Shards Online – Backing the Sandbox
Though I was disappointed in the direction that ArcheAge is taking, I haven’t given up my search for a sandbox game. Just today, I got the email that said that Shards Online launched its Kick Starter campaign. This got me excited again, because the concepts of this game, expected to be free to play, are amazing!
I mean, lead designer of UO? Heck yeah, sign me up!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1468280928/shards-online-play-by-your-rules/widget/video.html
I backed their previous Kick Starter campaign, which was launched earlier this year. It didn’t quite come through due to a lot of reasons, including not enough publicity and a really high goal for a game folks hadn’t quite heard about yet. Despite this, the team has stayed true to their vision, worked at getting the word out, and have launched their campaign again.
I don’t know all the technical details of this game, but it sounds like a sandbox that I can get behind. The official website lists:
- Both official and community-run servers
- Skill-based character development (no restrictive levels or classes!)
- Own your land, build a house
- Tame animals and creatures
- Learn to craft unique items as you explore
- Employ NPCs to do day to day tasks
- Visit worlds that span many genres
- Obtain unique armors, weapons and rare artifacts
- Play by your own rules! Many different rule-sets to choose from
- Create your own unique rule-sets, stories and live content on your community-run server
I really want to see games like this succeed because I feel we need more modern sandbox games. I think this could be a foundation for something really awesome that we all build, so give it a look!
