Dune Awakening planning faction vs faction PvP

When designing a massive online world, developers face a fascinating dilemma: how do you balance the desire for all types of players? For the developers behind Dune: Awakening, the answer has been a nuanced discussion about the social dynamics of player interaction, particularly pitting cooperative gameplay against competitive conflict.

Joel Bylos, Chief Creative Officer at Funcom, recently offered insight into this balance. When asked about the role of player versus player combat in the game, Bylos acknowledged that the initial design leaned heavily toward a single-player, cooperative experience. He explained that the challenge was trying to accommodate two distinct groups—those who enjoyed the deep PvE narrative and those who sought out PvP action—without alienating either side.

Bylos suggested that the initial approach inadvertently created friction. He posited that PvP players and PvE players often don’t want to mix, noting that when they do, the dynamic can feel unbalanced, likening the competitive players to sharks in a fish tank.

This observation was supported by the data. The development team discovered that the community’s focus naturally skewed heavily toward cooperative play. In fact, metrics showed that approximately 80% of the players were engaging with the PvE elements rather than the PvP aspects.

Consequently, Funcom decided to prioritize that core audience. They shifted focus to developing the survival and narrative elements, recognizing that catering to the largest segment of the community would provide a more cohesive and satisfying experience for the majority of players.

However, that doesn’t mean PvP is being ignored. Even while focusing on PvE, the team remains keenly interested in expanding the game’s social opportunities. As the console launch approaches, Funcom plans to explore more structured PvP features in the future, with Bylos specifically mentioning an interest in faction versus faction conflicts.

Furthermore, the introduction of a dedicated single-player mode has proven to be a major success. This mode, built on the game’s strong narrative foundation, is seen as fitting perfectly within the MMO framework, as Bylos noted, “I think we have the best story in a survival game that exists.”

By Olivia Smith