Game:

Dig Dug (1982)

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MAME ID: digdug
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Dig Dug (c) 1982 Namco.

Dig Dug is a 1- or 2-player game with a color raster-scan video display. The screen shows a cutaway view of the land, most of which is below ground. The player controls the Dig Dug character who travels through and digs tunnels in the dirt. The object is for Dig Dug to destroy monsters by pumping them up or dropping rocks on them and to capture vegetables.

Gameplay takes place on a cutaway section of the land. The characters are Dig Dug and two monsters - one is a round, orange monster with goggles called Pooka, the other is a green, fire-breathing dragon named Fygar. The underground area is divided into four different colored layers of dirt. Rocks are scattered in the dirt. The sky is at the top of the screen.

The player controls Dig Dug, the hero of the garden, clad in white. He moves through horizontal and vertical tunnels. When Dig Dug digs new tunnels he moves slowly. When he is on the surface or in an existing tunnel, he moves faster. The object of the game is for Dig Dug to destroy all the monsters and go to the next round.

Monsters are trapped in caves. A monster may get out of a cave two ways. Dig Dug may dig him out. Then, the monster chases Dig Dug. The monster may also get out of the cave by turning into a ghost. As a ghost, he cannot be destroyed. The ghost does not travel in the tunnels. He travels through the dirt, and can travel diagonally. However, he reappears as the monster when he goes into a tunnel.

The monsters move faster than Dig Dug in vertical tunnels and slower on the surface. They destroy Dig Dug by catching him. In addition, Fygar can destroy Dig Dug by breathing fire on him. Fygar can only breathe fire horizontally. The fire can also penetrate thin layers of dirt.

Dig Dug destroys the monsters by pumping them up until they burst, or by causing rocks to drop on them. To pump up and destroy a monster, the player presses and holds down the Pump button. It is possible to stun a monster for a few seconds by pressing the pump button once or twice. While a monster is stunned, Dig Dug may pass over him without being destroyed. If two monsters are very close together, only one may be stunned. The other will catch and destroy Dig Dug.

Dig Dug must dig tunnels under the rocks to get them to drop. A rock may fall in a vertical or horizontal tunnel. A rock also goes through a thin layer of dirt from one tunnel to the next. In a vertical tunnel, Dig Dug may stay directly under a rock and it will not drop. However, in a horizontal tunnel, Dig Dug must move out from under a rock right away, or he will be crushed.

After two rocks are dropped, a vegetable (worth extra points, see Scoring below) appears in a tunnel in the center of the screen. Dig Dug has ten seconds to capture (touch) the vegetable or it will disappear. There is only one vegetable per round.

The game progresses by rounds. Round 1 starts with four monsters (one Fygar and three Pookas) and three rocks. The vegetable is a carrot. One flower on the surface (top right of the screen) represents Round 1. Two flowers represent Round 2, etc. As the rounds progress, the monsters move a little faster, and are better at avoiding falling rocks. In each round, the last monster tries to escape. If he is not caught by Dig Dug, he exits on the surface (top left).

The game ends when all of Dig Dug's lives are used up. A player may continue to play at the beginning of the same round (level) by following instructions on the screen. He or she has 16 seconds to insert a coin(s). Then he or she must push and hold the Pump and Start buttons at the same time.

- TECHNICAL -

Main CPU : Zilog Z80 (@ 3.072 Mhz)
Sub CPU : Zilog Z80 (@ 3.072 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Zilog Z80 (@ 3.072 Mhz)
Sound Chips : Namco 3-channel WSG

Players : 2
Control : 4-way joystick
Buttons : 1 (PUMP)

- TRIVIA -

Dig Dug was released on April 19, 1982 in Japan.

Dig Dug was a shining addition to the golden age of video games. The game's charming world and innovative game play made it an instant classic.

The main character of Dig Dug has a name in Japan, 'Taizo Hori', a pun based on the phrase 'Horitai zo', or 'I want to dig!'. He is believed to be the father of ""Mr. Driller"". He makes an appearance on the 2012 animation movie 'Wreck-It Ralph' from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

* A place in video game history : ""During the golden age of video games we saw a lot of novel approaches to gaming,"" said Chris Lindsey, director of the National Video Game and Coin-Op Museum in St. Louis. ""'Tempest', for instance, required things of its players that we'd never seen in a video game before. You had to learn a whole new set of skills to further the game experience. Dig Dug is another game that provided [...]
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