Frank Herbert's famed novels, Dune: Spice Wars is in development at Shiro Games, known for other strategy titles like Northgard and Wartales, and will have players vying for control of the planet Arrakis. A new film from director Denis Villeneuve adapted the first half of Herbert's original novel this year, but Dune: Spice Wars has the potential to see the property's triumphant return to a genre of games that it once helped establish.
A watershed release for the real-time strategy genre is 1992's Dune II, which had much the same premise as the game, and a broader scope than the first Dune video game. That game was also an attempt at adapting the novel's story in a blend of the adventure and strategy genres, and it also released in 1992. Herbert's original Dune is much more popular than its five direct sequels, and its premise lends itself well to the strategy genre. Dune II and its predecessor, however, are rudimentary by today's standards, which isn't surprising given their age. Though Valve's canceled game Stars of Blood might have offered a more contemporary Dune-style take, a close modern analogue for Dune II in of gameplay and presentation might be the Age of Empires series. Yet ultimately, Dune: Spice Wars seems like it will be closer in vision to something as sprawling as Civilization.
Spice Wars, according to its Steam page, will include 4X elements, which is shorthand for "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate." The more general difference between 4X games and other RTS, though, is a broader complexity and the inclusion of diplomatic alternatives to warfare. Dune II was foundational to the genre, but put players in control of a military from one of Dune's Great Houses. Warfare is a central aspect to all of Herbert's Dune novels, but the complexity of a 4X game will better match the "plans within plans" nature of the universe's socio-political landscape.
Dune: Spice Wars Can Capture The Novel's Complexity
Dune returning to strategy video games with an RTS is fitting given its history, and will offer a fascinating look at how far the genre has come. 4X games existed when Dune II and its predecessor were released too (the first Civilization was in 1991), but modern games are wildly more complex. Spice Wars has a chance to capture the source material's multifaceted conflict in which many factions are involved in some capacity. An RTS primarily focused on combat gameplay couldn't adequately encom the ins-and-outs of Dune's story, which involves the Great Houses Atreides and Harkonnen, the Imperial House Corrino, the Fremen, the Bene Gesserit, the Spacing Guild, and much more.
The Dune books and movie adaptations are heavily character-driven, and Spice Wars' 4X elements can potentially let players step into that world with more agency, without restricting them to Paul's story like the original Dune game. Subterfuge and diplomacy are both ways ways Spice Wars can expand upon Dune's RTS gaming roots, alongside features like resource and population management. The Known Universe in Dune encomes trillions of citizens ruled by an extreme minority who are wealthy and powerful, and remaking the warfare-centric gameplay of Dune II would severely limit the game's scope. The original Dune game was singularly focused on Paul's story, but Dune: Spice Wars can use more expansive gameplay that has been successful for modern RTS games.
Source: Steam
