Summary
When it comes to games based on a world like that of Frank Herbert’sDune, one of the most important elements it must capture is the world itself. ForDune, that world is Arrakis, a harsh, unforgiving desert where dangers lurk around every rocky corner, as well as beneath the sand. Just a short time into Funcom’sDune: Awakeningis enough to see that the developer took that part of the job very seriously, as it not only hosts one of themost immersive game worldsin recent memory but also a faithful adaptation ofDune’s Arrakis.
From a visual standpoint,Dune: Awakening’s Arrakis is breathtaking, especially for a game that is always online. The amount of painstaking detail that has gone into ensuring the desert expanse looks the part is thoroughly apparent, especially when a storm rolls in or the sun begins to set. However,Dune: Awakeningdoesn’t just excel in its visuals alone, and it could be argued that its soundscape is of even greater value to the immersion it aims for. On that note, Funcom has clearly invested in the survival MMO’s sound design, successfully capturing the soul of Arrakis in the process.
Dune: Awakening’s Sound Isn’t Just Background Noise
The World Speaks Through Storms, Worms, and Silence
Dune: Awakeninghas a lot going for it in terms of what makes it a great game, but its soundscape is by far one of its best features. As soon as they set foot out onto the open sands ofDune: Awakening’s Arrakis, players will begin hearing a diverse array of sounds that all contribute to it feeling like a truly living world.
It’s not just the sound of wind and sand particles that populate the audiosphere either, but the distant roar ofDune: Awakening’s sandwormsas they emerge from the ground and the frequent storms that roll through, slamming against player bases and other infrastructure. Explosions near and far from ships crashing onto the surface of Arrakis carry with them this sense of doom — that nothing, and no one, is ever completely safe. All of this serves to deliver tension, presence, and scale that visuals alone can’t.
Dune: Awakeninghas a lot going for it in terms of what makes it a great game, but its soundscape is by far one of its best features.
However, interestingly enough,Dune: Awakening’s silenceis also a major contributor to that tension and scale, and therefore an important element in the game’s sound design. While the clear sounds that players can hear in the distance and even nearby certainly make the world feel alive, it’s the silence of Arrakis that makes it feel lonely, foreboding, and expansive.Dune: Awakeninguses these moments to ensure players never feel comfortable as they traverse the desert, but also to highlight its most threatening sounds when they do happen.
Sci-fi Ambience That Reinforces the Atmosphere
There are specific sounds that players should be able to make out inDune: Awakening— like its sandworms and storms — but its sci-fi ambience is effective at making it feel like the otherworldly, futuristic experienceDuneis meant to be. This is both heard and felt through the nearby hum of equipment, the static of a radio, and the low chatter of the few NPCs inDune: Awakening’s tradepostsand hub areas. The music also serves the atmosphere as well, with a blend of orchestral and electronic sounds that captures the essence of Arrakis and the sci-fi genre as a whole.
Dune: Awakening’s soundtrack was composed by Knut Avenstroup Haugen, who has worked on games likeLords of the FallenandConan Exiles.
In truth,Dune: Awakeningmight have one of the most effective soundscapes in the gaming industry, as it’s much more than mere background noise. Instead, it serves the Arrakis Funcom wanted to create inDune: Awakeningby making it feel, not just true to the source material, but perhaps even more so, like a living, breathing world that serves as an escape from reality. It’s one of thosegames that is best played with headphones, simply because getting those sounds as close to the ears as possible just makes the experience all the better.
