Historically video games have been a beloved medium to explore the unique and fascinating
mythology of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
Over the years there have been numerous games across various genres that have come to hold
a special place within the heart of the Dune fandom.
Most recently Dune: Spice Wars an RTS game with 4X elements was developed by Shiro Games
and published by Funcom.
Funcom is under a 6 year deal with Legendary, the production company behind Denis Villeneuve’s
2 part film adaptation to make at least 3 games.
The next game in the pipeline is the open world survival MMO Dune: Awakening which will
explore the feudal, commercial, and survival aspects of the Duniverse.
An announcement trailer for the MMO was released during Gamescom 2022.
While the cinematic looked impressive there wasn’t any gameplay footage previewed.
Recently however an interview with the game’s creative director provided more extensive
details about what players can expect to experience in Dune: Awakening.
In this video I’d like to break down what we know so far about the gameplay and what
the latest news reveals about the mechanics for surviving the deadly desert jewel of Arrakis.
According to Funcom: Dune: Awakening combines the grittiness and creativity of survival
games with the social interactivity of large-scale, persistent multiplayer games to create a unique
and ambitious Open World Survival MMO.
Rise from survival to dominance in a vast and seamless Arrakis shared by thousands of
players.
When it comes to the survival mechanics of the game itself, the steam page for Dune:
Awakening reveals a faithful approach to the source material stating that on Arrakis water
is life.
Players will have to learn to find it and exercise water discipline by maintaining your
stillsuit.
You’ll choose where to craft and develop your shelter in order to survive sun and sandstorms.
You’ll weigh each step in the open desert against the risk of sandworms.
The Creative director for the MMO Joel Bylos recently spoke with PC Gamer and was first
asked about just how deep and intricate the survival systems were for Awakening.
Bylos responded saying quote: "We're very focused on a few tight core survival
mechanics.
Like shelter: sandstorm shelter.
Sandworms themselves are a giant threat in the world.
If you walk on sand, they will come.
If you create vibrations, they will come.
So you have to think about how you approach traversal in the game world.
And obviously, water.
Those are our three key [systems]."
~ Joel Bylos, Dune Awakening Creative Director
When I first heard that a Dune MMO was in development even though I'm not a huge fan
of the survival & crafting genre itself, it seemed like such a no-brainer idea for Frank
Herbert’s Dune to be the setting for such a game.
As a fan of the source material the thought of trying to survive on the deadly desert
planet is very appealing.
Sandstorms, Sandworms and dehydration absolutely make sense to be the main concerns for players.
However I was also very interested in how the world of Arrakis and its many dangers
would translate into fun and engaging gameplay.
Since I am relatively unfamiliar with the genre myself I was left wondering just how
difficult it would be to explore and survive.
Bylos continues his explanation on these main survival systems saying:
"We want players to feel these tensions all the time.
We want them to be continually thinking about, if I'm going across the open sand, I have
to think about the sandworms.
If there's a sand storm coming, I have to know where there's shelter nearby.
If I haven't built something I need to know where I can hide where I can get away from
the sandstorms.
So we're trying to create this tension.
But we're also approaching it from the viewpoint of a little more accessibility, something
like Valheim, where it's not like just gonna kill you instantly.
So you have a little bit of leeway."
It makes sense that the game developers are not following the threat level on Arrakis
as closely to how it’s described in the novel which allows some room for players to
attempt to get to safety and shelter.
The interviewer notes that in Valheim while food for example is important to the player
when it comes to maintaining your health and stamina you can technically get by while neglecting
it.
When it comes to survival paradigms that have become a standard in the genre Bylos made
sure to point out that they are rethinking those conventions.
Saying quote: we want to create these very strong survival tensions, but we also don't
want to punish players in a ridiculously harsh way.
So we're kind of trying to find a nice balance with that."
Apart from the survival mechanics, a vital component of any Dune game is the Spice, which
is found only on this one desert world and upon which all civilization depends, making
it the most valuable commodity in the universe.
When it comes to how Spice has been incorporated into the gameplay PC Gamer explains that at
the start of the game players have no strong affiliation to spice but that over time it
will begin to permeate their bloodstream, which will allow them to enhance their abilities
and learn new skills.
Again there is the comparison to Valheim where Spice is useful but it’s not deadly to the
player if you neglect your consumption of it.
So while the acquisition of spice isn’t as important to one’s survival as water
there is an incentive to maintain your spice intake in order to obtain and enhance certain
abilities.
Bylos goes on to explain this further saying quote:
"Spice is power.
So you want to stay above a certain [spice] level to keep learning abilities, you might
want to stay above a certain level to make sure that you have 100% of your maximum health
all the time.
We're not trying to punish the player by killing them if they don't take spice for a while,
but we're trying to give them good reasons to maintain their spice levels."
One of the reasons why Spice is so valuable is its ability to extend one’s life span
and improve overall health.
The substance is sought after most of all for its psychotropic effects which heightens
mental awareness and can even awaken prescience.
I am particularly curious as to the various skills players will be able to unlock with
continued spice consumption.
The game’s steam page explains you could either sell spice on the exchange or consume
it to expand your potential at the cost of addiction.
So this is an interesting decision that will have to be weighed depending on how a given
user wants to play the game.
Crafting will also be a significant part of the player experience however there will be
some differences from Funcom’s Conan Exiles game where leveling your character allows
you to spend points in a tech tree.
In Dune: Awakening Bylos explained that players will have to go looking for specific schematics
to craft specific items which makes crafting less tech tree driven and more exploration
driven.
An example is given that if a player has information about a botanical testing station somewhere
in the desert experimenting with a certain technology they would head there to find the
schematic.
I do appreciate how the world of Dune is influencing gameplay making this particular survival & crafting
MMO distinct in its own way from others in the genre.
After achieving mastery over the survival mechanics, players can strive for dominance
as they work to gain more resources, power and influence.
As the steam page states you could start a guild and work towards gaining the status
of a Minor House by allying yourself with one of the Great Houses.
You can rise above your rivals and assert economic dominance by controlling valuable
resources.
Like the sands of the desert, the power structure of Arrakis is ever shifting.
Spice harvesting and crafting will be major parts of the game’s player driven economy.
Bylos explained that one of the game’s pillars is something called infinite exploration referring
to the continuously changing landscape of Arrakis.
Beyond the shield wall Sandstorms will regularly shift the map, a storm can bury existing locations
and unearth new landmarks ripe for exploration and profit.
For example, a player could be one of the first to explore a new location and find a
schematic for a type of gun no one knows how to make.
They could then craft the valuable item and sell it on the exchange.
Another player could also find that schematic but it might not happen until the next storm
cycle.
Players can craft weapons, armor, vehicles, attachments, modifications, and more.
Looking over these gameplay details I’m actually more excited than ever to dive into
this new medium and to explore the setting of Dune in this unique way.
Exploring Arrakis in a continually shifting landscape and battling for survival and a
place of prominence in the universe sounds like it could be an amazing experience.
If you’d like more information on Dune:Awakening I’ll leave a link to the game’s steam
page in the description below.
As of the making of this video there is no official scheduled release date though it
is speculated it could arrive sometime around the premiere of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune
part 2 which will hit theaters November 3, 2023.
But I’m curious to know what you think about this new entry to the ever-expanding Duniverse.
Are you interested in exploring the world of Dune through this survival MMO?
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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news and lore.
Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.