The recently released blockbuster movie Dune: Part 2 is becoming a massive success, and it does not look like this movie has any intentions to stop its string of earnings anytime soon. Kudos to filmmaker Denis Villeneuve for making this franchise a household name. Thanks to this success, a brand new MMO video game based on the Dune franchise is also in the works.
This game would reportedly combine the elements of survival open-world games with MMO mechanics. It’s being developed by Funcom. These are the same people who previously worked on games like Conan Exiles and The Park. While the fact that this new Dune title is on its way seems pretty exciting, there’s one crucial mechanic it would be missing.
Dune: Awakening would be missing the Sandwalking from the movies and books
For those unfamiliar with the aspects of this franchise Dune is primarily set on a planet named Arrakis. This planet is also called Dune because it’s mostly desert. Storms are a common occurrence here, and people have to survive through life-threatening conditions in this world.
For those who survive the head that is constant here, the other thing that can be life-threatening is the sandworms. Now these sandworms are massive creatures that live inside of this planet, and they are constantly moving. They can feel the sounds made by people walking on the surface, and they just go there and take those people down.
To combat this, the natives of Arrakis have found a very clever way. Sandworms only know someone is walking when they sense a rhythmic thump on the surface, something that anyone walking would make. But if they walk while continuously shifting their rhythm patterns, it becomes hard for the sandworm to find them.
This unique way of walking is called “Sandwalking.” It is one of the most important aspects of this story, but the shocker is that the developers have decided to exclude sandwalking from Dune: Awakening. And if creative director Joel Bylos is to be believed, this is done for a good reason.
“We had it But it was ultimately cut: “It looked ridiculous, and it made you walk really slowly.”
This makes sense too, as developers usually cut content from games for various reasons. One of the most important reasons is that those mechanics might not be very fun. Walking very slowly on a sand-filled map just to avoid a creature sounds pretty tedious too.
Maybe they can go ahead and find some other way for players to escape these monstrosities. It’s even better if they are able to avoid these creatures completely using some unheard-of mechanic. While it might sound a bit trivial to most gamers, hardcore fans are not happy about this change.
Here’s hoping the game actually ends up being good enough. By announcing the lack of this feature, developers are already starting on the wrong foot.
Here’s hoping the game at least has sandworm riding
While removing a feature as important as sandwalking makes sense, the mechanics would not be able to justify it, or it would end up being boring. But one thing this game cannot survive without is the ability to ride sandworms.
After all, it is already one of the most exciting things one can imagine a Dune: Awakening to have. This feature alone would make this game completely worth getting.
