The Backlog: Dig Dug

I chose to play the game Dig Dug from my backlog this week.I like arcade games and I hadn't played Dig Dug so I thought, why not give it a try. Dig Dug is a classic arcade cabinet type game with pixelated graphics and levels that have you going from one level to another akin to Pac-Man. You control a little digger that for some reason has a harpoon. The goal of the game is to pierce all the monsters that are underground with your harpoon by pumping them up like a balloon until they explode. While you do this you are digging your way underground vertically or horizontally within a single screen level to reach these enemies. There is also a small surface ground level platform above where you dig. The overall setting is kind of strange but interesting enough that it has an image all its own. 

There are two types of enemies, these dragon lizards that breath fire and then these little goggled ball characters. They can traverse the environment but not like you, all the time. If there's, for example, a tunnel you have dug, they will be able to walk in it. Otherwise they can turn themselves into either goggle eyes or eyes with smiles and, sort of like a ghost, go through the dirt to where you are and transform back and get you. Once you have destroyed all the enemies on screen the game will go to the next level. Each level has a different number of the two enemy types, as well as their placements within the screen. I forgot to mention there's these rocks that smash you, or the enemies, if you dig right underneath them and stay for a second. I was only able to get to level seven without losing all my lives. The further underneath the ground you destroy the enemies, the higher the number of points you obtain from them. There is a score that constantly goes up when you destroy the enemies. Also, even when you are digging around, the score increases. 

The first thing I thought was unique was the music in the game, it's only heard when the character is moving. Another unique trait of the game is the way the character interacts with dirt. I hadn't looked at the instructions when I first played, at first I thought the reason for the game was to get rid of all the dirt. The idea that the dirt itself is also a gameplay mechanic is interesting to me, as the very area you move around it can be limiting or not, depending on if there's dirt in your way.I wanted to also mention the harpoon again, no other game has me piercing my enemies and popping them like a balloon. Dig Dug has an identity all its own. For innovation, I’m not sure if this is the first instance of “dig-like” games. If so it is the grandfather of the digging genre we still enjoy today in games like SteamWorld Dig, and Minecraft. 

Since I wasn’t alive when this game came out, I needed to look into how this game stood apart from its competitors. Looking on Wikipedia it seems like the games around this time were more like Pac-Man, with the character eating pellets as they move around, here's a quote from the page: 

“In 1998, Japanese magazine Gamest called it one of the greatest arcade games of all time for its addictiveness and for breaking the traditional "dot-eater" gameplay used in games such as Pac-Man and Rally-X.”.

Wikipedia also reports in its reception section that, “Dig Dug was a critical and commercial success upon release, and was praised for its gameplay and layered strategy.” 

Site URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dig_Dug#cite_note-38

I think the game is still really fun to play today. I kept going back during my 40 minute play time. Repeating the same levels was enjoyable because of the sounds the character makes, and the animations of the exploding enemies, as well as the gameplay loop of digging, destroying enemies, and running away from them.