The universe of Dune was crafted by Frank Herbert in five years with every possible detail to make it as immersive as possible. Then came David Lynch’s 1984 film, which underperformed at the box office. Denis Villenueve came to the rescue in 2021 and made the public fall in love with the ‘spicy‘ universe through his direction.
Now there’s no release date for Villenueve’s third film in the series but we know it is there. Until then, Dune: Awakening will be doing the needful to keep the audience engaged and bringing in elements from the book that weren’t presented in the films.
The Game Will be a Blend of Films and Novels
Frank Herbert created a deep fictional world, as anyone who have read the book knows already. While some elements were not presented as Dune: Awakening is supposed to deliver, it sure to have included some that are pivotal to do justice to the Imperium. One of them is the Holtzman Effect.
In an interview with But Why Tho?, Matt Woodward, Social and Economic Director of the game, discussed the fictional scientific phenomenon’s depiction that goes in there. He said,
It’s a thing that’s there in the books, and you see in the film that they do some lovely things with the second film, where the guys float down, and it looks beautiful. It’s very Villeneuve, but it’s also very kind of slow and static.
That also means players will get to leverage the fictional technology to their advantage in a way they would’ve liked to be used in the movies. To that end, the game’s universe is something that begs to be explored and players with that adventurous instinct are likely in for a treat.
Why is Holtzman Effect so Pivotal to the Dune Franchise?
Though not much has been known about the Holtzman Effect as Herbert never delved deeper into the phenomenon, it was pivotal for the birth of technologies. This includes suspensors, glowglobes, defensive shields, and more.
Duncan Idaho (portrayed by Jason Momoa in Denis Villenueve’s films) finds out about a couple of individuals, Daniel and Marty, in one of his visions.
Both individuals found a way to use Holtzman theories to the advantage of humanity, which helped people thrive for tens of thousands of years. Space travel is probably the most profound effect this theory has delivered in Dune‘s universe. People can travel from the other side of the universe almost instantaneously.
Several other things are to be explored in the game but we don’t know when they’ll get the chance. Funcom will be showcasing live gameplay during Gamescom, which is due in August 2024. We hope to see things coming straight out of the popular novel.
What is your theory about the Holtzman Effect? We would like to know about it in the comments section below.
