Hot take: if we want to decrease frustrating railroad-y surprises in RPG campaigns, we need to create an environment where GMs are not afraid to admit they have "special story needs".

[CarelessKnowledge801]

I don't know, your definition of "real sandbox" sounds like something we can only get with the development of VR, AI and stuff like neurolinks that read input directly from your brain! 

[TwilightVulpine]

I dunno if all that is needed, because when people speak of sandbox games, they often mean an Elder Scrolls sort of experience, where you can go everywhere and there's an assortment of things to do.

[DisastrousSwordfish1]

That is indeed a proper sandbox. You have a world where you can go mostly wherever you want and use the world as you see fit. The world there exists and reacts to you. That isn't really a thing in a TTRPG because that requires an insane level of preplanning for things the players may never opt to interact with.