NOTE: We now have a facebook page, facebook group, myspace page (myspace is not appropriate for kids, adults and teens only!) and a twitter page!  To be kept up to date don't forget to sign up for our newsletter!  Also be sure to check out our nice new forum!

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  Interested in showing off your mapping and design skills? Well join our mapping contest then!  For more information check the forum contest thread.  Be sure not to delay as the deadline is September 10th 2009.  This is hopefully only the first in a series contests to come.  If the contests grow with participants then so will the prizes :)

Platinum Arts Sandbox Free 3D Game Maker is an open source game design program for kids and adults.  The focus is to make the process of creating games and worlds easy enough for kids but powerful enough to create full game projects.  Sandbox is already being used in many schools and colleges throughout the world and included in game design contests.  To see Sandbox in action be sure to check out tutorial video showing off the in game editing!  

Tutorial 1 Featuring Sandbox Basics

Using Sandbox in your school?  Let us know about it!  Check out the many schools already using Sandbox!  Want Sandbox in your school? Several of those schools I personally teach Sandbox at, so please feel free to contact me!

Our new release is near and we have TONS of new features for you!  To keep up to date with everything going on and to chat with us be sure to check out our new forum at http://forum.sandboxgamemaker.com To join our chatroom and/or e-mail us check out our Contact Us page

Now to show you all of the cool stuff we've been working on!  I want to start off with what everyone has been waiting for, lots of Multi-player updates!  First I'm excited to announce that a master server is in the works so that hosting your own servers and finding other people servers will now become a lot easier!  Along with coop editing, we are introducing some awesome new multi-player game modes for you such as the already popular Banana relay team capture mode, CTF, and hopefully sometime this year, Water Wars!!  Water Wars will feature squirt gun and high powered water balloon action, with rocket balloon launchers, balloon-nade launchers, etc!

Tired of being alone in your Multi-player Servers?  Thanks to Quin of the Cube 2 community, now Sandbox has bots!  They can be added with the /addbot command and you can set their intelligence level with 101 being super genius!  In addition you can set waypoints for them and watch them take on obstacle courses and crazy paths.  Check it out in action here!

Bots Navigating an Obsticle Course Using Waypoints


But wait, there's more! (hmm Billy Mays reference, could that mean something special?).  Hirato has been doing some awesome work on creating a new and super improved RPG mode!  Now there is an incredible variety of projectiles effects that can be created through the particle system.  Check out this video to watch one of the new effects in action, and be sure to look closely.  Did you see it yet? RAGDOLLS!!!!!  Thank you cube 2 community for that one!

RPG Particle Spell Effects and Ragdolls!


You'll need these new spells and particle effects for if you ever get into this kind of situation, ahhh!!

Interested in creating dungeons and exploring dark passages where you only have a torch or lantern to light the way?  Well with the RPG, now you can!  Check out this video of it in action, and also you'll notice the sophisticated inventory system that is in the works!

Lantern/Torch light action + Inventory!


And if you like awesome looking particles, well you're in luck!


And if all of that goodness weren't enough, they are some intense new maps included, such as Train featuring working trains, Bastion which is a fortress in the heavens, and the texanim map which thanks to offtools showcases in game movie viewing and animated textures!  And because our community rocks so much, we'll even throw in a free video of cool skybox selection menu!

Train Map with working Train!
Video 1


Video 2


Video 3


Bastion In The Heavens


Animated Texture Tutorial


Skybox Selection Menu


I hope you enjoyed seeing the exciting new features coming to Sandbox :)  Don't be a stranger to our forums and chatroom, we'd love to hear from you!  I hope you are enjoying Sandbox and take care!
-mike