

Release ĭig Dug was released in Japan on February 20, 1982. Namco's marketing materials heavily call it a "strategic digging game". The team hoped to allow player-designed mazes which could prompt unique gameplay mechanics, contrasting with the pre-set maze exploration in Pac-Man (1980). Dotman" Ono, a Namco graphic artist, designed the sprites. Tasked with making Dig Dug's movement sound, she could not make a realistic stepping sound, so she instead made a short melody. Yuriko Keino composed the soundtrack, as her first video game project. Other staff members were primarily colleagues of Shigeru Yokoyama. The game was programmed for the Namco Galaga arcade system board by Shigeichi Ishimura, a Namco hardware engineer, and the late Shouichi Fukatani, along with Toshio Sakai. In 1981, Dig Dug was planned and designed by Masahisa Ikegami, with help from Shigeru Yokoyama, the creator of Galaga. Later stages vary in dirt color, while increasing the number and speed of enemies. Enemies eventually become faster and more aggressive and the last one then attempts escape. Įnemies chase Dig Dug through dirt in the form of ghostly eyes, only becoming solid in the air where his pump can stun or destroy them. Once all the enemies have been defeated, Dig Dug progresses to the next stage. Bonus points are awarded for squashing multiple enemies with a single rock, and dropping two rocks in a stage yields a bonus item, which can be eaten for points. Dig Dug can use an air pump to inflate them to bursting, or crush them under large falling rocks. The player controls protagonist Dig Dug (Taizo Hori) to eliminate each screen's enemies: Pookas, red creatures with comically large goggles, and Fygars, fire-breathing green dragons. It is in many Namco video game compilations for many systems.ĭig Dug is a maze video game.
Dig dug inflation series#
It prompted a long series of sequels and spin-offs, including the Mr. During the golden age of arcade video games, it was globally successful, including as the second highest-grossing arcade game of 1982 in Japan. Upon release, Dig Dug was well received by critics for its addictive gameplay, cute characters, and strategy. Namco heavily marketed it as a "strategic digging game". Music was composed by Yuriko Keino, including the character movement jingle at executives' request, as her first Namco game. It was programmed for the Namco Galaga arcade board by Shouichi Fukatani, who worked on many of Namco's earlier arcade games, along with Toshio Sakai. The player controls Dig Dug to defeat all enemies per stage, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rocks.ĭig Dug was planned and designed by Masahisa Ikegami, with help from Galaga creator Shigeru Yokoyama. Dig Dug is a maze arcade video game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in 1982, distributed in North America by Atari, Inc.
