Dig Dug

Dig Dug
American arcade flyer for Dig Dug
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	JP Namco NA Atari, Inc.
Composer(s)	Yuriko Keino
Platform(s)	Arcade, Other
Release date(s)	JP April 19, 1982[1] NA May 1982
Genre(s)	Maze[2]
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Cabinet	Upright, cabaret, and cocktail
Arcade system	Namco Galaga
CPU	3x ZiLOG Z80 @ 3.072 MHz
Sound	1x Namco WSG @ 3.072 MHz
Display	Vertical orientation, Raster, 224 x 288 resolution

Dig Dug (ディグダグ, Digu Dagu) is an arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan in 1982. It runs on Namco Galaga hardware, and was later published outside of Japan by Atari, Inc.. A popular game based on a simple concept, it was also released as a video game on many consoles.

Objective

Screenshot of Round 1

The objective of Dig Dug is to eliminate underground-dwelling monsters by either inflating them with an air pump until they explode, or by dropping rocks on them. There are two kinds of enemies in the game: Pookas (a race of round red monsters, said to be modeled after tomatoes, that wear yellow goggles), and Fygars (a race of green dragons that can breathe fire while their wings flash).

The player's character is the eponymous Dig Dug, dressed in white and blue and able to dig tunnels through destructible environments. Dig Dug will be killed if he is caught by either a Pooka or a Fygar, burned by a Fygar's fire, or crushed by a rock he had loosened.

A partially inflated monster will gradually deflate and recover after a few seconds, during which time Dig Dug can pass safely through it. The monsters normally crawl through the tunnels in the dirt but can turn into ghostly eyes and travel slowly through the dirt. The last enemy on a round will try to escape off the top left of the screen - and if he succeeds, the potential points are lost.

More points will be awarded for exploding an enemy further down in the dirt (the levels are color-coded). Additionally, Fygars are worth double points if exploded horizontally, since they can only breathe fire horizontally in the direction they are facing. Extra points are also awarded for dropping rocks on enemies in order to eliminate them rather than inflating them. If one enemy is killed by the rock, it is worth 1000 points. The next two add 1500 points each, and any after that add 2000. The act of digging is itself worth points - giving 10 points for each block dug, so some players will do as much of it as possible while the threat from the remaining monsters is minimal.

After the player drops two rocks, fruits and vegetables and other edible bonus items, such as Galaxian flagships, appear in the center of the play field, 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 crush any enemies. In the original arcade version, the most points attainable from a single bonus fruit (or vegetable) is 8000 from the pineapple, which appears on every round of the game from the seventeenth round onwards.

If the player should drop a rock on an enemy at the same time he or she explodes him, a glitch will occur whereupon all enemies will promptly disappear, but the game will not progress and the player will be free to dig through all dirt. Attaining the next level of play will then remain impossible, but the glitch can be resolved by forcing a rock to drop (unless, of course, there are no rocks remaining).

The round numbers are represented by flowers in the top right of the screen, and each new round is noted at the beginning of each round. After every fourth round, the color of the dirt will alternate (as seen in this article's screenshot graphic). In successive rounds more monsters appear on each screen, and they move quicker. A round is completed successfully when the last monster is dispatched or succeeds in fleeing. In the original Namco version, the game will end on Round 256 (Round 0), since the board is essentially an unplayable kill screen; at the start of the round, a Pooka will be placed directly on top of Dig Dug with no way to kill him. Therefore, the game will basically be over at this point, regardless of how many lives a player may have remaining - but the Atari version corrects this problem.

Dig Dug Arrangement

In 1996, Namco packaged both this game and an updated variant and re-released it in arcades with the title Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2. The updated variant was named Dig Dug Arrangement, and allowed two players to play simultaneously, unlike the original. Out of the six created Arrangement games, this version has the least amount of changes. The graphics are updated and the rounds are different. There are also new features such as giant rocks which can fall down to the bottom of the screen, and special power-up items.

Dig Dug Arrangement was re-released alongside the original Dig Dug and ten other Namco games in the PS2, Xbox and GameCube versions of Namco Museum.

In this version of Dig Dug, there are balls (inspired by Cosmo Gang the Puzzle) that can kill a lot of enemies in a row, but too many "AÏE!" screams from them killing ice dragons, ducks or aliens, which can result in enemies disappearing for a short amount of time.

In 2005, Namco released another game with the title Dig Dug Arrangement, as part of Namco Museum Battle Collection. It is an entirely different game from Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2's Dig Dug Arrangement but still has the concept of being an updated variant of Dig Dug by having new graphics, obstacles, enemies, boss battles, power-ups, and so on. The Battle Collection edition of Dig Dug Arrangement was also released as part of Namco Museum Virtual Arcade for the Xbox 360, but with the multiplayer features removed.

Dig Dug Remix

The Dig Dug Arrangement from Namco Museum Battle Collection was also ported to iOS renamed "Dig Dug Remix" with the original Dig Dug included, but all multiplayer features were removed from that port.^[3]

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, even though the levels are as they are in the NES version of Dig Dug. Unlike the arcade version there is no kill screen at level 256, but rather the levels go on past 500.

Protagonist

Although Namco has officially given the character of the original Dig Dug the name Dig Dug, in other games where he makes an appearance, the protagonist goes by the name Taizo Hori (in Japanese order, HORI Taizo), and is the father of Susumu Hori, the main character in the Mr. Driller series. He is also the ex-husband of Toby "Kissy" Masuyo, the heroine of Baraduke. His name is a pun on the Japanese phrase "Horitai zo" (掘りたいぞ) or "I want to dig!" (掘り = dig, たい = want, ぞ = !) – a similar pun might be rendered in English as "Will Dig" or "Wanda (Want To) Dig". Many American gamers learned of his real name via 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 Dig Dug Incident". In Japan, he is also the Hero of the South Island incident and is the honorary chairman of the Driller Council to whom most of the characters answer. This contrasts greatly with the PC remake Dig Dug Deeper, where the hero is simply named Dig Dug.

Versions and ports

As well as the arcade version, Atari obtained the license for home versions of Dig Dug, and then released it for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Intellivision, Apple II, Atari 400/800, Commodore VIC-20, Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. Namco ported Dig Dug to the Nintendo Family Computer in 1985. A Game Boy version was released in 1992. Another version was released on a Plug 'N Play System, along with Galaxian, Pac-Man, Rally-X, and Bosconian. In October 2006, a version of Dig Dug was released on the Xbox Live Arcade. Namco Networks ported Dig Dug to Windows (bought online) in 2009 which also includes an "Enhanced" mode which replaces all of the original sprites with the sprites from Dig Dug: Digging Strike, Namco Networks also made a bundle (also bought online) which includes their Windows version of Dig Dug as well as their port of the original Pac-Man called Namco All-Stars: Pac-Man and Dig Dug. The arcade version has also been released on the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on October 20, 2009, along with its sequel, Dig Dug II and the original Dig Dug was released as part of the Pac-Man's Arcade Party 30th Anniversary arcade machine in 2010. The NES version for the Virtual Console was released in 2008 for the Wii and 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS, but as an import for Western regions when ported to the former.

Gakken made a table top handheld game of Dig Dug in 1982. It was one of a series of 3 flip-top games with VFD screen and magnifying Fresnel lens. The other two similar style Gakken handheld games were Konami's Jungler and Amidar. Dig Dug has been included on most Namco Museum compilations, and it is one of the three bonus games in the Wii and Nintendo 3DS versions of Pac-Man Party.

Legacy

A 1985 sequel to this game, the overhead-view oriented Dig Dug II, was much less common and met with less success in the arcades. Mr. Driller (1999) was originally conceived as a sequel, with the working title Dig Dug 3, but it developed into a distinct but related series. 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 11, 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. It was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in North America on June 9, 2008^[4] and in Europe on August 29, 2008, at a cost of 600 Wii Points.

Dig Dug was rated the sixth most popular coin-operated video game of all time by the Killer List of Video Games website.^[5]

It has been said that the music for the game show Starcade was inspired from the music for Dig Dug.^[6]

Cameos

Some bootleg arcade versions of Dig Dug were made, under the name Zig Zag. One version looked exactly like the original,^[7] and the other changed both the sounds and colors, as well as adding a pickaxe power-up that made the player move faster.^[8]

The character Pooka has many cameos in Namco games, most often as an enemy in Namco games such as the Pac-Man World series. Pooka was playable for the first time in the game Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness as an unlockable character for the multiplayer modes. He is also available to play as in Pac-Man World Rally, as well as Fygar. Pooka also appeared in the Atari licensed version of the Namco arcade game Pole Position on one of the roadside billboards. In Pac-Man World, he appears as one of the friends of Pac-Man who was kidnapped by Toc-Man.

In R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, there is an American racing team with Dig Dug artwork on its hauler and is named the "Dig Racing Team", run by manager Robert Chrisman. It is the "expert" team of the game. Also in R4, the track "Phantomile" has a giant statue of Pooka alongside Pac-Man on the left hand side of the finishing straight. The "Pooka Line" track, which is the first in the game, has a giant screen with a Pooka and Fygar chasing Dig Dug's protagonist in arcade-style graphics, which changes to him inflating a Pooka when the player takes the lead. In Ridge Racer 64, however, "Dig Racing Team" has to be unlocked by winning all the tracks in Stage 3 in first place – and waiting for the credits to roll, then defeating the car on the "Renegade Expert" track in Car Attack mode. This same game also features Pooka as a selectable car, which is unlocked by breaking the time record in any of the Ridge Racer Extreme tracks on Time Attack mode.

The Dig Dug universe and some of its characters appear in the Mr. Driller games, starring Taizo Hori's son, Susumu. Additionally, he is also a playable character in the Japan only RPG, Namco × Capcom.

Dig Dug was parodied in the Robot Chicken episode "President Evil."

In the Disney movie Wreck-It Ralph, Dig Dug, a Pooka, and a Fygar are three of the characters in Game Central Station. The Pooka and the Fygar are seen when the camera is moving from one of the tunnels, and Dig Dug starts trying to dig away from Ralph when he comes towards him.

In Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith Kevin expresses his joy at Bruce Willis wanting to work with him, and unable to find a film to suit his jokes about Bruce Willis as Dig Dug.

In Mario Kart Arcade GP, Pooka is used as a special character item for Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man.

In Noby Noby Boy, players can sometimes play on maps with Dig Dugs and Pookas.

In the fifth season of The X-Files, a character was featured playing "Dig Dug" in the episode "Unusual Suspects".

References

External links

• Dig Dug at the Killer List of Videogames
• Dig Dug at the Arcade History database
• Dig Dug at MobyGames
• Dig Dug guide at StrategyWiki
• Dig Dug on mobile at NamcoGames.com
• Dig Dug: Tips and History
• Dig Dug Series on the Open Directory Project
• Video from the C64 Version on archive.org
• Dig Dug for PC at Intel AppUp