Dig Dug

Dig Dug is an arcade game released by Namco in 1982. A popular game based on a simple concept, it was also available as a home video game available on many consoles, and had many arcade and home clones. Dig Dug runs on Namco Galaga hardware.

Objective

The objective of Dig Dug is to eliminate underground-dwelling monsters. This can be done by inflating them until they pop or by dropping rocks on them. There are two kinds of enemies in the game: Pookas are round red monsters who look like tomatoes wearing yellow goggles, and Fygars; green dragons who can breathe fire. The player's character is Dig Dug, dressed in white and blue who can make tunnels. Dig Dug is killed if he is caught by a monster, burned by a Fygar's fire, or crushed by a rock.

It takes four 'pumps' with the player's action button to inflate a monster to popping. If left partially inflated, the monster will deflate and recover after a few seconds, but half-inflating is a useful way to stun an enemy, especially to make sure it remains in the path of a falling rock.

The monsters generally travel through the tunnels, but they are capable of occasionally turning into "eyes" and moving slowly through dirt.

More points are awarded for eliminating an enemy further down in the dirt, and the Fygar is worth more points if it is inflated horizontally rather than vertically (because it only breathes fire horizontally). More points are also awarded for dropping rocks on enemies in order to eliminate them rather than inflating them. After the player drops two rocks, vegetables (and other edible bonus items, such as Galaxian flagships) appear in the center of the playfield, and can be collected for points if the player is able to reach them before they disappears. These edible bonus items will appear even if the rocks fail to hit any enemies.

In the coin-operated version the game ends on round 256 (round 0) since this board is unplayable. The last enemy on a level will try to escape off the top left of the screen. Level numbers are represented by flowers in the top right of the screen. In successive levels, more monsters appear on each screen and they move more quickly.

Dig Dug Arrangement

In 1996, Namco packaged both this game and a remake of sorts and rereleased it into the arcades. The remake of sorts was called Dig Dug Arrangement. Out of the three created Arrangement games, this version has the least amount of changes. The graphics are updated and the levels are different. There are also new features such as giant rocks (that can crush multiple enemies at a time) and special power-up items. The overall feel of Dig-Dug remains.

Dig Dug Arrangement was rereleased alongside this game and ten others in the 128-bit Namco Museum version.

Mobile Game

In 2005, Namco Networks released a version of Dig Dug for cell phones that is authentic to the arcade original in terms of graphics and controls.

Legacy

A sequel to this game, the overhead-view oriented Dig Dug II, was much less common and met with less success in the arcades. Another sequel, Digging Strike, was released in 2005 for the Nintendo DS. This combined the side-view play of the original with the overhead play of the sequel and added a narrative link to the Mr. Driller series. A 3D remake of the original, entitled Dig Dug Deeper, was released for PC in 2001 by Infogrames. Dig Dug will be released on the Xbox Live Arcade of the Xbox 360 in 2006. Mr. Driller was originally titled Dig Dug 3, but it later became a spin-off series rather than a direct sequel. It stars the son of Dig Dug's main character, and the storylines of both series are considered to take place in the same universe. Dig Dig was one of many classic games edited into television commercials for the Gametap website in 2005.

Trivia

A Dig Dug unit appears in the 1983 movie "WarGames".
The actual name of the protagonist is Taizo Hori, and is the father of Susumu Hori, the main character in the Mr. Driller series. Many American gamers learned of his real name via the (Japan-only) PlayStation 2 game Namco x Capcom and the Nintendo DS game Mr. Driller Drill Spirits, where he is also a playable character. He is additionally featured in an unlockable gallery of Mr. Driller items in Mr. Driller 2. In the Mr. Driller series, Hori is known as the "Hero of the DigDug Incident" (in Japan, he is also the "Hero of the South Island incident," A.K.A Dig Dug II), and is the honorary chairman of the Driller Council whom most of the characters answer to. This contrasts greatly with the PC remake Dig Dug Deeper, where the hero is simply named Dig Dug, and is likely an American; as this game was made by Infogrames and not Namco, however, it is not considered canon.
Pooka has had many cameos in Namco games. The creature will be playable for the first time in the upcoming game, Pac-Man World Rally, as will Fygar.
Pooka appears as a recurring enemy in the Pac-Man World series.
In Ridge Racer Type 4, a racing team has this sponsor. The blue "Dig Racing Team" was used in this game as an "expert team" as well as Ridge Racer 64.
A Dig Dug character, Pooka, makes a cameo appearance in the game Ridge Racer 64, but the game requires you to go into Time Attack mode on stage 7 or 8 and beat the record. No confirmation is given once you do this. You can even drive as this character.
In the summer of 2000 inline hockey teams honoring Dig Dug sprung throughout the Chicagoland area.
Dig Dug briefly appears in episode 3 of season 5 X-Files.
In the Drawn Together episode "The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist, Part 2", Wooldoor Sockbat, after being accidentally buried alive, escapes from his coffin and makes his way back to the surface; the animation for this sequence is designed to resemble gameplay from Dig Dug, with a sprite of Wooldoor replacing that of the game's protagonist. A flashback to this sequence takes place in "A Tale of Two Cows", only this time featuring both Wooldoor and Live Action Cow.

Image:A2600 Dig Dug.png|Atari 2600 port of Dig Dug Image:A5200 Dig Dug.png|Atari 5200 port of Dig Dug Image:A7800 Dig Dug.png|Atari 7800 port of Dig Dug Image:C64 Dig Dug.png|C64 port of Dig Dug

External links