Dig Dug

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Dig Dug

Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Atari
Release date(s)	1982
Genre(s)	Maze
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Platform(s)	Arcade
Input	4-way Joystick; 1 button
Arcade cabinet	Upright, cabaret, and cocktail
Arcade system(s)	Namco Galaga
Arcade display	Vertical orientation, Raster, 224 x 288 resolution

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.

1 Objective
2 Dig Dug Arrangement
3 Mobile Game
4 Legacy
5 Trivia
6 External links

[edit] 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 normally crawl through the dirt but they can turn into ghosty-eyes and travel slowly through the 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 disappear. These edible bonus items will appear even if the rocks fail to hit any enemies. The act of digging is itself worth points, so some players do as much of it as possible in situations where the threat from the remaining monsters is minimal.

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. A level is completed successfully when the last monster is dispatched or succeeds in fleeing.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Mobile Game

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

[edit] 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, Dig Dug: 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. The original Dig Dug was released for the Xbox 360 console via Xbox Live Arcade on October 11th, 2006. The original Dig Dug is also available for play via the Gametap subscription gaming service, and was shown in one of the television commercials for the Gametap website in 2005.

The Dig Dug game archetype has been reincarnated in such games as XGen Studios' Motherload.

Taizo Hori as depicted in the Mr. Driller series and Dig Dug: Digging Strike

Taizo Hori as depicted in Namco X Capcom

[edit] Trivia

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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. His name is a pun on the Japanese phrase "Horitai zo" or "I want to dig!"
Pooka has had many cameos in Namco games. The creature was playable for the first time in the game, Pac-Man World Rally, as well as Fygar.
Pooka appears as a recurring enemy in the Pac-Man World series.
It has been said that the music for the game show Starcade was inspired from the music for Dig Dug. [1]
In the video for the song "We are all made of stars", from electronic musician Moby, a scene is depicted where a sprite of Moby himself, dressed as an astronaut, is in the middle of a Dig Dug session.