Could Playing in the Sandbox Be the Future for Wargaming?
February 27, 2015 by dracs
An interesting post on Kotaku caught our eye today, one which could show a new way for wargaming terrain to go. Sandpits!
Er, no a bit more high tech than that. The army has been using Sandtables for years as a way of mapping out and recreating real world environments.
These can reportedly take hours to set up, but now they are using a new piece of tech dubbed the ARES Sandtable should help to make these far easier. Using a Kinect and a projector, as well as the appropriate software, the military can accurately recreate the layout of an area on their sandtable.
This tech allows people to shape the layout of the sandtable in accordance with the geography of the area and then project the features of the environment onto the table, letting them get an accurate idea about the terrain.
Of course, this got us all thinking; could we use this for wargaming? Sure, we would have to have a sandbox, but is that really such an issue? Using this tech, we gamers could map out new and interesting tabletops for each new game, with all the terrain we need projected onto the 3D environment!
One of the most interesting features of ARES is that researchers are currently trying to enable them to network, letting sandtables link up across the world.
Combined with the ARES "video game view", which allows you to track the movement of units and tanks and effect the image on the table, would mean that players would be able to engage in tactile, digital tabletop games while on the other side of the planet if they so wished.
The gaming possibilities for this is endless! I suppose then it is no surprise that Sega have come up with a Sandbox Arcade Game using similar tech.
Watch the incredibly Japanese video above and tell me you don't want to be a kid again to play on this thing.
With all this new tech, the future is looking bright for interactive tabletops. Combining it with sand wasn't something I had really considered, but looking at this I could definitely see it working. As long as you don't mind getting sand everywhere.
Could you see sand tables being used for future gaming?
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"We could map out new tabletops for each game, with all the terrain we need projected onto the 3D environment!"
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Ive always though of this as a probable idea tbh. It was rekindled again when I saw the WWX demo games with Sean and Justine, as it looked as though they had sprinked sand over the board, which looked very good imho. The best bkt about playing in a sand box, word be that the terrain could literally take seconds to sculpt into a good design. Also models could balance very well too as the base could be stuck in the sand, obviously not too hard on the hills, but a gentleman’s agreement could always be made with like minded… Read more »
I think BoW need a theme tune like that one too Sam, may e with a funky justin dancing in the foreground as a female Relic Knight character? If you dont agree, you are obviously dead inside!!! Hehe. 😀
Also, were those kids drunk? I can only pull off an accent like that after at least 1 pint! But not wanting to blow my own trumpet, my drunkenese has been perfected over years of practice and hard work. 🙂
Sand tables is how it all started. It was every wargamers dream to have a 6×4 table. They were just too heavy and too much hassle to build and use
My FLGS has had a sandtable for the last 20 years, although its use has declined with the rise of “Ooh! My precious, precious paint job on my $15 figure.”
The mini may only be worth 15$ butthe amount of time you spend painting it have no price in my eyes… I work really hard on my minis and I don’t want to have hours of touch-ups to do after every game!
The idea is interesting, though.
Thank you Sam you just gave me the topic for my second paper in a current topics class.
Sand gets everywhere and doesn’t do the paint on the minis much favour – it is mostly silica-based, quartz for example, so it is very abrasive.
I know one of my ex-girlfriend’s husband used a sand table for his ASL games for years. I first saw it back in, oh, the late 90’s maybe. Apparently it was the bees knees for those dudes with their microarmor.
There’s no way I’d let sand anywhere near one of my minis. Besides, if you’re going to project an imagine of the terrain onto the table, it would also be projected onto the miniature …. which would look weird at best.
the military…
just boys with toys
that “enders game” you-thought-it-was-a-game- but-it-was-a-real-battle scenario creeps so much closer now!
Sam, you really ought to do some research into early wargaming history! Try checking out any of the original Don Featherstone books one of which discusses this option way back in the ’60s. IIRC it includes the tale of one erstwhile wargamer who rents a cottage by the sea and decides to create a sand table in the upstairs bedroom using sand from the beach. When the ceiling in the downstairs dinning room starts bulging he realises that the floor beams can’t cope with the weight so the sand has to be rapidly disposed of via the bedroom window! Don… Read more »