The MMO (and game genres in general) are missing a Dune/Dune-esque style game

TheScavenger

A Dune-esque singleplayer RPG in the vain of Skyrim, or Fallout or Witcher 3.

And there are no Dune-esque MMOs at all either.

It doesn't need to be Dune itself (hence the -esque part)...but...I can't think of any actual Dune-esque game that is open world/sandbox. No MMOs fit the bill either.

And I can only think of one actual Dune game, which is an ancient, caveman era Dune game that is an RTS.

But maybe there is a singleplayer Dune game or something.

But I know for a fact, there is no sandbox/open world Dune or Dune-esque game that is open world like Skyrim/Fallout and Witcher 3. And definitely no MMOs that fit the theme.

tokini

everyone would just complain the Bene Gesserit are OP


i would really enjoy a good Dune game (of any sort), the original books just might be my favorite series, ever. the first book, at least, would lend itself well to a survival type game, imho.

Artwolf

I liked the movie.

Tsiya

hehe hehe...Duneesque, sandbox, Arrakis, desert planet

Archlyte

That's the first thing that comes to mind for me as well: how to handle the BG. Herbert made them nearly infallible which made them difficult to deal with in the terrible books written by his son. A lot of people would wash out of BG training, so there is that, but those who became full reverend mothers are not people to be messed with lightly. Players would be too restricted by their rules I think though, a lot like what should happen with any playable jedi: they are too purpose-driven and monastic to be much fun. 

Loke666

We do need more variation in MMOs period.

To be honest have I just read the 2 first books (but now that I think of it do I need new audiobooks for work next week). I am not sure if the world would make a good MMO or not but I would certainly try it.

Octagon7711

They could do like LoTRO does.  Make the OP classes unplayable except at lower levels.  But I think it could be done, those sound devices could probably stun and takeout just about anything.

Archlyte

I think the anti-technical emphasis with sci-fi technology alone would be a neat twist. The emphasis on knife fighting, interesting vehicles, and mental acuity would seperate the game from others I think.

Iselin

It's always been one of my favorite SciFi universes... i'm down.

Octagon7711

I've always liked this and B5 as an MMO.

Rosenborg

Octagon7711 said:

They could do like LoTRO does.  Make the OP classes unplayable except at lower levels.  But I think it could be done, those sound devices could probably stun and takeout just about anything.

Those sound devices aren't in the book.

From IMDB:
The Weirding Module was written into the film to replace the Bene Gesserit martial art referred to by the Fremen as the Weirding Way. David Lynch's decision to use modules was taken because he found the idea of the Weirding Way unworkable on film, stating he did not want to see "Kung-fu on Dunes".

With that in mind, yeah. Dune could work as an MMO quite well. Call me crazy but I think DayBreak (former SOE) should do it. They have the tech, engine and the tools pretty much ready.

Po_gg

Was a bit confused by the title, the "game genres in general" part, especially after reading the post itself... Dune-esque compared to which source?

Movie flopped, flopped hard, and rightfully so. (for the record, I'm in the small minority who actually liked it, still used to watch it sometimes. And I'm a Lynch fan as well.) Both at the critics, as on the ledgers, it was a failure - most likely due to those same bigheads (practically tied Lynch's hands during the production) who ditched Jodorowsky's version before. Btw. that would've been an awesome one...
So, even if I more-or-less like the movie, not sure what kind of an mmo could it spawn. Hence "bit confused" 1.0

Books, now that's a totally another league. Would be an awesome game, but in this the "bit confused" came from the open world/sandbox part. Dune is a whole developed universe, like LotR for example, but in some cases even more rigid. A sandbox needs flexibility and openness, making one from Dune would be just as dumb as the MEO concept was before luckily they've ditched it.
So, in here I agree with @Octagon7711 , just like LotRO, besides/parallel the main events, with clever writing but and also respecting the lore, maybe serving in a smaller House, with an offspring system (since the events are large scale, not just a couple years like in LotR for example)... would be a nice game experience.

Well, and games. That confused me the most   since there is one already...
"And I can only think of one actual Dune game, which is an ancient, caveman era Dune game that is an RTS." Nope, back then the dumb term of rts was nowhere. Dune II was a nice game indeed, that's why others started to copy it, and when their marketing dept. said "Dune II clone" has a cheap tone, they came up with rts instead. F-ed Blizz.
"But maybe there is a singleplayer Dune game or something."  No need to be a mentat to guess that if there's a Dune II, there must be a Dune (1) as well   And it is really good. It's an adventure (as it should be), with some strategy elements and a slight pinch of rpg. Here's a review: https://youtu.be/JROGmTAnS-g
Too bad it's mostly unavailable now, but you can find it on abandonware sites. Had even a CD version, fully voice-acted.

Kyleran

Yet I think MEO would have been a much better MMORPG than LOTRO is, and the Dune Universe could make a solid backdrop for a good open world game.

Not sure why people think games with popular IPs need to retell the stories already made, the whole point is to provide players a place to create their own story.

But SWG proved many folks lack the imagination for this, hence the "on the rails" story telling design we've been largely stuck with for so many years now.

Archlyte

Kyleran nailed it. Unfortunately many people just can't handle an SWG style game. That would be a perfect system for Dune where the skills you acquire are what make you. A deep crafting system would also be in line with dune, because artifice was something that was not frogotten by Herbert, and he seemed to emphasize how things work (paracompass from Dune 1 as an example). 

Something that may be a problem for some people would be the Spice. At the end of the day it's an addictive drug that kills you if you stop taking it. I think it could actually be used to make one of the best sandbox games ever, because you have an uber currency that has interesting uses. 

BG need it
Spacing Guild need it
Nobility need it
Tleilaxu need to counterfeit it

lots of stuff that could go on there, but the only issue is perhaps the importance of Arrakis. The other worlds are just minor distractions compared to the source of the spice. If players did not want to be involved in the Spice trade (harvesting, controlling, smuggling) they could go do things on the other planets, but Arrakis would be a PvP orgy. 

sunandshadow

Would "Dune-esque" just mean space opera or would it need to be a specific kind of space opera?  Because there are a lot of good space opera series and it would be possible to build an original MMO out of the best bits of several space opera series.  Whereas Dune itself seems like it would be difficult to convert to an MMO with lots of low- or mid-level adventurers running around interacting with each other and the world.

Dagon13

In college, a friend of mine convinced me to take a course on films because "Last year they watched Dune!".  Spent the next 15 weeks watching french films from the 60's.

Now Dune is synonymous with Truffaut.  Dune, forever ruined in my mind.

Archlyte

A distinction should be made once again concerning literary Dune and movie/tv Dune. 

The books have the great advantage of letting you imagine much of the details, where as the screen versions fill those details in somewhat tragic form. Witness the mighty sardaukar wearing giant chef hats in the sci fi channel dune, or the weirding modules and excessive bodily grossness in the Lynch movie. 

At its heart Dune is about man living in nature, philosophy, and metaphysics. These are arguably tough things to broach in n MMORPG, but an MMORPG is normally a simple take on a world anyway, so it would probably be something like:

Pick a House (Atreides, Corrino, Harkonnen, etc.)
Pick a starting profession (Warrior, Doctor, Technician (Crafter/Repairer), etc.)
Choose a starting location
Try to get some spice, money, or other goods
Try to avoid people killing you
Advance by demonstrating loyalty to House (Faction) through quests, gathering, crafting, or missions. 

Velifax

I found a game that fits my ideas of what Dune is/was for me; ... Totally forgot the name but its a great survival in the desert with tribes game on Steam. Brutal, mysterious, dry sand everywhere.

Phaserlight

Fear is the mind killer
Fear is the little death that brings total annihilation
I will face my fear
I will allow it to pass over me and through me
And when the fear has gone past me I will turn the mind's eye to see fear's path
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing
Only I will remain

...that's my version, anyway.  I thought it was important enough to memorize when I first read it, and now so many years later a few mnemonic variances are present.

It's hard to estimate Dune's impact. One of those monolithic works of science fantasy that has affected... just about everything.  Only Neuromancer might be a more recent prophetic book of the times. I'm not sure either would serve as the basis for a MMORPG, but you'll probably find at least some shades of each in almost every Sci-Fi flavored MMO out there.