The Sandbox: Everything You Need To Know

As Facebook announced its decision to change its name to "Meta", reflecting its ambitions to become the leader in "Metaverse", which could be described as a virtual place for social interactions.

This brought the concept of Metaverse to the attention of investors around the world, triggering a search for the best assets to profit from the phenomenon. The Sandbox is considered by many to be the best choice for making money with the Metaverse.

Indeed, The Sandbox is a blockchain-based metaverse platform project that allows people to play, create and govern a virtual metaverse.

The Sandbox is similar to other blockchain-based metaverse projects such as Decentraland, in that the virtual objects created in the network are exchanged in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In this case, SAND is the native token of the ecosystem. For example, virtual land can be bought and sold.

In this article, we'll explain everything you need to know about The Sandbox, so keep reading to learn more!

What is Sandbox (SAND)?

Probably many of you have played (or are playing) Minecraft, building your own cozy worlds out of blocks. And who hasn't dreamed of getting a real reward for their buildings, in which so much effort and time has been invested?

Sandbox was launched in 2011 by Pixowl, is a blockchain-based virtual world.

By combining the powers of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Sandbox creates a decentralized platform for a thriving gaming community.

In addition, Sandbox is a metaverse built on Ethereum that enables the creation and monetization of gaming assets. The strength of the platform is the respect of the intellectual property. Game developers have exclusive control over their creations. This is an initiative that was undertaken to disrupt the gaming ecosystem.

According to the official white paper, the main mission of the Sandbox platform is to successfully introduce blockchain technology into mainstream games.

The platform focuses on facilitating the creative “play to earn” model, Which allows users to be creative and gamers at the same time.

Sandbox harnesses the powers of blockchain technology by offering the SAND utility token, Which facilitates transactions on the platform.

The Sandbox Founders

Arthur Madrid is the co-founder and CEO of Pixowl, as well as one of the driving forces behind The Sandbox. He graduated from Paris Dauphine University in 2000 with a degree in Economics.

Arthur Madrid's career began as a consultant for Eurogroup Consulting France, but he quickly found his entrepreneurial spirit. In 2001, he founded 1-Click Media, which was later acquired by Ipercast.

Sebastien Borget is also co-founder of Pixowl and holds the position of Director of Operations for the company. He graduated in 2007 from the French National Institute of Telecommunications in computer systems, networks, and telecommunications.

He started his career as a manager at 1-Click Media, and since then, Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Bourget have become a business duo.

They founded Pixowl in 2011 and have always worked together on projects.

What makes Sandbox so unique?

Sandbox is a unique platform because it brings blockchain technology to the gaming world especially since the gaming industry is a huge market, and Pixowl saw this in 2011.

By creating a world where players can create and collect blockchain-based tokens, Sandbox aims to revolutionize the market.

By focusing on user-generated content, Sandbox is creating a community of engaged players who contribute to the development of the platform.

In addition, by introducing the SAND digital token, Sandbox strengthens decentralized governance and allows users to share their opinions and ideas on the development of the project.

Thanks to the evolution of technology, decentralized governance has become a necessity in blockchain-based projects.

The company started with a bang and attracted support and investment from many big names in the gaming industry. These include brands such as Atari, Helix, and CryptoKitties.

Besides the technical aspects, Sandbox is a cross between a game, a game engine, and a content-sharing platform. It could well become both a prototype for the next generation of game formats and a decentralized version of game platforms. Sandbox offers 3 products:

VoxEdit: a 3D editor that allows you to create and animate objects with voxel graphics. With the help of the editor, users can build buildings, avatars, vehicles, and any other object to furnish their location.

Game Maker: A set of tools in a convenient shell with which you can create complete game levels with _script_s in one place. The creators provide a set of ready-made templates and allow you to create your own _script_s.

Marketplace: A store where you can buy and sell items, locations, avatars, and even test games from other developers.

The marketplace uses three types of fungible and non-fungible tokens at the same time:

SAND: The real internal currency with which all items available in the marketplace can be bought and sold;

ASSETS: In-game objects and items that are technically non-fungible tokens (NFT) for which the creator retains the lifetime copyright, and which also allow the import of Minecraft items. The items in the store are shown below:

LAND: Plots of land on which objects and items are placed and turned into full-fledged game levels. The plot can be bought, sold, or rented, technically they are also NFTs.

NFTs ERC-721 and ERC-1155 are used to register land and objects on the blockchain.

However, it should be noted that a full-fledged ASSET exchange is currently not available on the platform (they can be added, but not yet sold), and LAND tokens have only recently become available for purchase. These details should be corrected in the near future.

Pros and cons of the Sandbox project

Sandbox is a rather specific project that propels blockchain in a new direction - gaming, so it is quite difficult to assess its strengths and weaknesses. However, we will try to identify the main advantages and disadvantages based on the economic structure, technical features, and roadmap. The main advantages of Sandbox are as follows:

An original idea - it's not even about using blockchain to decentralize the gaming industry, but rather building an entire gaming universe based on Ethereum. Functional tokens are not so many assets as they are rights to receive and provide a gaming experience.

NFTs - non-fungible tokens - are a new trend in the industry and Sandbox has found an interesting use for them. With them, each game plot and virtual world object becomes a unique and distinct property that can generate revenue for its holders.

The products offered - Game Maker and VoxEdit, of course, are not suitable for creating AAA projects, but these tools can be a good starting point for mod-makers or novice game designers, who will not only have the opportunity to improve their skills but also to immediately monetize their work.

The main drawbacks are:

Economic restrictions - while the SAND token is listed on some exchanges, it is not a full-fledged cryptocurrency or even a digital asset. Essentially, it just connects the Sandbox ecosystem and allows you to play games. In other words, its value is only slightly higher than the game token in any MMO.

Limited target audience - this disadvantage follows from the previous one. Since the rights and opportunities available to SAND holders are limited to the creation and use of game content, the token is only of interest to gamers and game developers. Of course, merchants can speculate on a rate change, but that requires a broader business ecosystem.

Decentralization - since developers have resorted to pre-mining, the question of how SAND transactions will be handled on the platform remains open. There is no information so far on what type of authentication algorithm will be used and how the platform will prompt processing nodes. It appears that the registration of transfers on the blockchain will be managed centrally.

Only time will reveal how popular Sandbox will be with gamers, novice developers, and game designers.

Conclusion

SandBox is an amazing project that demonstrates that blockchain applications are not limited to the financial sector or blockchain.

In terms of format, it's a cross between an MMO and a game content marketplace like Steem, where players can not only trade things, items, and locations, but also create their very own.

The platform uses NFT ERC-721 and ERC-1155 to designate sections of the game space and game objects, ensuring the creator's copyright is protected.

The most valuable thing is SAND, the ERC-20 token, which links objects, locations, the game experience, and the players themselves.


Author: Gate.io Researcher: Aziz. H
* This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
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