A player-created gas station in Dune Awakening is igniting discussions about a possible real in-game economy – if that’s what developer Funcom intends.
Start with some desert ground, a handful of generators, and a bit of storage – and voilà: the first complimentary gas station on Arrakis. Someone in the Deep Desert of Dune: Awakening took the plunge and simply assembled a few containers from which players can grab free fuel for their vehicles.
What may seem like a generous act soon fueled a multitude of imaginations on Reddit regarding how developer/publisher Funcom could transform the survival game into an MMO with a genuine economy.
The comment section surged below the post. DarthTeufel encapsulates it:
That’s how you initiate an in-game economy. With paid access rights and specialized crafting trees, a division of labor ecosystem would emerge rapidly… If the crafting trees were class-specific too, there would be adept crafters.
Fiercekittenz concurs and desires defined career paths to ensure not every player can suddenly master everything. Some even fantasize about automatic sales machines akin to those in Rust or Fallout 76, serving as selling stations.
Ultima Online as an inspiration for a genuine in-game economy
At this juncture, recollections of classic sandbox MMOs like Ultima Online resurface: Each character begins with a set number of skill points that can be allocated among professions such as blacksmith, tailor, or alchemist and then further developed. However, the overall skill point pool is finite.
For instance, those who focus on blacksmithing cannot concoct elixirs – making them valuable contacts for guildmates and other players. The restricted skill system compels specialization, generates scarcity, and establishes natural trade barriers. The outcome is an economy in which everyone possesses tangible strengths and weaknesses, making bartering essential.
If Funcom genuinely desired to, they could implement a point-restricted skill system necessitating specialization in specific professions and integrate automatic vending machines or player shops. This would instantly transform Dune Awakening into a dynamic player-driven economy with authentic professions and trading hubs. However, whether the developers truly wish for this remains to be seen.