The game content right now wasn't ready for a full launch.
Some features still weren't in place, and the MOD tools were still being tested internally.
There was also the matter of reviewing content in the workshop.
So far, most of the mods in the workshop were for Overcooked and Fall Guys, and those mods were built using the games' original assets.
That meant there weren't many problems. But now things were different.
Especially with Don't Starve, Lucas had opened up more permissions for players to create mods.
As long as they wanted, players could not only edit text in the game but also change gameplay rules.
Whether those changes were fun or not depended on the mod creator's skills.
But it also made Don't Starve's mods more complicated.
Compared to Don't Starve, Minecraft would push this even further.
So both the workshop and the player community would need constant attention.
There would be a huge amount of content, which meant a dedicated review team would be needed.
According to Lucas's plan, Minecraft would launch around early February, right after the New Year.
A small test group would be opened after New Year's Day to gather feedback on the game and the player experience.
For example, with Minecraft's fully open gameplay, would players understand how to play? Would they need tutorials to guide them in the beginning so they could grasp the basic controls?
It was also important to see if there were problems with the gameplay direction or if any parts of the controls or content felt awkward for players.
The test would collect all this information.
After the test, based on the feedback, Lucas and the team would decide whether to make adjustments.
The time between the test and the official launch would be the window left for changes.
But even then, any changes would mostly focus on controls and tutorials.
Because the overall gameplay and framework were already set and wouldn't be changed.
.........…
As Minecraft's content was gradually filled in, the market also saw a wave of new sandbox games.
Many companies rushed to promote their projects, hoping to grab a share while the sandbox craze was still hot.
Among all this noise, the most attention naturally went to the big companies, SkyNova and NetDragon.
Even though their games hadn't launched yet, many players were already looking forward to them.
Why?
The reason was simple. As big studios, SkyNova and NetDragon had the budget to back these new sandbox projects.
For them, it was just testing the waters, but their budgets were still far beyond what smaller companies could afford.
Because of this, both of their upcoming games, Voyage and Wasteland, were drawing plenty of attention.
Voyage was themed around seafaring adventures, while Wasteland was set in a post-apocalyptic world.
SkyNova promoted Voyage as the first seafaring sandbox game, while NetDragon's Wasteland focused on survival in a ruined world.
Details about the gameplay weren't clear yet—they only shared the themes.
But it had to be said, the ideas were attractive.
There were many post-apocalyptic games, but few focused purely on survival. Seafaring games were even rarer. Adding sandbox elements instantly made both games stand out.
What's more, the producer of NetDragon's Wasteland was an old acquaintance of Lucas's, the very warm-hearted Mr. Marcus.
Among all the games launching around the same time, these two drew the most attention.
With solid visuals, big studios behind them, and strong selling points, it was hard for players not to be interested.
Meanwhile, following Don't Starve, some second- and third-tier studios also launched new games.
But most of them were just riding the wave, with some simply re-skinning old games and calling them sandbox titles.
All of them were heavily criticized by players, and the highest score any of them got was only a 7.
But for this very reason, the industry actually became more optimistic about the future of sandbox games.
If people are complaining this much, it shows that players are actually looking forward to this type of game.
As for the games that got criticized, they were basically just cash grabs. Even without calling them sandbox games, their gameplay and design would still have been weak.
Ironically, just because they were labeled as sandbox games, they ended up getting even more attention than before.
So the industry kept discussing where sandbox games should go.
"It feels different from the meta-games Lucas brought out back then. Maybe sandbox games could become a major category of their own?"
"True. Look at SkyNova and NetDragon's Voyage and Wasteland projects, the hype is still rising. I heard both companies increased their budgets."
"Funny thing is, in the past two years, whenever one of them starts a project, the other follows right after."
"Haha, old rivals. But honestly, it makes me want to make a sandbox game too."
"I'd be careful. Even if the future looks good, so far the only sandbox game the market has really accepted is Don't Starve. The true core of sandbox games is still unclear. And at this pace, unless you release something before SkyNova and NetDragon, it'll be hard to grab a share. Might as well wait and see how things develop."
"Yeah, the gaming industry isn't zero-sum, but with so many sandbox games popping up right now, plus SkyNova and NetDragon, if they succeed, they'll take away most of the potential audience. Better to hold off for now, at least until we figure out the real core of sandbox games."
"Agreed, let's just watch for now."
"But it looks like Lucas hasn't been doing much lately. He held that expedition event not long ago, and I thought he'd join in like he did the last two years."
"Yeah, after Don't Starve, he hasn't released anything."
"Probably working on a new project?"
While the industry was busy debating the market and future of all these sandbox games…
In Nebula Games' office, Lucas, Hector, Rachel, and the rest of the team were busy building houses.
(End of The Chapter)
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