Virtual Worlds

Build to Earn in Sandbox Game Maker and VoxEdit Contests

Sandbox Retro Gaming Game Jam banner

Sandbox recently ran one of their first play to earn events with their Alpha experience. But for quite a while, Sandbox has also been hosting build to earn contests with Game Maker, and Voxedit, the recommended object editing tool. Events for both of these tools offer tangible rewards in the form of SAND tokens and NFTs!

There are two primary components to creating games in Sandbox. The game itself, map, logic, quests, etc — managed through their Game Maker. And the physical objects in the game, created through Voxel editing tools, primarily VoxEdit.

Even if you have no experience with either tool, both are free to use and easy to learn with lots of nuances and tools for advanced users. It’s also a great opportunity to flex some creative muscle and see what sort of creations you can bring to life! On top of that, the prizes are pretty sweet as well!

VoxEdit ‘Tools of Equilibrium’ Contest

In a partnership with Omnimorphs, contestants are tasked with creating the ‘Tools of Equilibrium’. These will be one-handed weapons, shields, and armor inspired by the Omnimorph collection. Omnimorph is another generative NFT art project with 10K mints, though it does feature an interesting twist. Owners can burn an Omnimorph to fuse it into another, selecting which traits from each they wish to keep! The owner also receives a Soul Shard for the burned NFT. In order to not dilute the value of the rarer traits, there are some rules around Fusing. Be sure to read the official rulebook before you start. You can learn more about Omnimorphs at https://omnimorphs.com/

As for the VoxEdit contest, submissions for the contest open on Feb 21st. All creations should be made with VoxEdit. To submit an entry, you must create an animated GIF of your asset (Gyazo is the recommended tool for this) and tweet your GIF mentioning @VoxEdit and @TheSandboxGame and using the hashtag #VoxEditWeekly. And finally, fill out this form – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ttOS7R2bLssU-HHLTNQGscS2V1xOKtUpOpZXLYd8QAc/viewform?edit_requested=true

Deadline for submissions is March 6th, 11:59pm UTC. Voting runs from March 7th to the 27th with the results announced on April 2nd. The prizes are definitely worth the effort!

Prizes

  • 1st place: 20,000 $SAND and an Omnimorphs NFT
  • 2nd place: 15,000 $SAND and an Omnimorphs NFT
  • 3rd place: 8,000 $SAND and an Omnimorphs NFT
  • 4th to 10th place: 1,000 $SAND each

You can download VoxEdit here.

VoxEdit 'Tools of Equilibrium' contest
VoxEdit ‘Tools of Equilibrium’ contest

Game Maker Retro Gaming Game Jam

For those with larger visions, the Game Jam might be what you’re looking for. In this contest, individuals or teams of up to 4 create a gaming experience using the Game Maker. The theme for this round of the contest is Retro Gaming.

And though it may not appear so on first glance, the Game Maker is actually pretty powerful. There have already been a number of outstanding games made with it, including some that I didn’t even know were possible! You can either use the default voxel assets to build your game, or make your own, or some combination of the two. If you build your own assets, you are limited to a maximum of 50 for this contest.

The game should have some sort of retro theme or elements, be playable, and not a copy of an already existing experience. Entries are judged by the Sandbox staff, with the following rewards for the best entries:

  • 1st place: 20,000 $SAND
  • 2nd place: 15,000 $SAND
  • 3rd place: 8,000 $SAND
  • 4th to 10th place: 1,000 $SAND each

The crypto markets are depressed at the moment, but 20,000 SAND is still worth $70K USD! That could be a nice stash of funds for an up and coming game studio or passion project!

The Game Jam begins on February 22nd, 2022. Entries must be submitted by the 28th of February, 2022, at 11:59pm UTC. Voting occurs between the 14th and 20th March, and the results will be announced on March 26th. Judging works on a 100 point scale, with 25 points each allotted for overall idea, game design, creativity, and playability. There are also 25 potential bonus points for ‘Wow factor’.

Entries must be submitted to the Game Maker Gallery by uploading and sharing your experience.

You can download Game Maker here.

What is The Sandbox?

The Sandbox is a blockchain-powered virtual world. The Sandbox consists of thousands of customizable lands with voxel based entities. Visually, it will remind many gamers of Minecraft, as both games have a similar look to them. However, in Sandbox players are able to buy virtual land, customize the experience, and implement any form of monetization. These virtual lands can become mini-games, adventures, virtual shops, extensions of actual webshops, a space for social gatherings, and much more!

The Sandbox provides free tools for developers, gamers and content creators. Creators use VoxEdit to create voxel-based objects for use in-game. And with the Game Maker users can make all sorts of interactive experiences! The Sandbox will also create a meta gaming experience. Players can for example do daily quests or weekly quests for their guild. This will earn players SAND, which they can sell or use to buy in-game items or virtual land.

Phil Hall has been a gaming enthusiast since birth and a crypto enthusiast since 2017. He enjoys new discoveries and sharing those with others via blogging and photography. You can follow him on Twitter or read his other articles on Medium.