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Dune has a long history of gaming, but the game adaptation of the genre is still difficult to grasp its essence. Frank Herbert's vast sci-fi universe is worth seeing, in part because of its complexity and the political, war, character, and economic systems that constrain the influence of each other. Transitioning such intricate content into a playable experience is a challenge. Shiro Games confronted this challenge with the upcoming Spice Wars. From the game's early demos, I saw the developers' nuanced understanding of the original subject matter, but only if they let the player understand the various details of the game.
Dune: Spice Wars is a 4X real-time strategy game where players control a faction and compete for spice resources on the desert planet Erracos. The Ertridi and Hakenam families, which we are familiar with, were the first factions officially revealed that players can choose to control, and the story between them is a staple of the first book of the original book and recent films. There are also two controllable factions that have yet to be announced. Each faction has unique abilities and at least some unique action units. For example, the Ertridi family can choose to live peacefully with desert villages, while the Haknan family cannot. The lower the blood of the Haknam family's soldiers, the more powerful they are.
Over the course of the game, you'll explore a procedurally generated map full of battles and resource acquisition opportunities. Use wind traps to collect precious water resources, or be the first to find and occupy the planet's icy Arctic for plenty of water. Find a spice colony and build a refinery nearby to harvest the precious materials extracted. All in all, you'll need to deal with a wide variety of resource and currency-related matters, including cosmic sox (currency), plastic concrete for construction, manpower and power, and you'll be attending the Lanzlad Council with other families.
Even if you play with all the resources in the game, the focus of the gameplay is to balance growth and expansion. Was the spice sold to the Union Chamber of Commerce, or was it stockpiled for the Imperial spice tax? The former will allow you to make money, while the latter will solidify your political position. If spying is sent to increase the odds of success in a competition, is it to curry favor with the Space Guild or to win the support of the local village?
During the demo, I enjoyed the classic gameplay of maps and units combined with military strategy and resource collection, as well as the experience of political strategy involved. It's fun to see your own factional army encounter skirmishes as they wander the map. The work of the Razlad family council is equally interesting, and you can push for resolutions that favor you while hitting rival factions.
The developers of Shiro Games clearly have a deep affection for the Dune universe and a thorough understanding of the charm of the original novel. But even so, the challenge of balancing the complexity of different systems is inevitable. Another conundrum is how to make the monotonous environment of the desert planet attractive enough for a long time to play. Fortunately, these are all problems that can be overcome, and judging from the early progress that the development team has shown in the demo version, I am hopeful about dune's modern strategic gameplay. The game will begin early testing this spring, when players will have the opportunity to provide suggested feedback for the game.
Translation: Yv
Edit: Tonkotsu ramen