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Remake This Game: Dune
Let's Mine Some Spice and Win a War!
by Sarah
As some of you may know, I’m not a PC gamer in any way, shape, or form. In fact, the last PC game I played that didn’t have the word “sim” in it was American McGee’s Alice. It’s not that I dislike PC games; a few of them have caught my eye, and I’m sure if my computer could support more, I would give them a shot from time to time. However, I spend far too much time on console games to ever really call myself a PC gamer.
This wasn’t always the case, though. When I was growing up in the 90s, there was only one console in my house (my parents did this on purpose so they wouldn’t support the ever-growing “zombie army” of video gamers). One system and three kids did not equal fair play time for all, so sometimes I had to turn to the computer for entertainment. Some of my all-time favorite games came out for the PC during this time, like Doom II, all of those LucasArts adventure games, and of course, Dune.
Dune was released in 1992, and was based on a movie that was based on a book. The story is nothing new to science-fiction fans: in a galaxy far, far away on a desert planet, the protagonist mines some spice to make ends meet and gets involved in battle against an evil alien species, the Harkonnen. It may not sound like much, but the tale is one of the most revered in novel history and even inspired many more familiar stories that we know (what was that other movie in space that had a desert planet? Oh, right, Star Wars).
As for the video game, it loosely follows Frank Herbert’s original story, but the gameplay was something new entirely for its time. In addition to the adventure of traveling the planet Arrakis, the game also employed some strategic play at a time where real-time strategy games were almost unheard of. Balancing economic and military duties is the most challenging part of the game; if you don’t mine spice fast enough, you’ll feel the Emperor’s wrath, but if you focus too much on the spice, the Harkonnen will move in and take over.
Like most of my favorite old PC games, newer systems have made this game completely obsolete; I would need a computer fifteen years old if I wanted to run it in its original glory, or take a chance downloading it from the internet and hope it doesn’t carry a virus that will destroy my entire computer. However, why not give this game the remake treatment on a handheld system, perhaps the Nintendo DS?
The strategic gameplay would be perfectly suited for the DS’s two screens and touch controls. The top screen would serve as a map, an often-repeated strategy for DS games because it works. It could serve other purposes as well, such as giving updated information on the player’s troops all over the planet. The touch screen would be used for travel, conversation, and strategic decisions, such as whether to wait out a battle or join in and raise morale.
With more and more old games being remade for handheld systems, a Dune remake would fit in perfectly and give gamers a chance to play something unlike anything else on the market. Not quite strategy, not quite adventure, but a fusion of both, Dune combines an engaging story with addictive and unique gameplay. So don’t make me dig out my old floppy discs; just give me a remake instead.
Dune was released in 1992, and was based on a movie that was based on a book. The story is nothing new to science-fiction fans: in a galaxy far, far away on a desert planet, the protagonist mines some spice to make ends meet and gets involved in battle against an evil alien species, the Harkonnen. It may not sound like much, but the tale is one of the most revered in novel history and even inspired many more familiar stories that we know (what was that other movie in space that had a desert planet? Oh, right, Star Wars).
As for the video game, it loosely follows Frank Herbert’s original story, but the gameplay was something new entirely for its time. In addition to the adventure of traveling the planet Arrakis, the game also employed some strategic play at a time where real-time strategy games were almost unheard of. Balancing economic and military duties is the most challenging part of the game; if you don’t mine spice fast enough, you’ll feel the Emperor’s wrath, but if you focus too much on the spice, the Harkonnen will move in and take over.
Like most of my favorite old PC games, newer systems have made this game completely obsolete; I would need a computer fifteen years old if I wanted to run it in its original glory, or take a chance downloading it from the internet and hope it doesn’t carry a virus that will destroy my entire computer. However, why not give this game the remake treatment on a handheld system, perhaps the Nintendo DS?
The strategic gameplay would be perfectly suited for the DS’s two screens and touch controls. The top screen would serve as a map, an often-repeated strategy for DS games because it works. It could serve other purposes as well, such as giving updated information on the player’s troops all over the planet. The touch screen would be used for travel, conversation, and strategic decisions, such as whether to wait out a battle or join in and raise morale.
With more and more old games being remade for handheld systems, a Dune remake would fit in perfectly and give gamers a chance to play something unlike anything else on the market. Not quite strategy, not quite adventure, but a fusion of both, Dune combines an engaging story with addictive and unique gameplay. So don’t make me dig out my old floppy discs; just give me a remake instead.
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