The Discussion Thread: The Greatest Games Event 2017 - FINISH YOUR LISTS

[The_Liquid_Laser]

#16 Dig Dug

Why did it make the list?
Dig Dug is a shining example of “easy to learn, difficult to master”.  The game looks so simple, but if you play it, then you find out just how incredibly fun it is.  You can either face your enemies head on by pumping them up til they explode, or you can dig tunnels and hope to lead them into a trap where a rock falls on them.  So simple!  However there are a lot of little details that give the game depth.  Like if you can squish multiple enemies at the same time you get extra points.  And of course after so many points you get an extra life.  So these are the sorts of things you take into account in trying to get to the furthest stage possible.

Also, I would say Dig Dug is the very best game in the “maze game” genre.  This genre is kind of dead right now, but during the 80’s it was extremely popular.  The most popular maze game was of course Pac-Man, but there were plenty of others: Burger Time, Crush Roller, Flicky, Mappy, etc….  What makes Dig Dug better than all of these other maze games is this: you get to make the maze yourself.  That is probably the biggest brilliance of it.  All of these maze games have a “cat and mouse” aspect to them, and while you are the "mouse" in Dig Dug, you also are given such amazing control over the game compared to every other maze game out there.

 

Original experience:
I remember playing this game in the 80’s and I liked it, but it didn’t have a huge impression on me at the time.  About a year and a half ago I started messing with a circuit board for one of those 60-in-1 arcade systems for my home.  I wired up some arcade buttons and joystick and such to the circuit board and started playing the game.  I really love so many of these games: Donkey Kong, Galaga, etc…, but Dig Dug is the one that stuck with me the most.  It is my favorite game from the “Golden Era” of the arcades.

 

How does it hold up today?
Extremely well!  Like I said I wasn’t really into this game in the 80’s, but now I really love it.  I feel like you need an arcade stick to get the full experience, but I think using a D-pad would be a decent substitute.