I rarely play any computer games these days. It’s just more fun to do some work or learn something new then playing the next iteration of some shooter/RPG/RTS/whatever. Fortunately, there are some indie games on repertoire like Mount and Blade which I bought recently, Frayed Knights (not yet released but I played the pilot and generally like it) and a few more that I’m interested in.

Many times, general feeling I have toward the current state of the gaming industry is that games were better before. Of course, such statement is completely subjective. We all look at the past through the pink colored glasses, but anyway, there are many great old games. So, if those games are that great, why nobody plays them anymore? Well, I do.

These weekend I stumbled on Dune. I saw these game even before I had a PC. My friend played it and I was fascinated. And I still am. I started it many times and finished once. I actually do not remember how it ends and that’s the sign I need to play it again. But now I have this blog and desire to write down my thoughts so let’s analyze this game as an example of an old school game.

Gameplay

Dune is combination of adventure and real time strategy. You don’t build bases, produce units or research technology as in modern RTS games. Instead, you explore the world and talk to people like in adventure games. You can hire Fremen you meet to work or fight for you. Every now and then, some of the important Fremen will provide you with new options, units or technology. Of course, you don’t just collect them, they will be available to you when you became important enough.

You interact with the world in two ways. First, you travel around the world and directly contact the people. Second, you have telepathic powers so you can contact the Fremen at distance, progressively, from short range to planet wide.

Although the game is over when you win the last battle, you have several different tasks and goals.

• Spice harvesting. Emperor sent you to Arrakis to harvest spice and he expect you to deliver. He is interested only in spice and wants more and more.
• War. Harkonnen’s fortresses are just north. They are cruel to the Fremen so you need to lead them and fight back.
• Terraforming. Yes, the Fremen dream is vegetation on the planet. Later in the game, you can send ecologist units to plant the vegetation.
• The Mahdi. When you raise your charisma enough, Fremen will start to believe that you are their messiah. You’ll became one if you drive out Harkonnens from Dune and plant the vegetation

Innovativeness

It’s interesting to note that in todays terms, Dune is a hybrid of adventure and real time strategy. But when the game was released, RTS genre didn’t existed yet. It was defined later by the Dune’s successor, Dune II.

Micromanagement

The thing I love and hate at the same time. What happens in many games is that at the start of the game micromanagement is fun but as you progress and build your empire or fast food chain it becomes a burden and you lose more and more time to ensure that all production is optimized. Not that Dune solved this completely but I like how interaction changes as you progress. At first, you must fly the Ornithopter and personally visit the sietches to issue orders or view the troop status. After some time, you are given a map so you can view regions and troops but you still must fly to every sietch. Then, you get psychic powers to communicate with distant leaders. With time (and accomplishments) your power increases so you can contact them at greater distances and finally over the entire planet.

What’s so good about the game?

It’s very easy to get yourself immersed in this game. Step by step, it introduces you to the world. At first, your job is to go and visit the Fremen to convince them to work for you. Then the Emperor drops in to remind you that you are sent to Arrakis to mine spice, not to flirt around with Fremen girls. Now you must ensure a shipment of spice every week. You have to manage the production and regularly deliver the spice to the Emperor. When you get into the harvesting business, your father becomes uneasy with Harkonnens on the north and you have to organize the army. Fremen will fight for you only when you find their leader. When your soldiers are trained, you can start attacking Harkonnen’s fortresses. Now you need to juggle the spice production and war efforts. In the midst of fighting you get another revelation: there’s water on Arrakis and Fremen have a dream: vegetation on the planet. When you find Liet Kynes, the expert ecologist, you can start terraforming the planet.

There are no dull moments in the game. You know, the part when you are strong enough so there is no real threat anymore and everything is researched but you still must manage the economy and build units so you can take the enemy territory, part by part. In Dune, when you know everything you should know about the planet, there’s only final battle left.

If you are interested in this game, you can download it from Abandonia and run it under Dosbox.

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