WorldBox | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Developer(s) | Maxim Karpenko |
Publisher(s) | Maxim Karpenko |
Designer(s) | Hugo Vaz |
Programmer(s) | Mastef Maxim Karpenko |
Artist(s) | Hugo Vaz Alifanov Ilia |
Composer(s) | Milan Milosevic John Pata |
Engine | |
Platform(s) | |
Release | Flash
|
Genre(s) | Sandbox, god game |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
WorldBox is a sandbox game that was released in 2012 by Russian indie game developer Maxim Karpenko. [1] [2] The game allows the use of different elements to create, change, and destroy virtual worlds.
The game's main feature is the ability to create worlds, using godlike tools known as "God powers" provided in the game. These are divided into several groups: World Creation, Civilizations, Creatures, Nature and Disasters, Destruction Powers, and Other Powers. [2] [3] Conversely, the game also allows the destruction of worlds, ranging from explosives to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and acid rain. Populations can also be reduced with hostile entities, illnesses, etc. [4] Worlds can also, as of version 0.21, go through "ages", which can affect biomes and creatures, both negatively and positively. [5]
Some creatures are able to create civilizations (humans, orcs, elves and dwarves). Such civilizations can grow, declare war on each other, and suffer rebellions. [3] [6]
Beginning with version 0.14, players are also able to customise the banners and symbols of kingdoms, along with the ability to control the traits of creatures, adding more content and depth to the gameplay. [2] [7] Beginning with version 0.21, kingdoms can form alliances, and kings and leaders can form clans. [5]
Karpenko started working on the game back in 2011, and published the first prototype on Flash in the same year. In 2012, he released it on Newgrounds. The Newgrounds version is still available, but not playable without external tools due to Adobe Flash support ending. [1] [8]
He continued working on the game for several years, and released it on IOS in December 2018, with the Android version coming in early February 2019. He proceeded to work on the game and released it for PC in October 2019. [2] The Steam version would only come more than 2 years later in December 2021. [2]
In early March 2022, he stated that he would delay the next content update for the game due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [9] He released the next content update (0.14) 2 months later in May 2022. [10] According to his Twitter, he planned to release the next update in mid-December 2022. [11] The update was later delayed and ultimately released 4 months later, on 12 March 2023, to Steam, [5] and on Android and IOS between March 13 to 14.[ citation needed ]
In November 2020, Maxim reported that a shell company known as Stavrio LTD copied WorldBox after he refused to let them buy it at a DevGAMM conference the previous year, and attempted to trademark the name. [1] This resulted in Maxim attempting to get Google Play to take action against the company by starting the hashtag "#saveworldbox". [1]
Graham Smith of Rock Paper Shotgun wrote: "I'd probably had my fill of WorldBox after around 4 hours, but it was a happy four hours." [12]
Joseph Knoop of PC Gamer wrote: "It's funny how much WorldBox shares with big strategy games, despite not presenting an ultimate goal to the player, and almost always ending with a boredom-killing nuclear bomb. Watching the borders of a kingdom stretch, retract, and suddenly disappear tickles a part of my brain that really likes to be tickled. Considering WorldBox is about to become an Early Access game on Steam, I'm eager to see what other maniacal tools get added to the toybox." [4]
UNIGINE is a proprietary cross-platform game engine developed by UNIGINE Company used in simulators, virtual reality systems, serious games and visualization. It supports OpenGL 4, Vulkan and DirectX 12.
Microsoft Flight Simulator X is a 2006 flight simulation video game originally developed by Aces Game Studio and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and the tenth installment of the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, which was first released in 1982. It is built on an upgraded graphics rendering engine, showcasing DirectX 10 features in Windows Vista and was marketed by Microsoft as the most important technological milestone in the series at the time. FSX is the first version in the series to be released on DVD media.
Dwarf Fortress is a construction and management simulation and roguelike indie video game created by Bay 12 Games. Available as freeware and in development since 2002, its first alpha version was released in 2006 and received attention for being a two-member project surviving solely on donations.
Fancy Pants is a series of free side-scrolling Flash games created by American developer Brad Borne. Four worlds have been released so far. World 1 was released on March 14, 2006 and World 2 was released on January 9, 2008. After the 2009 Comic-Con, Borne announced he would officially start working on World 3. It was released on April 5, 2012. A console version developed by Borne and Over the Top Games was released by EA 2D for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade on April 19 and April 20, 2011, respectively. An iOS version developed by Chillingo, Over the Top Games and Borne Games was released on the Apple App Store on March 4, 2012, with an Android version released on May 22, 2017. In 2017, Brad Borne made a fourth entry, Super Fancy Pants Adventure, which was later ported to Adobe Flash in 2020 as World 4.
Train Simulator Classic 2024 is a train simulation game developed by Dovetail Games. It is the successor to Rail Simulator, and was released online on 12 June 2009 and in stores on 3 July.
Facepunch Studios Ltd is a British video game developer and publisher headquartered in Birmingham, England, founded in June 2004 and incorporated on 17 March 2009 by Garry Newman. The company is most known for its sandbox video game Garry's Mod and survival game Rust. Facepunch is currently developing s&box, which is regarded as a spiritual successor to Garry's Mod.
SureAI is a German team of video game developers, best known for creating several total conversion mods of Bethesda Softworks' The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series.
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a truck simulator game developed and published by SCS Software for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS and was initially released as open development on 18 October 2012. The game is a direct sequel to the 2008 game Euro Truck Simulator and it is the fourth video game in the Truck Simulator series.
Catlateral Damage is a first-person video game in which the player plays as a cat. The goal of the game is to knock as many of the player character's owner's belongings onto the floor as possible. There are game modes in which the player can either race against the clock and get a certain number of items onto the floor as fast as they can, score as many points in a 2-minute time-frame, or a free play mode where there is no clock and there are no points.
Automation is a simulation video game developed by Camshaft Software for Microsoft Windows that allows the player to create and run a virtual car company and design vehicles to sell. It is currently available via Steam.
Ark: Survival Evolved is a 2015 action-adventure survival video game developed by Studio Wildcard. In the game, players must survive being stranded on one of several maps filled with roaming dinosaurs, fictional fantasy monsters, and other prehistoric animals, natural hazards, and potentially hostile human players.
Totally Accurate Battlegrounds (TABG) is a multiplayer battle royale video game developed by Swedish studio Landfall Games, and a spin-off of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (TABS). Similarly to how TABS parodies the battle simulator genre of video games, TABG is a parody of the battle royale genre, primarily titles such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite, and features exaggerated player and weapon physics. The game was released on Steam on June 5, 2018.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a flight simulation video game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is an entry in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series which began in 1982, and was preceded by Microsoft Flight Simulator X in 2006. The game is a return of the series after 14 years, with development beginning six years prior to its release. It was released on August 18, 2020, for Windows, with a virtual reality (VR) version released in December of the same year as part of the free Sim 2 update. Microsoft Flight Simulator is the first game in the series to see a VR and console release, with it being released on the Xbox Series X and Series S on July 27, 2021.
Fernbus Simulator is a bus simulator game developed by TML-Studios and published by Aerosoft for Microsoft Windows. The game is powered by Unreal Engine 5 and was released on 25 August 2016 worldwide.
Monster Train is a roguelike deck-building game, developed by Shiny Shoe and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment. It was initially released on May 21, 2020, for Windows, followed by releases on Xbox One on December 17, 2020, and iOS on October 27, 2022. A Complete Edition of the game titled Monster Train First Class was released for Nintendo Switch on August 19, 2021. The game received positive reviews, being nominated in the category of Best Strategy/Tactics Game at IGN Best of 2020, as well as Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year at the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.
The Bus is a bus simulation game developed by TML-Studios and published by Aerosoft. The early access version was available via Steam for Microsoft Windows on 25 March 2021.
Epic Battle Fantasy is a fantasy turn-based role-playing video game series created by web animator and game developer Matt Roszak. The series was inspired by the Final Fantasy series and contain many pop-culture references. Originally developed as a browser game using Adobe Flash, the games have since been ported to desktop platforms, and later, mobile platforms. In 2022, Epic Battle Fantasy 5 marks the first game in the series to be released on iOS and Android.
Amazing Cultivation Simulator (了不起的修仙模拟器) is a Wuxia top-down construction and management simulation video game developed by GSQ Games and published by Gamera Games. It was initially released to early access in Chinese in 2019, was fully released on November 25, 2020 and was later localised and released for English speaking consumers in Q4 2021. Being of Xianxia genre, it involves running a Taoist sect and demonstrates Buddhist and Taoist philosophy. Gameplay wise, it draws heavily from the likes of Rimworld and Dwarf Fortress. Originally only available in Chinese in early access, its systems have been described as very complex and in-depth.