A new trailer for Dune: Awakening was released for the Summer Game Fest. In a new Direct about the game, Creative Director Joel Bylos introduced more new features and story elements. Among other things, the game allows you to physically travel between worlds in Ornithopters.
What does Joel Bylos say about the story? The Creative Director of Dune: Awakening once again specifically discusses the story hinted at in the story trailer at the beginning of the Direct:
The game takes place in a world where Lady Jessica remains loyal to her order: As required by the Bene Gesserit, she gives birth to her daughter Arestei. Her son Paul, the main character of the books and films, does not exist. The little girl foresees the attack on the Atreides on Arrakis. Thus, her house survives.
Duke Leto asks the ruling Landsraad for permission to continue the war of assassins on Arrakis. This is granted. To secure the spice trade, it is now under the protection of the Sardaukar – the Emperor’s elite unit.
This is how the different factions that can be supported by players arrive on the desert planet. The story is also supposed to reveal whether the Fremen in this reality have truly disappeared.
Alongside the MMO elements, Joel Bylos emphasizes a fundamentally clear path through the game’s story.
With the Ornithopter to the Desert and Back
What MMO elements will there be? Like a classic MMO, Dune: Awakening is based on server structures:
When you start the game, you choose your base server where you can (permanently) build and socialize. These servers are supposed to have at least 40 players. They are called Hagga Bisin
.
Once you’ve crafted your first Ornithopter, you can physically fly to other locations: You take off and enter your own server. There you appear as small Ornithopter miniatures. You navigate across a huge map of Arrakis and encounter other players who are also traveling to different locations.
Possible destinations for your flight:
- The social hubs Harko Village (Harkonnen faction) and Arakeen (Atreides faction)
- The Deep Desert (PvP and PvE zone)
The social hubs allow you to trade, craft, and visit nightclubs, among other things. The Deep Desert resets weekly and is supposed to accommodate hundreds of players simultaneously – this is where the core of the game takes place: The battle for spice, blueprints, and resources.
In total, with the exception of the Hagga Bisin, all servers are supposed to be accessible by all players.
At the end of the Direct, Bylos reiterates that there will be new information for gamescom 2024. Whether there will finally be information about a possible release remains to be seen. For the first gameplay reveal in February 2024, we asked the developers exactly about this: Dune: Awakening Release – What do we know? MeinMMO asked the developers
