AsDune: Part 2is taking over theaters in the world, Funcom took the opportunity to host their firstDune Awakeningdirect, sharing more information about their upcoming Survival MMO.
That is the first takeaway in many senses that I had from watching the 30-minute event, that it’s attempting to bridge both survival and MMO genres. Funcom’s Chief creative officer, Joel Bylos explained a bit about it:
Funcom as a company has been on this journey for a long time, creating multiplayer worlds where players can live out their dreams and fantasies. We were there in the beginning with massively multiplayer online games. We’ve been there in the beginning with survival open-world crafting games, and Dune: Awakening is a culmination of those legacies, bringing us forward into the future. It’s a culmination of what Funcom means as a company and what we can deliver.
Dune: Awakening’s Survival Mechanics
As they talked about the game, it became clear they were building strongly on the bones of their last survival hit:Conan Exiles. The combat sandbox approach, free-form building, and directed story exploration segment all are very similar toConan Exiles, to the point that the latter is called The Journey in both games. Much like the start ofConan Exileshas you crucified,Dune Awakeninghas you alone in the desert at the start of things, as you begin at the very bottom of the social totem pole.
The early loops of the game are more likely to be survival-focused, as you need to get water, build shelter, and handle those tasks that you need. Water, a resource plentiful in most survival games, is rare here in the desert world of Arrakis. To get water you’ll have to search for it, seeking dew fields, eating plant fibers, or deciding to basically go all vampire by killing enemies out there and drinking their blood. Preserving water is a significant part of surviving, as you’ll need to practice skills like the Freman, by staying in the shade during the day, and traveling at night.
While the survival gameplay is based on what worked forConan Exiles, it is also getting amped up. One notable addition is the inclusion of co-op building. This allows one person to essentially ‘lay out’ the plan with holographic spots, and another to put the pieces in there. Another way is how Unreal Engine 5 improves the technical area, as the Lumen System should allow for far more natural lighting interaction with player-built structures. For those who like to focus on building, you’ll also be able to save architectural blueprints of your bases, and give them to your friends, or sell them on the market.
The goal of the desert in many ways is to deliver on the movie visuals of Villeneuve’s new movies, meshed with Herbert’s writing as they balance adapting from both sources. The Funcom team was able to go on set toDune Part 1and see many of the props and sets in person. Legendary has also shared a lot of their concept art and assets with them, and the two teams have bounced ideas back and forth during development. One of their goals with the desert world of Arrakis is that it is harsher than any of Earth’s deserts, even without considering the sandworms.
How do sandworms work inDune: Awakening?
As for those sandworms, they will, of course, be part of the game. InDune Awakening,they serve as essentially a tension mechanic in the game, though few survival game tension mechanics have probably been as nail-bitingly scary as the idea of a sandworm emerging. At first, you’ll hear hisses in the distance, as the sandworms begin to move closer while you walk on the sand. Then a roar, marks the point when you have only a few seconds to get to rocky terrain, or it will be your death - even with the smaller ones in the near desert. In the deep desert, giant ringmouth sandworms can devour entire vehicles. The sandworms are always coming if you are walking in the desert, and you need to pay attention… as you can’t kill them.
At the start of the game, you’ll get to choose who your mentor is, which will impact what skills you get to start with. LikeConan Exiles, this is a classless game, and you can learn anything in theory as you level up, but you don’t have access to all ability types at the beginning. Instead, you can earn access to them by finding a mentor and doing tasks they require of you until they are willing to teach you what they know. This means it’s possible to have a Sword Master Bene Gesserit in the game if you put in enough time and effort.
The MMO part of the game is not just the cooperative survival stuff but seems aimed to be more of the later game aspects. After physical survival comes political survival, which includes factions, and dealing with other players. This isn’t just through PVP type play, but also through competing for goals through the landsraad. What they are ideally wanting to happen is to encourage players to develop their own politics around the systems. If you don’t want to participate in politics though, that’s also completely fine, and you don’t need to go into it.
The event closed out with a cool new trailer you canwatchif you want to see some of the gameplay yourself, or take a look through a gallery of new screenshots below.
