In Dune: Awakening, players tried to reach “Ben”. Even the developers had a go, and it seems with success.
What is the “Message to Ben”? The story of Ben and his neighbor has touched many players of Dune: Awakening. A neighbor searched for “Ben”, the first player with whom he ever spoke in a video game. One day, as the neighbor drives past “Ben”‘s base, he notices that the power is out.
It’s a sad realization for the neighbor since they never exchanged contact information. In a moment of desperation, the neighbor then writes his “Message to Ben” on Reddit, informing him that the power is out, in case Ben reads it.
However, the story behind it warmed the hearts of the community, so much so that the post not only went viral but also inspired other players to try creative ways to contact Ben. But for days, nothing happened until the developers tried.
The developers help the neighbor
What did the developers do? In the patch notes for patch 1.0.0.17.0, the developers wrote a message to Ben. They stated: “Ben, if you read this, your base power is out.” They reference the story that touched the community so much.
And indeed: Ben apparently read the message. On the evening of the patch day, the neighbor saw light in Ben’s base again. Of course, he went right over to talk to him and exchange contact details.
What does Ben say about the action? Ben seems to have been completely unaware of the many attempts to reach him. According to the neighbor, Ben does not have Reddit and did not see the many contact attempts there. According to the neighbor (via Reddit), it seems that the message from the developers in the patch notes made the difference.
One of his friends is said to have pointed him to the patch notes. Ben’s reaction: “No way it’s about me,” yet he logged in with his friends afterwards and found out that it really was about him.
By now, Ben is aware of all the commotion regarding him and wants to speak up on Reddit soon.
The Dune: Awakening community celebrates the gathering on Reddit. In many comments, players express their joy and hope that a friendship will develop from this action.
Besides the “Message to Ben”, there are also other positive stories in Dune: Awakening. One example is an artist who built Pikachu and a sandworm: Player creates their own Pikachu in Dune: Awakening, lets it get eaten by a greedy sandworm
