Who is your team?
Team Name: The Field of Dreamz
Main Contact: Chris Tardiff, President, Game Maker Designer, Voxedit’er
Team Members & Roles: Willie Fox: Creative Collaboration, Quality Assurance, and Social Media
Are you a known builder in The Sandbox community?
- This is our first experience in The Sandbox.
Are you an existing studio?
- We are not. We came together to work in The Sandbox.
Project Overview
Game Title: Stillwater: Quest for the Hel Oxbar
Game Genre: Arcade: paying homage to the side scrolling games of yore
Short Description of the Game: After returning home to Stillwater, Gunnar must collect the necessary resources to build the ultimate weapon, The Hel Oxbar. Collect runes in the Lava Cave, navigate the Ore Mine to collect iron ore and scale Fox Mountain to harvest Odin’s tree! Once crafted, two Premium Quests are unlocked for training with the axe.
Do you have previous experience building this type of game?
This is the first run at using Game Maker along with Voxedit to create an immersive experience.
Please share relevant links or examples:
Grant Request
We are requesting $2,750 for
- help to complete the game development and asset creation
- upfront costs for website hosting and development
- contract help with asset creation
We could also benefit from 300 SAND to purchase 100 Uncommon Catalysts
Motivation
Why are you applying for support from The Sandbox?
We have worked so very hard to get this far in our game development and are getting close to finishing. We could use support to take time off from our jobs to finish the gameplay and logic, along with the creation of Viking NPC’s, more assets and Catalysts to create the Hel Oxbar weapon.
Why did you choose to build this project in The Sandbox?
We have been playing in The Sandbox (TSB) for the last three years and have been noticing all the great Partnerships that have entered TSB world. With the amount of players growing, we know that this is the place we want to create our brand. TSB also has amazing resources with Game Maker and Voxedit, along with great tutorials and examples. We know that the sky is the limit in TSB.
Timeline
Planned Milestones:
- GDD Submission: June 2025
- Vertical Slice: June 2025
- Blockout Check: June 2025
- Alpha Check: July 2025
- Beta Check: August 2025
- Post Production / Launch: August/September 2025
Team Location
- 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. An 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?
- Yes
The current game contains 13 Quests that can be played for free. Once all parts of the Hel Oxbar are collected and crafted, the player will have the ability to purchase the axe. Owning the Hel Oxbar will unlock 2 Premium Training Quests. We are asking for grant money to help purchase Catalysts to mint the first 100 Hel Oxbars: Jade Rune Edition. Once sold, the plan is to offer new editions of the Hel Oxbar (Saphire Rune Edition, Onyx Rune Edition, etc.).
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. It would benefit to be featured in a Game Jam and promoted by the Sandbox once launched. One of our LANDs is located in the Panorama neighborhood near some big brands. Some traffic could come from players playing nearby. Stillwater is unlike most games in TSB as we pay homage to the side scrolling games from the Nintendo days. This concept will separate us from other experiences.
7. Milestone Deliverables
- Milestone 1: Grant approval
$100 - Catalyst purchase- $1,200 - Finish production of Premium levels and finalize game play logic
- Milestone 2: Alpha Check
- $700 - Asset creation to replace placeholder assets and update gameplay based on feedback.
- Milestone 3: Beta Check - Final gameplay feedback with detailed grading
- $300 - Update game from generated feedback and ready for launch.
- Milestone 4: Post Production
- $550 - Produce new website, complete trailer, update game page
- QA - Will use Discord and X for interaction with users.
- Trailer and screenshots - in production now. A contact has been made to create a trailer for Stillwater once Alpha testing is complete.
- Community channels active - Channels created
- Monetization ready
- Beta community playtest - Personal contacts are playing the game and submitting feedback.
Where did you hear about the grant program?
- A friend or community member