History Main / QuicksandBox

** Even ''before'' a lot of content was added and the old world was revamped, it would fall into this. With two continents to explore no real "main quest" directing you to the next zone besides some quest arcs that would send you to another zone, no real path through a continent (or indication that you have "cleared" a zone short of the mobs being way weaker than you), it was frankly hard to ''not'' get lost in the world or wonder just where the next zone was. The fact that there were very few alternatives for some level ranges and quest chains that were almost ''too'' expansive[[hottip:*: The (in)famous Princess chain for Arathi Highlands - a quest chain that started at around the low to mid 30s, yet didn't end until you were around level 50]] didn't help either.

* Once the ''VideoGame/{{SaGa}}'' games went onto consoles, every single one suffered from this. ''VideoGame/{{SaGa Frontier}}'' plays the trope straight and averts it because of AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: Lute and Blue had the most "open" quests (and Blue had "learn magic" as a guidepost), while the other five playable characters had relatively linear stories. Depending on who you chose to play as, you had your pick of linearity.

* Contrary to the PennyArcade page image, ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' averts this problem for the most part. You go through a few training missions before getting the [[CoolSpaceship Normandy]] to freely fly around the universe, only to be restricted to one ship/planet/asteroid to explore within each star system. Story progression is rather straightforward, despite you being able to play a trio of core missions in whatever order you wish, and a clear goal in mind. In addition, all active missions are logged in the pause menu -- even separated to required and optional missions -- so you never have to wonder what you're supposed to be doing. ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' is also an aversion in spite of more missions and a wider scope of freedom. It's still linear.

* Common in ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series of games:
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall'': The world is enormous. You are told to use quick-travel to Daggerfall and the game basically leaves you alone. Given how big the world is, it's ''very'' easy to get lost. If you follow Daggerfall's main quest, you explore maybe a dozen towns and dungeons. The rest of the ''15,000'' locations are optional.
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'': The island the game plays on is huge, and it takes almost 45 minutes to walk from one end to the other. In the tutorial you learn in five minutes how to use the controls, then the game kicks you out of the door, hands you a couple of coins and basically says: "Here, this is the world. Have fun". You only get some hints of where to go for the next story mission. The game also doesn't do much hand-holding in your quest log, forcing you to remember people and places from quests you might have received weeks ago in real time.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''. There's nothing stopping you from exploring all of Skyrim, other than a "Go meet my sister/uncle in Riverwood" spoken by the person you help at the end of the tutorial dungeon. On the one hand, the world is huge (compared to other [=RPGs=]) and incredibly detailed, with dozens upon dozens of quests. On the other, nearly all the quests are neatly catalogued in your pause menu with reminders of what you're doing and geographic markers to where the next objective is located, and each individual quest can activated or deactivated from that menu.

* Common ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series of games:
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall'': The world is enormous. You are told to use quick-travel to Daggerfall and the game basically leaves you alone. Given how big the world is - its' ''very'' easy to get lost. If you follow Daggerfall's main quest, you explore maybe a dozen towns and dungeons. The rest of the ''15,000'' locations are optional.

* Most games in the ''{{Metroid}}'' series suffer from this trope; it becomes very easy to become lost in the game world, even in the newer games which tend to be a bit more linear. ''Super Metroid'' is probably the most well-known for this, which, due to bugs, intentional design decisions and underestimating players' abilities, gives the player several different routes through the game, and many weapons and items are [[SequenceBreaking skippable]] with some ingenuity. Because there's no clear indication of what to do or where to go, putting the game down for even a day can either leave you with no idea how to progress, or stumbling in the right direction.
** The ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime Prime]]'' series try avoiding with an optional hint system that shows where the plot will advance.
** ''Zero Mission'' has each Chozo statue set a rough waypoint to the "next" statue, unless you jump off the rails yourself -- if you go SequenceBreaking past the point that one of the statues wants to advise you about, it won't bother when you come back to it later. Since the game clock runs during these hint scenes, it's beneficial for {{speed run}}ners to skip as many as possible.

* Many LifeSims have the initial struggle to pay for food and housing, requiring some scrambling around at first to keep your character alive, before your enhanced skills give you the free time to explore:

*** VideoGame/CuteKnightKingdom'' removed a lot of this starting urgency, and thereby left some players with no idea of what to do.

* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''. You are thrown into an enormous world without any defined goals at all - players can build huge structures, mine valuables from the ground, slaughter monsters, explore landscapes, become nomadic, construct railroads, seek out the [[spoiler:Ender Dragon]] or do practically anything else.
** This was even worse before the game came with a list of achievements that encourage new players to learn the basics of mining, farming, construction, and combat.
*** This is not helped by the sheer size of the map. You can wander in the direction of the map and go on for hours never finding an end to it all; in one interview Notch said the potential size of the gameplay world can go up to eight times the surface area of '''Earth itself''' (although there isn't any major difference between different sections of the map). Not to mention the various environments all over the place (it is possible to see a snow biome right next to a desert in this game, at least before the 1.8 update) giving you a variety of resources to use in building your desired constructions.
*** Not big enough? Mods like [[http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/918541-146-mystcraft-09500 Mystcraft]] let you make as many new worlds to explore as you want, and even decorate them with different types of environments.

* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' is a bit less intimidating, since you start with basic versions of three main tools (Axe, Pick, Sword). Even if you do decide to wander, Terraria is 2D and has a much smaller game world, making it much harder to get hopelessly lost.
** Another problem is progression. Of course you wander around, looking materials but how you actually ''progress'' is confusing to a newer player.
* Similar to the above, ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' provides the player with access to every asset from just about every modern Valve game the player may have installed, tools with which to put said assets together in just about any way imaginable, and a default map entitled "Flatgrass." Knock yourself out. Various addons increase the amount of tools and assets available by an order of magnitude.

* As per the page quote, the VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto series has this, particularly since VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII. It gets marginally better in San Andreas with the introduction of the cell phone, and much better with the smartphone in GTA IV. In the original GTA III though, having the option to do police, ambulance, and taxi side missions (all with valuable rewards), search for and collect hidden packages, find vans or weapons with rampage side missions, doing ''actual'' side missions for gangs or the mob, and finally progressing the story, all with little guidance from the interface...things get paralyzing quickly.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' is one of the first games to revel in this trope. You're basically sent out with little idea what to do and especially where to go leading to some early deaths. ([[WithThisHerring "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!"]])
** The Atari game VideoGame/{{Adventure}} was even more this. You have a general goal and no idea how to accomplish it or where anything is.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' is probably the logical culmination of this trope in the ''Legend of Zelda'' series. After you get [[MagnetismManipulation the]] [[TimeStandsStill four]] [[AnIcePerson main]] [[CartoonBomb runes]] and learn the basic backstory and goal of the game, you're able to do whatever you wish to do, with the only limitation on where you can travel being your own skill and resourcefulness.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon''. The game starts off by dropping you into Dracula's Castle; and not telling the player where to go. The hints you get are few and far in between, and even then they just give you a broad goal.

** Its sequel, ''Warband'', gives players the option to do a starting quest that has a small, simple storyline and conclusion, introducing them to some of the mechanics and the setting...at which point they are again dumped into the world and left to their devices.

** What's also made a little worse is the fact that you have to collect pieces of a Trident - with little to no indication as to why you need it, or exactly where the parts were. For example, one part is located in a continent on the bottom of the world.
* Common ''The Elder Scrolls'' series of games:

* {{Academagia}} - Welcome to WizardingSchool. You have a bajillion stats, all of which currently suck, and you don't know what any of them mean. You have dozens of available actions, and you will quickly gain far more than you could ever use. Your only actual goal is figuring out what on earth they DO.
* Many LifeSims require some scrambling around at first to keep your character alive, before your enhanced skills give you the free time to explore. ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker'' and ''VideoGame/CuteKnight'' have the initial struggle to pay for food and housing. ''VideoGame/CuteKnightKingdom'' removed a lot of this starting urgency, and thereby left some players with no idea of what to do.

* Most early {{Sierra}} adventure games. Particularly the games that used a text parser, which were infamous for dropping you in a room without so much as an introductory message, while the later point-and-click games had at least some sort of introduction giving you some clues. The original ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest'' was particularly infamous: at the start of the game, you're dressed in your police uniform in the main hall of the station. If you don't figure out that you need to attend your morning briefing within the first three minutes of the game, you'd get HaveANiceDeath when you finally walked into the briefing room.

* ''VidoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'' gives you a wide-open world to explore once you've completed the tutorial. Sure, there's something about tracking down the people who massacred your village, but first why not go check out some ancient ruins for artifacts, or climb a Tallneck, or hunt some machines for parts, or...

* ''ThePath'' was designed with this in mind. Fortunately it's a small sandbox.

* Several games in the ''Franchise/{{Ultima}}'' series are like this. Especially ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'' and ''VideoGame/UltimaV''.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' is probably the logical culmination of this trope in the ''Legend of Zelda'' series. After you get [[MagnetismManipulation the]] [[TimeStandsStill four]] [[ElementalBaggage main]] [[CartoonBomb runes]] and learn the basic backstory and goal of the game, you're able to do whatever you wish to do, with the only limitation on where you can travel being your own skill and resourcefulness.

* The Space Stage in ''{{Spore}}'' conveys the sheer immensity of space very well. Possibly too well. Mods make the game even more fun (infinite Staff of Life, for one). Also, nothing beats watching a binary sunrise (Find a binary -two star- star system. Go to a non-dangerous, and preferably with a thin atmosphere, planet. Watch the suns rise.) Or, watch them set, preferably with the appropriate [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEUGF3NGbPg music.]]

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' is probably the logical culmination of this trope in the ''Legend of Zelda'' series. After you get the four main ruins and learn the basic backstory of the game, you're able to do whatever you wish to do, with the only limitation on where you can travel being your own skill and resourcefulness.

* From the first minutes of {{VideoGame/Scratches}}, your have an access to almost every room of a huge three-storey Victorian mansion, and no clear goals besides "Explore this place before going to sleep". Needless to say, there is a ''lot'' of PixelHunt and GuideDangIt early in the game.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' is prone to this. You're basically sent out with little idea what to do and especially where to go leading to some early deaths. ([[WithThisHerring "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!"]])

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''. Without a guide, a new player will likely wander around for all three days and not complete the tasks necessary to recover the Ocarina. After it is recovered, it quickly becomes much more clear where the player must go.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' is probably the logical culmination of this trope in the Zelda series. You're downright encouraged to forget the main quest and just screw around.

* Many LifeSims require some scrambling around at first to keep your character alive, before your enhanced skills give you the free time to explore. PrincessMaker and ''VideoGame/CuteKnight'' have the initial struggle to pay for food and housing. ''VideoGame/CuteKnightKingdom'' removed a lot of this starting urgency, and thereby left some players with no idea of what to do.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' is probably the logical culmination of this trope in the Zelda series. You're downright encouraged to forget the main quest and just screw around.

* ''{{Crackdown}}'' has been accused of this, since it basically just gives you a list of 21 criminals who need to die, and then kicks you into the city to fend for yourself. It's balanced by the fact that you learn how to play the game eventually, and that it's quite fun to wander around getting things. Except those goddamn ''Orbs!''

* Similar to the above, ''GarrysMod'' provides the player with access to every asset from just about every modern Valve game the player may have installed, tools with which to put said assets together in just about any way imaginable, and a default map entitled "Flatgrass." Knock yourself out. Various addons increase the amount of tools and assets available by an order of magnitude.