Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty (also known as Dune II: Battle for Arrakis in Europe and in the Mega Drive/Genesis port) is a Dune computer game, released by Westwood Studios in 1992. It is a loose sequel of the computer strategy game Dune (although it shared no storyline or gameplay). Both games were based upon David Lynch's 1984 movie Dune, which was in turn taken from Frank Herbert's science fiction novel of the same name. A new house, House Ordos (not found in the novel or film), was created specially for this game.

While not the first real-time strategy game per se (the first being Stonkers), Dune II established a format that would be followed for years to come, and is the first to use the mouse to move units, giving much fluid interaction. As such, Dune II is the founder of the RTS genre in its modern form. Striking a balance between complexity and innovation, it was a huge success and laid the foundation for the coming Command and Conquer (which was nicknamed "Dune III" by some fans and detractors), the Warcraft series, and the RTS craze that endures to this day.

The player takes the role of a commander of one of three interplanetary houses, the Atreides, the Harkonnen or the Ordos, with the objective of wresting control of Arrakis from the two other houses. The basic strategy in the game is to harvest spice from the treacherous sand dunes using a havester vehicle, convert the spice into credits via a refinery and to build military units with these acquired credits in order to fend off and destroy the enemy. The game map initially starts with a fog of war covering all area which is not covered by the player's units. As the units explore the map, the darkness is removed. Unlike later games such as Warcraft II, the fog of war is lifted forever with initial exploration, it does not become dark once more when units leave the area.

In addition to enemy incursions, there are other dangers, like the marauding and gigantic sandworm, capable of swallowing vehicles and infantry whole, but only capable of moving through sand. The player can only build on rocky terrain, but must build concrete foundations before to avoid deterioration of the structures due to the harsh weather conditions. Spice fields are indicated by orange patches on the sand, dark orange indicating high concentration. Some spice may be concealed as bumps on the terrain (spice blooms) that become spice fields when they are shot at, or when an unit passes over them (the unit is destroyed in the process).