Preview: ‘Dune: Awakening’ takes fans to Arrakis and forces them to survive a wasteland

At a hands-off GDC demo, Byblos showed the media the character creation process and early parts of Dune: Awakening. Players begin as a prisoner set in front of the Reverend Mother. — Photos: Funcom

Dune may not seem like a natural setting for a survival MMO. Players explore the desert planet of Arrakis and resources appear scarce, but the developers at Funcom are huge fans of Frank Herbert’s work and heavily influenced by director Denis Villeneuve’s films. They know there’s more under the surface, and the team led by creative director Joel Bylos mined the lore and books to create a project that’s shaping up to be unexpectedly rich.

At a hands-off GDC demo, Byblos showed the media the character creation process and early parts of Dune: Awakening. Players begin as a prisoner set in front of the Reverend Mother. Players create a look for their avatar, using a diverse array of options. Players can look like a person from Caladan, the ancestral home of the Atreides family, or they can opt for the bald stylings of someone from Giedi Prime and House Harkonnen.