{{short description|2019 video game}} {{distinguish|Dunnet (video game)}} {{Infobox video game | title = Dustnet | developer = SCRNPRNT | publisher = SCRNPRNT | platforms = Windows, macOS, Android, iOS | released = July 16, 2019 | genre = Action | modes = Multiplayer | programmer = | artist = | image = Dustnet cover art.jpg }} '''''Dustnet''''' (stylized as '''DUSTNET''') is a 2019 asymmetrical, action, sandbox video game developed by Canadian studio SCRNPRNT.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SCRNPRNT|url=http://scrnprnt.ca/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419093652/http://scrnprnt.ca/|archive-date=2019-04-19}}</ref> The game explores the theme of "dying" or disappearing multiplayer video games and their player bases,<ref name=pcg>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/dustnet-game/|title=Save Counter-Strike from disappearing forever in this surreal multiplayer game|last=Lahti|first=Evan|date=18 July 2019|website=PC Gamer|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718220644/https://www.pcgamer.com/dustnet-game/ |archive-date=2019-07-18 |access-date=2019-12-28}}</ref> with the gameplay being set around a copy of the Dust II multiplayer map, originally created for ''Counter-Strike'' in 2001.
== Gameplay ==
Many of ''Dustnet''{{'}}s features are in direct reference to ''Counter-Strike'', such as an unlockable "Bunny hopping" feature, selection between one "Counter-Terrorist" and one "Terrorist" team upon joining a server, and the presence of a bomb to be defused. A deathmatch mechanic is present, with available weapons being references to the ''Counter-Strike'' and ''Quake'' video game series.<ref name="rps1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/07/18/dustnet-is-a-strange-and-wonderful-dream-of-the-last-de_dust2-server/|title=Dustnet is a strange and wonderful dream of the last de_dust2 server|last=O'Connor|first=Alice|date=2019-07-18|website=Rock, Paper, Shotgun|access-date=2019-12-28}}</ref>
However, many of these features are inserted merely as references to the game's theme. For example, the bomb to be defused, which is a central point of importance in the ''Counter-Strike'' series, is of no particular importance in ''Dustnet''.<ref name="k">{{Cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/in-dustnet-you-explore-the-ruins-of-one-of-video-games-1836501932|title=In Dustnet, You Explore The Ruins Of One Of Video Games' Most Beloved Maps|last=Grayson|first=Nathan|date=18 July 2019|website=Kotaku|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720150801/https://kotaku.com/in-dustnet-you-explore-the-ruins-of-one-of-video-games-1836501932 |archive-date=2019-07-20 |access-date=2019-12-28}}</ref> Instead, players may edit and build upon the original "Dust II" layout, copying parts of it or laying down new map pieces such as teleporters, jump pads, and ammo pickups. Players with access to virtual reality headsets will appear to normal PC players as giant floating pairs of hands, which may smite or haul other players around the game world, as well as edit and build upon the level on a greater scale.
As a tie-in to the game's themes,<ref name=pcg/> a server's player-made creations are permanent for as long as there are players connected to it, but will be erased if the server becomes empty. Besides this, a server may go into a state named "low-energy mode", where the game's visuals and audio become more dull and muted. This can be prevented by executing game-related actions such as joining a server, searching through a defeated player's inventory, or planting the bomb.
The game features a free augmented reality companion app, available for Android and iOS. It allows players to observe and interact with one of the game's servers in real time.<ref>{{Cite web|title=DUSTNET|url=https://apps.apple.com/bs/app/dustnet/id1460537213|access-date=2021-08-30|website=apps.apple.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>
== Development == ''Dustnet'' was created and published by SCRNPRNT, a Canadian developer created by brothers Milan and Neilson Koerner-Safrata. The game was released on Steam and itch.io on July 16, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/987290/DUSTNET/|title=DUSTNET on Steam|website=store.steampowered.com|access-date=2019-12-28}}</ref> According to Neilson, he wanted to imagine the "death of a well known and loved space", here represented by the "Dust II" map for it being the most "resilient virtual space" in the world. Despite this, the game was not developed with the intention of reproducing the gameplay of Counter-Strike in mind, but focused itself on capturing the feeling of exploring game servers made in the Source engine.<ref name="pcg"/> The game's original soundtrack was composed by Iven Jansen.<ref>{{Cite web|title=DUSTNET Soundtrack by SCRNPRNT|url=https://scrnprnt.itch.io/dustnet-soundtrack|access-date=2021-06-26|website=itch.io}}</ref>
Following the release of their 2020 video game The Garden Of Earthly Delights, SCRNPRNT described both projects as "recontextualizing game space, allowing for open-ended play and consideration of video games situated from a broader perspective".<ref name="rps2">{{Cite news|last=Clayton|first=Natalie|date=2020-09-05|title=The Garden Of Earthly Delights turns Age Of Empires into an animal chatroom|work=Rock Paper Shotgun|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-garden-of-earthly-delights-turns-age-of-empires-into-an-animal-chatroom|access-date=2021-06-26}}</ref>
== Reception == Writing for ''Rock Paper Shotgun'', Alice O'Connor called ''Dustnet'' a "strange and wonderful dream", and a "fascinating way to remember a map, a game and a culture".<ref name="rps1"/> ''Kotaku'' praised the game as a fascinating environment, though commenting on the lack of goals and definite structures, and ''PC Gamer'' praised the game for its discussion of "ideas that feel essential".<ref name="pcg"/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://scrnprnt.ca/ Official developer's website]
Category:2019 video games Category:Action games Category:MacOS games Category:Windows games Category:Android (operating system) games Category:iOS games Category:Indie games Category:Asymmetrical multiplayer video games Category:Video games with cross-platform play Category:HTC Vive games Category:Oculus Rift games Category:Video games developed in Canada Category:Virtual reality games