Denver Sandbox

Denver Sandbox is an open-world, multiplayer game of real downtown Denver that runs in your browser. Walk the streets of Lower Downtown, get into any parked car and drive it, and run into whoever else is online. It is a sandbox in the old sense: no missions yet, just the city.

Built from public data

The goal is LoDo as accurate as public data allows. Nothing here is traced from Google or copied from another game.

• OpenStreetMap: every building footprint, height and roof, every street with its lanes and width.
• USGS 3DEP lidar: the shape of the ground, bridge decks and the 20th Street underpass, and tree canopies.
• City and County of Denver open data: the street tree inventory, sidewalks, traffic signals, parking meters, curb ramps, historic landmarks and the DRCOG edge of pavement.
• DRAPP 2022 aerial photos (3-inch, public domain) for the ground.
• Mapillary street photos (CC BY-SA) for street furniture and facade materials.
• Hand-built models of landmarks such as Union Station and the Wynkoop Street buildings.

Multiplayer

Everyone online shares one LoDo. You can play as a guest with any name, or sign in with a code sent to your email (no password). An account keeps your name for you and puts you back where you left off. The cars are shared: if someone is driving one, it is theirs until they get out.

Controls

On foot: W A S D to move, Shift to sprint, Space to jump, mouse to look around, F to get into the nearest car. Driving: W and S for throttle and brake, A and D to steer, Space for the handbrake, F to get out, C to change camera. R puts you back by the nearest road. On a phone, use the on-screen buttons and drag to look around.

What's next

More of the city, people on the sidewalks, traffic that follows the real signals, and the rest of what an open-world game needs.

Questions

Is it free? Yes, and there is nothing to install.

How much of Denver is in it? For now, Union Station to Coors Field, roughly Wewatta to Larimer and 15th to 22nd Street.

Does it work on phones? Yes, on recent phones with on-screen controls, though a computer with a keyboard and mouse is the best way to play.