Dune: Awakening Direct – Episode 1

The Dune: Awakening Direct showcases are an exciting way for us to share more about Dune: Awakening with all of you. The first show is hosted by Soe Gschwind and includes never-before-seen footage of the game in two brand-new videos: Survive Arrakis Trailer, and a featurette titled Creating Worlds, from Book to Film to Game.

Rise from survival to dominance on the most dangerous planet in the universe. Dune: Awakening combines the grit and creativity of sandbox survival games with the social interactivity of a large, persistent multiplayer game to create a unique and ambitious Open World Survival MMO.

Discover Everything Revealed in Our First Dune: Awakening Direct

Dive into the Gameplay Reveal Trailer, the Creating Worlds Featurette, and more!

Greetings Sleepers,

Our first Dune: Awakening Direct took place earlier today, and we could not be more excited.

In case you missed it, you can watch the full show here. For a summary of what we shared, read on.

Creating Worlds – From Book to Film to Game

In this featurette, we contemplate the journey Dune has taken, from book, to film, to game. Every medium has its strengths; in the books we gain unparallelled insight into the characters’ minds and motivations, and in the films we are witness to unforgettable vistas and see the story come to life. In Dune: Awakening, you will become a part of that life, as you step into an immersive and vast sandbox environment where you will be forged in the scorching crucible of Arrakis’ deserts.

In Creating Worlds, we also interview the Academy Award-winning Cinematographer of Dune: Part 1 and 2, Greig Fraser, as he explores the potential of Dune: Awakening in creating your own journey on Arrakis, and some of the creative overlap between film and game.

Our own Creative Director, Joel Bylos, also shares some of his thoughts on the book, the game, and what it means to Funcom.

Survive Arrakis Trailer

We’re thrilled to unveil our game trailer, giving you a taste of the spice, and what awaits you on Arrakis. Soar across dunes in crafted ornithopters, learn the techniques of the Great Schools of the Imperium, raise unique personal outposts, use the wonders of Holzman tech, but always remember… beware the worm.

Arrakis is a test that few survive.

Dune: Awakening Direct Interviews

Our host, Soe Gschwind, did her best to pry some nuggets of information out of Joel during the interview, and not without success.

We recommend watching the full interview from the Dune: Awakening Direct for all the new info, but look below for a summary.

Genre

Dune: Awakening is our take on survival MMO in an open world sandbox.
Survival includes collecting water from plants and even bodies. Keeping to shade when possible helps reduce water consumption.
Crafting You will collect resources to craft your entire arsenal: weapons, gear, clothing, your base, vehicles, and more.
MMO aspects shine towards the end-game, where factions will fight for resources. There is a Landsraad system that enables players aligned with, for example, the Harkonnen and Atreides, to vote on things which impact the whole world.

Base building

The deep building system lets you create blueprints of what you have built, which you can then sell to other players on the exchange.
You generate a shield around your base to keep it safe from sandstorms and enemy players.
Co-op building is facilitated with holograms that let allies see and contribute to a construction.

Sandworms

You cannot kill the worm.
You can only avoid the worm.
You can use thumpers to direct a sandworm.

Shifting Sands

Some specific areas will be subject to the Shifting Sands feature, where once a week, Coriolis storms will completely change the landscape, wiping out player outposts and revealing new resource locations.

Combat

You will pick and choose from a wide arsenal of crafted weapons, gadgets, vehicles, gear, and abilities from different Great Schools of the Imperium.
There’s friendly fire in PvP areas, so be careful who you shoot in the back.

What’s next?

Closed Beta tests have begun and are going well. We will grow these tests over time.
Expect to see a lot more of the game this year.

video