Creating Game Maker Friendly NFTs — Creators Interview #5: Sandio
Welcome to our Game Creators interview series, where we feature creators and members of The Sandbox community, giving them a platform to share their stories.
In this edition of Game Creators, we speak with Sandio, a member of the Artists’ fund for The Sandbox. He is a talented artist that has created many NFTs for The Sandbox and is collaborating with the Hackatao team to bring you some awesome experiences soon! Read on, to learn more about it all.
First of all tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Simone aka Sandio. I am a 35 year old Italian. I have been engaged for 10 years now and I work in the chemical sector for a multinational company that produces ammonia and fertilizers.
I am a lively person, very positive and cheerful, I am a dreamer and I strongly believe in the values of family and friendship.
I love playing football and I love the world of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
How did you initially discover The Sandbox?
I discovered The Sandbox thanks to a famous YouTuber in Italy who talks about cryptocurrencies, Tiziano Tridico (Koinsquare). At first, I approached this world as an investor. The project intrigued me and convinced me about the mechanics that could be created and developed to the point of convincing me to invest in Sandbox LANDs.
But the thing that fascinated me, even more, was the possibility of creating through VoxEdit.
Creating in VoxEdit has changed my life and I am not exaggerating to say this… When I start creating I feel such a feeling of peace and relaxation that I had never experienced before. It is difficult to explain but I hope that many people will be able to experience my own emotion, so simple but at the same time so alive and true.
When I decided to apply to be the creator of Sandbox I created a faithful voxel reproduction of the Curiosity rover on Mars.
To my surprise, I was caught and started this wonderful journey together with The Sandbox, meeting many beautiful people and sharing thoughts and experiences.
I was very lucky because I had an excellent Sensei, Gatostao, a very helpful guy with enormous patience who taught me a lot of techniques and was never lacking in times of need.
How did The Sandbox help you deal with the pandemic this past year?
All of this happened right in the middle of the pandemic and helped me a lot to deal with that very bad period because it allowed me to remain mentally involved in this wonderful project, and it still is, I feel an integral and living part of The Sandbox.
Can you tell us more about your first experience with The Sandbox?
I sometimes use the Game Maker, to try my creations: see how they appear on the game and to make sure that the colours and shapes are correct. I have never created games and so far I don’t plan on making them. My focus is on the creations in VoxEdit, but I do not rule out that one day when I feel inspired I will be able to start my own game; I already have some ideas.
Have you participated in any Game Jams yet?
I have not participated in any Game Jam, yet, but I have followed them and I must say that they are excellent initiatives that allow you to trigger healthy competitions of imagination and creativity among the participants, and in addition, there are also prizes.
What prompted you to share your knowledge and your tips with the community?
I tried to help both the problem solving and the human side trying to help people who entered this world and tried to create assets.
I have always tried to share what I have learned in the most transparent way possible, because as I have already said I really hope that other people can experience the emotions of peace, tranquility, and feeling carefree while creating.
What are your motivations and goals for 2021? Any experiences you will publish soon?
My personal goal is to always improve myself and make more and more beautiful and particular creations able to stimulate me.
Furthermore, this year will be very important for me because the first part of the HacktheTao game will soon be released in which I reproduced various works in voxel by the international artist Hackatao and many many other assets, I am very fond of the project and the team I collaborate with.
In addition, I will also start a new great project together with other 3 Italian artists (Rem, Damon, JJK) who are always on The Sandbox, in collaboration with NFT Italia & Koinsquare. It is called Moneyland, a game for which we all have splendid expectations !
What would be a piece of advice you would like to give to a beginner who wants to create their first gaming experience using Game Maker?
The only advice I can give is that if at first it seems difficult and things will not turn out the way you want, this is normal. You are not born knowledgeable, indeed the beauty is in just that. Continue, do not give up, learn while having fun and improve day after day, making your creations come to life.
And if you do, you too will feel the same emotions that I feel every time I create.
We thank Sandio for his insightful answers. We’ll be back soon with more Game Creators interviews, so stay tuned!
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