A quadra analysis of the Dune strategy games:

The Emperor: Alpha - he has the control over Dune and could give any house the right to collect spice, (for a lot of money) just as he wishes. But he is rich and bored, so he decides to play around a bit and with the cruelty of a child, he lets the three houses – Atreides, Harkonnen and Ordos – fight a war and whoever wins will get the right to get the spice on Dune, the most valuable resource in space. He doesn't take part in the fight until he realises that one of the contesters becomes very powerful, maybe too powerful to be controlled by him. And in the end, he atones for his recklessness.

The Harkonnen: Beta - (I'm sorry to promote the stereotype of the 'evil' Beta quadra again, but it really fits in this case.) The Harkonnen are a society in which the stronger prevails. They only respect strenght and power. It's overly negative, but they either love or hate things, there is no intermediate feeling. You're either with them or against them. They are very aristocratic, they mostly see the fight Harkonnen vs. Atreides and are very proud of their origin. The Harkonnen are the only ones who use nuclear weapons to reach their goal by any means, no matter the costs.

The Ordos: Gamma - The Ordos, clearly democratic, consist of different peoples who now live on a deserted, ice-covered planet. The Ordos are a society of traders who don't produce anything themselves, but rather import the goods they need (making use of highly advanced alien technology whenever possible). They are ruled by a cartel of the most wealthy families and prone to plot schemes against the ones in charge if they become an obstacle to their business. It's not their origin which unites them, it's the mentality they share. Cold-hearted, paranoid and mainly interested in profits, they only fight if it's necessary and cost-effective. The Ordos make use of cheap semi-mechanically clones for fighting purposes. Harvesting spice has typically a higher preference than fighting.

The Atreides and The Fremen: Delta - Both represent the typical Delta forces of goodness and peace through stability. The Fremen because they managed to survive at Dune and want to turn it into a better place, the Atreides because they see the power of the spice and don't want it to serve evil purposes. The Atreides are very aristocratic as well (We are the good guys, the Harkonnen need to be fought because they are evil.) but seek cooperation with the indigenous Fremen. The Harkonnen wanted to eradicate them. The Atreides live on a fertile planet with large oceans. They work hard, never lie and see the good spirit in everyone.

I always was an Ordos player.