Working on a licensed game is a double-edged sword. Yes, you could get to contribute to one of your favorite properties, be that Star Wars or Batman, but there are often hoops to jump through in terms of approval. In the case of Dune: Awakening, Funcom's had to build a reputation for being solid custodians of the 61-year-old sci-fi epic.
"We submit things to Jira, [Legendary] approve within a certain amount of time," Jon Bylos, chief creative officer at Funcom, tells gamesindustry.biz. "If they don't approve within a certain amount of time, we escalate to them: 'Hey, we need you to approve this'. Usually it's a pretty automated process. It runs pretty solidly."
You might think Jira is some fancy software, but it's actually a mundane project management interface. Among its potential uses is a ticketing system for transferring issues from one team to another, as described here.
Legendary is the license holder for the Dune movies, having produced both of Denis Villeneuve's films based on Frank Herbert's novels so far. Most of the time, Funcom can go straight there for a yes or no on the proposed addition, which is remarkably streamlined for a situation like this. Often, you have tedious meetings and phone calls with multiple stakeholders before getting the go-ahead, wasting valuable development time.
Occasionally, the devs are diverted to Herbert's estate, or the filmmaker himself for guidance or input. At one point, Villeneuve suggested the title Dune: Awakening "could be a little too close to Star Wars," but Funcom trudged forward anyway. Bylos mentions there's a strong collaboration at this point.
"When you've established that trust, the processes aren't necessarily as important: it's more about just knowing that the other people have the IP's back," he says. Dune: Awakening is now entering its second year, maintaining a community of people who enjoy riding sandworms around Arrakis. If all goes well, it'll continue growing well into the future. The spice must flow, as they say.
