Denis Villeneuve’s latest cinematic masterpiece,Dune, hit theatres a few months ago, and thankfully, this one actually made some money. It was only a matter of time, then, beforeDunegames started cropping up, and at theGame Awards 2021, fans got their first look at a brand new 4X strategy game titledDune: Spice Wars.
The 4X (standing for Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) strategy genre is a perfect fit for a modernDunegame, with the genre’s focus on empire building seamlessly meshing with the narrative and world of the grand sci-fi series. And whileDuneis no stranger to the strategy game genre, being one of its first pioneers, there are a few lessons it could learn from contemporary 4X strategy games.
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Harkonnen Back To Its Roots
Releasing in 1992,Dune II: Building a Dynasty/Battle For Arrakisis widely considered to be the grandfather of all real-time strategy games. While there wereRTS gamesbefore it,Dune IIintroduced multiple mechanics that are now considered core to the RTS experience such as resource management, base-building, technology trees, and multiple factions. It’s fair to say that withoutDune II, some of the most beloved RTS franchises wouldn’t exist, or at least not in same way.
As such,Dune: Spice Warshas a lot to live up to, but it doesn’t look as though it’s going to retread the same ground. ThisnewDunegameis said to have “4X elements,” setting it slightly apart from its 1992 predecessor. While the original game focused on military domination,Spice Warswill allow players to win via multiple other methods such as an economical, technological, or political victory. So while the groundwork is certainly there for the franchise, it wouldn’t hurt to look to its current day competitors for some tips.
A True Civilization Revolution
TheCivilizationseries of games is one of the most successful modern day 4X titles, with even tens of thousands still playing the 2010 entry,Civilization V, every day on Steam. The series' success largely stems from its perfect balance between immediate accessibility, and deeper complexities, meaning that new players are eased in to the experience and experienced players are kept engaged with evolving gameplay mechanics.Dune: Spice Warscould take a few things fromCiv, and if its Game Awards trailer is anything to go by, it looks as though it is.
In the Game Awards reveal trailer,Spice Warsappears to be using a tile-based map system, similar to the iconic hexagonal tiles used in theCivseries. HopefullySpice Warswill take inspiration fromCiv’s sprawling and ever-changing maps, but bring a uniqueDuneflair to the map’s visuals and events. For instance, rather than coming across Barbarian camps, the player could stumble into Fremen ambushes orDune’s iconic sandworms.
Similarly,Spice Warsshould look toCivilization’s vast array of branching technology treesand unique factions to keep its game replayable. One of the core reasons why players keep returning to a decade-oldCivgame is that there’s so much to explore and experiment with within the game. Every faction has their own unique quirks, advantages, and disadvantages, and experimenting with these helps to keep players coming back time and time again.Spice Warsis perfectly primed to capitalize on this, being based on a series known for its world-building and depth. It’s clear, even from just watching the latestDunemovie, that the factions inSpice Warshave a lot of technological possibilities, from House Atreides and its Ornithropters, to the Harkonnen’s Suspensor technology.
WithDune: Spice Warsreleasing in early access, there’s plenty of time for it to grow and adapt, using its current competitors as inspiration. When the game releases fully, hopefully it will manage to put its own unique spin on the 4X strategy genre, just asDune IIdid all those years ago.
Dune: Spice Warsreleases in early access in 2022 on PC.
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