigm than what we are used to: although the game, built on the platform, remains centralized, every element that makes it up is part of the blockchain.
What does the above mean? Thanks to the fusion of gaming and blockchain, we can talk about real ownership of a digital asset by players and creators; on the contrary, until now the participation of these two figures has always been exploited to favor the financiers and companies behind a given game.
The Sandbox terrain: the LANDs
LANDs are plots of digital terrain that make up the metaverse of The Sandbox.
Designers use LANDs to develop digital experiences, creating infrastructure and populating them with 3D assets, or implementing actual custom games.
Each LAND is an NFT that complies with the ERC-721 standard of the Ethereum blockchain.
Typical sizes of this type of land are 3X3, 6X6, and 12X12.
How much does a LAND cost on Sandbox? Depending on the size of the plot, its location, and the market situation, prices can vary widely.
LAND holders can rent out their units to interested game developers or other artists, allowing them to build on them and receiving passive rents in return. In this way, investment in the virtual real estate market can generate income, just as it does in real estate in the physical world.
LAND owners will be able to agree on and create districts within their boundaries; in short, the combination of different real estate strategies, thanks to the flexibility of the platform, offers varied investment opportunities and partially answers the question “How to make money with The Sandbox?”
In addition, it is possible to buy land and then try to resell it at a higher price in the future, just as happens in speculation on other types of assets. Beware of the risks, however, because we have no guarantee in the actual appreciation of that particular land.
SAND, the token of The Sandbox
On the first point, in order to participate in governance-related voting, it is necessary to hold SAND in the wallet. The greater the amount of tokens, the greater the voting strength. Clearly we are thinking in terms of exposure: it would not make sense to overexpose ourselves on SAND just so we can be stronger in governance.
As for the marketplace, the platform charges a 5 percent fee per transaction. We will find out in the future how these funds will be used to incentivize SAND holders and developers.
The token has a maximum supply of 3 billion, of which about 2.3 are in circulation at the time of the review (August 2024).
By staking your $SAND you are rewarded in two ways:
- You get 50 percent of the transaction fees on the platform, added to the $SAND staking pool and distributed proportionally;
- Staking The Sandbox crypto is the only way to get Gems and Catalysts essential elements in ASSET creation.
Staking a coin in order to be able to create objects with greater potential, and thus greater value, initiates a mechanism of adaptation to the characteristics of the blockchain. Through the gamification of certain processes, such as precisely staking, it makes them more familiar and automatic, bringing greater adoption for the technology.
The foundation behind The Sandbox collects the remaining 50 percent of the fees collected from the platform. These funds are used to incentivize developers, as well as to provide the best user experience for users.
How much is a Sandbox worth? Like any cryptocurrency, SAND is subject to constant price changes. Moreover, since it is an altcoin on a project that is still in the making, volatility is often quite high.
The value of the token can be monitored either by portals such as CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko, or by the best technical analysis tool around: TradingView (subscribe with the discount reserved for readers of our portal).
Virtual metaverse map The Sandbox
The Sandbox game is centered around a map that is constantly being improved and expanded. In 2021, a mini-map was introduced at the top left of the main screen, so as to facilitate orientation. In addition, numerous filters were also added, so as to make searching a more focused and direct experience.
In addition to the improvements just discussed, a Lite version was introduced for less powerful devices, so as to ease loading and improve the user experience.
Each The Sandbox LAND can be accessed via the virtual map or the site.
An important aspect to consider, whether investing or exploring the metaverse, is the presence of major partners visible by the size of their ESTATES and able to offer evocative experiences.
Any LAND adjacent to these partners is inevitably affected, as the number of visits is much higher than in anonymous areas of the map. This point improves the economy of the LAND, empowering developers to provide more sought-after game experiences.
Game Maker The Sandbox
Game Maker software is made available free of charge to any user. However, it will be necessary to own or rent a LAND in order to then transport the game into The Sandbox metaverse.
No prior programming experience is required; Game Maker was developed to be user-friendly and suitable for use by everyone, even total beginners.
When published, you can allow players to try your experience for free or charge a certain amount (in SAND) per use.
Whenever you have to decide on the price attached to your games you will have to consider several aspects such as location and relative proximity to points of interest, as well as the quality of the experience offered and its uniqueness.
The software allows you to develop your own virtual setting from predefined layouts offered by the developers (mountains, deserts, forests). Or you can start from scratch and use the Voxels we mentioned earlier as units.
Now let’s move on to the sister program VoxEdit, available for making your own objects and characters.
VoxEdit The Sandbox
VoxEdit is the editing software developed by The Sandbox, a laboratory in which to model and create all the elements that characterize the metaverse.
The goal of this tool is to empower developers to create ASSETS that can be used and equipped by avatars. They will be more or less upgradeable depending on Gems and Catalyst and can then be put on the marketplace.
Static and purely decorative ASSETS can be created, as well as objects that can be interacted with: from flower decorations to treasure chests to adding animals and NPCs, i.e., non-player characters to whom personalities and characteristics can be assigned.
How to get into the Sandbox?
Let’s see how to register for the platform. First, we need to go to the site of The Sandbox.
At this point we look in the upper right corner for the button with the inscription Create Account. We can decide to sign up using the following methods:
- By providing a valid email address;
- By connecting with our own crypto wallet. Options available: MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Bitski, WalletConnect and Venly;
- By connecting our Google account;
- Connecting our Facebook account.
After choosing one of these options, we will have to indicate a username and password of our choice. In some cases a valid email address will still be required.
After completing the procedure we will be able to log in to our profile directly from the homepage of The Sandbox. We will now be able to buy assets, sell them, and participate in the increasingly vibrant world offered by this metaverse.
Trend The Sandbox on the rise!
The universe Sandbox was born in 2012 as a 2D mobile game, attracting attention for the ability to build your own “virtual world,” a feature that was premature in its time.
Acquisition in 2018 by Animoca Brand, coupled with a focus on developing a 3D openworld, marked the line between a promising app and an innovation hub capable of leading the industry.
The introduction of the Alpha version in 2021 was another catalyst for attention and visibility. Added to this was the involvement of prominent artists and brands and the exclusivity of access; this created great hype and expectations about what could be one of the leaders in metaverse adoption.
Keep following us for all updates on this and other realities of the virtual world!
