Another Good Game
Today its Dune II: Battle for Arrakis a 1993 real-time strategy game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Games for the Amiga. It is based upon David Lynch’s 1984 movie Dune, an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel of the same name.
While not necessarily the first real-time strategy (RTS) video game, Dune II established the format that would be followed for years to come. As such, Dune II is the archetypal “real-time strategy” game. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation for Command & Conquer, Warcraft, StarCraft, and many other RTS games that followed.
Dune II was one of the most influential games in the real-time strategy genre, particularly in Westwood’s own Command & Conquer series. Though not every feature was unique, its specific combination of a fog of war, mouse-based military micromanagement, and an economic model of resource-gathering and base-building became the hallmark of the RTS genre. It served as the template for subsequent real-time strategy games. Chris Taylor has stated that Dune II and Command & Conquer were great inspirations, driving him to leave Electronic Arts to create Total Annihilation.
Watch the video I made below showing about the first 45 minutes of the game.
Video:
Dune II: Battle for Arrakis Gameplay.
Developer: Westwood Studios.
Publisher: Virgin Games.
Platform: Amiga.
Release: 1993 (WW).
Genre: Real-Time Strategy.
King Toko 