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Creative Director Joel Bylos revealed more Dune Awakening gameplay details in a recent interview.

Some interesting Dune Awakening gameplay details were revealed recently as the upcoming Dune MMO's creative director, Joel Bylos, sat down for an interview with PC Gamer. Rather unsurprisingly, survival mechanics are going to play a key role on the unforgiving planet of Arrakis. Though lessons learned from other survival games like Valheim should hopefully make for a more accessible experience.

The perils of Arrakis are one of Dune's most defining features. So it's no surprise that Bylos has made survival one of the core mechanics in Dune: Awakening. However, he was keen to assure us that Dune Awakening gameplay will be a little more forgiving than other survival games. A decision that was apparently inspired by Valheim (clearly he hasn't played the Mistlands expansion, eh?)

The pressures of surviving in a world as hostile as Arrakis will be constant. Simply travelling from A to B will require the consideration of three "key systems", including the availability of sandstorm shelters, staying hydrated, and, of course, avoiding the gargantuan sandworms that are constantly listening out for vibrations. Though if you ask us, we're so eager to witness their colossal splendour that we'll probably be jumping on the spot just to catch a glimpse.

Other survival tropes will be present, just not as punishing. Spice will fill a similar role to food in other survival games as players find themselves depending on the natural resource to power-up. But they won't find themselves on death's door should they neglect this particular facet of life on Arrakis.

This, of course, mirrors the Valheim model, which allows players to keep playing on an empty stomach, rather than keel over. It's a savvy move, given how insanely popular the Viking survival game remains.

Another of the key Dune Awakening gameplay features is crafting. Crafting unique items will be tied to exploration, as players find themselves scouring the sands for secret schematics, and returning to civilization with what could be the only schematic for a particular weapon until the next Coriolis storm unearths it for another player. Which should make for a supremely rewarding crafting experience.