1. Who is your team?
- Team Name: The Field of Dreamz
- Main Contact (Name & Role): Chris Tardiff, President
- Team Members & Roles: Willie Fox: Creative Collaboration, Quality Assurance, and Social Media
- Are you a known builder in The Sandbox community?
Yes [ x] No
If yes, please list past projects and provide links: - Are you an existing studio?
Yes [x ] No
If yes, please provide links to previous projects:
2. Project Overview
- Game Title: Stillwater: Quest for the Hel Oxbar
- Game Genre: Arcade
- Short Description of the Game (2–4 sentences): After returning home to Stillwater, you must collect the necessary resources to build the ultimate weapon, The Hel Oxbar. Collect runes in the Lava Cave, mine iron ore in the Ore Cave and scale a mountain to harvest Odin’s tree and celebrate with an ale feast! Part platformer and part problem solving, in an Immersive new world that will unfold over time with an exclusive token gated access for holders.
- Do you have previous experience building this type of game?
Yes [ x] No
Please share relevant links or examples:
https://www.sandbox.game/en/experiences/*BETA%20Stillwater%20*BETA/5748f772-85dc-4623-aea5-6b0a1fe4a13e/page/
3. Motivation
- Why are you applying for support from The Sandbox?
*Most of my time is spent working on game logic and story boarding. I could use help creating assets and NPC’s for the game and use some time off of work to dedicate some days to bug testing, gameplay and a promotion plan. Stillwater has been a great jumping off point for future Creations I have planned.
- Why did you choose to build this project in The Sandbox?
- With the rise of Metaverses and their ability to attract users, I knew that I wanted to be a part of that world. I have admired The Sandbox and the Alpha Seasons from afar for a few years and it just stood out as a place that felt more personable than the “others”. The Sandbox has showed the ability to partner with big brands and I wanted to be there with them. I finally decided it was time to stake my claim and get LAND, not even knowing what to do with it. Having Game Maker and Voxedit has made the process more feasible, along with all the tutorials and real people to help troubleshoot. I was assured of my choice after attending a Sandbox Happy Hour event and meeting other like-minded kind people. Stillwater is an homage to the side-scrolling video games that I grew up playing, while also incorporating the other axis in some gameplay.
4. Timeline
- Planned Milestones (include estimated dates):
- GDD Submission: June 2025
- Vertical Slice: June 2025
- Blockout Check: July 2025
- Alpha Check: July 2025
- Beta Check: August 2025
- Post Production / Launch: August 2025
5. Team Location
(Note: This does not influence acceptance. It helps us assess budget alignment and fair compensation.)
- Country/Countries of Team Members:
- Minnesota, USA
6. Future Plans & Sustainability
- What are your plans for maintaining or expanding the project after launch?
- The plan is to begin with the creation of a website for The Field of Dreamz. The website will highlight Stillwater and drive traffic to the Experience in the Sandbox. A X account will be customized to fit the brand and will be used to communicate to the end user. Along with X, a Discord server will be created to help promote Stillwater and our future endeavors.
- Do you have a monetization strategy?
[x ] Yes No
If yes, describe it briefly:
Players are welcome to play the story quests for free and then after completing those quests and building the Hel Oxbar, we welcome them to purchase the axe NFT. The NFT will then unlock Premium Quests for the owners to take part in and allow the users to use the axe in other experiences. It would also be great to award the first 100 buyers of the axe with either a rare NFT or a physical keep-sake to be mailed. (How can we bridge the gap of virtual ownership with owning something they can touch). If the first 100 Hel Oxbars are sold, the plan is to release another 100 Hel Oxbars of a different rune, thus creating tiered ownership levels. If everything works out, it would be great to create an official Viking Avatar Collection in the Sandbox.
- How do you plan to attract and retain players over time?
- We will begin by utilizing X, the website and Discord to promote Stillwater. With the biggest impact, probably coming from X. The plan is to work with the contacts I already have and provide them the ability to join the Sandbox and play. If the game is well received, it would be great to be featured in a Game Jam and promoted by the Sandbox. Our LAND is located in the Panorama neighborhood near some big brands. Some traffic could come from players playing nearby.
7. Milestone Deliverables
For each milestone, please confirm your understanding and ability to deliver:
GDD Submission
- [x ] Synopsis of game - completed
- [x ] Concept art, mood board - completed
- [x ] Game mechanics - in use
- [x ] Marketing & monetization plan - in progress
- [x ] Budget breakdown - completed
Vertical Slice
- [x ] Focused demo level including Gameplay, FTUE, Narrative, Fun, Art Direction, and Technical review -
Stillwater is open to all players with an emphasis on Norse themes. The side-scrolling concept will ring nostalgic for old-time gamers. First time users should easily be able to navigate the world, without having to learn control of the camera, as it’s fixed. The narrative is all positive with an emphasis and hardwork. The art direction mimics the architecture and way of life of old Vikings lore.
Blockout Check
- [x ] Level-wide check of terraforming, pathing, interactions (fights, NPCs, quests) -
Being the game is side-scrolling, there is a need to troubleshoot all the hidden walls that keep the player on the game path along with interactions with items outside the hidden walls. There was an emphasis on creating a functioning background to the players path.
Alpha Check
- [x ] First pass review of user experience, narrative, level design -
There has been a handful of users to help in playing the experience and generating feedback accordingly. Changes are being made on the fly and the hope is to have this completed by next month if we can get enough users to test.
Beta Check
- [x ] Final gameplay feedback with detailed grading
Post Production
- [x ] QA - Will use Discord and X for interaction with users.
- [x ] Trailer and screenshots - in production now. A contact has been made to create a trailer for Stillwater once Alpha testing is complete.
- [x ] Community channels active - Channels created, working to find a contact to help moderate the content.
- [x ] Monetization ready - Working on finishing the Premium areas and are minting 100 Sapphire Hel Oxbars.
- [x ] (Optional) Beta community playtest
- Where did you hear about the grant program?
This forum
Discord
Twitter/X
[x ] A friend or community member
Questbook
Other: ___________