History VideoGame / BoulderDash

* TunnelKing: Rockford is the only character in the came that can tunnel through dirt, and he's quite the quick digger to boot.

* UnwinnableByMistake: Beyond the ability to ruin your own attempt at finishing a level, some levels are unwinnable.

Boulder Dash's primary feature is that boulders and diamonds are subject to gravity, [[SelectiveGravity but the player is not]]. A stack of rocks and diamonds will roll off of each other into a pile if there is room to do so. A careless player may find himself crushed or trapped beneath a mountain of rubble. Certain enemies, when killed, explode into diamonds which can either be collected or kill enemies or players beneath them. Other enemies simply explode, like highly mobile ExplodingBarrels, which can be necessary for blasting a hole in a wall.

Boulder Dash was also a technical achievement, with large, freely-scrolling multi-screen levels potentially filled with falling rubble and roaming enemies. It achieved this effect on relatively underpowered hardware by way of its InvisibleGrid; everything moved one "tile" at a time, and enemies were lethal if the player was simply adjacent to them.

* ArcadePerfectPort: ''Inverted'', as bizarre as that may sound. Boulder Dash was the first game to be ported from a home computer system ''to'' the arcade. (There were at least two coin-op versions, ''Rockford'' by Mastertronic and ''Boulder Dash'' by Data East.)

* FanSequel: Visit sites that offer ROM files of C-64 games and you will find literally ''hundreds'' of home-grown Boulder Dash sequels. ''Megablasters'' for the UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC was also massive.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BD_TitleScreen_7746.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:300: Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doooh-dooooooooh...]]

* TunnelKing: Rockford

[[caption-width-right:300: [[EarWorm Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doooh-dooooooooh]]...]]

* SequelDifficultySpike: It can be argued that the less-known "Boulder Dash 2", both for the Commodore64 and designed by Peter Liepa, [[MissionPackSequel requires the player to have played the first one before the second]], given that ''the very first level of the second'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Iv6WZ63XM requires the player to blast a hole in a wall by killing a dragonfly (the square-shaped enemy)]]. This game mechanic, alongside the Magic Wall that ''also'' shows up in the aforementioned first level, doesn't show up until halfway through the first game, and it's usually exclusive to advanced players [[ItMakesSenseInContext (trust us on this one)]].

* CameraScrew: While the camera tries to keep the plater in-view, it's possible to outrun the camera if the speed is high enough. Even without outrunning the camera, you have to be dangerously close to the edge to cause it to pan.

* RemixedLevel: Each base layout is remixed five times, with a random sprinkling of boulders and the like. The random sprinkle somtimes forces you to use different tactics, especially in crowded levels. Other levels remain dientical, changing only in time or gems needed.

* BrutalBonusLevel: the V-shaped (and thankfully optional) bonus round, depicted [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BD_BrutalBonusLevel_2125.JPG here]].

* NothingIsScarier: the only music outside the title theme is heard [[SongsInTheKeyOfPanic when the clock is ticking out]]. Imagine if the last ten seconds were represented by ascending notes, coming in the same number. As one Website/YouTube user commented on the above link (see "Ear Worm"):

* SelectiveGravity: An inversion of most video game examples: Everything is subject to gravity ''but you''.
* SequelDifficultySpike: it can be argued that the less-known "Boulder Dash 2", both for the Commodore64 and designed by Peter Liepa, [[MissionPackSequel requires the player to have played the first one before the second]], given that ''the very first level of the second'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Iv6WZ63XM requires the player to blast a hole in a wall by killing a dragonfly (the square-shaped enemy)]]. This game mechanic, alongside the Magic Wall that ''also'' shows up in the aforementioned first level, doesn't show up until halfway through the first game, and it's usually exclusive to advanced players [[ItMakesSenseInContext (trust us on this one)]].

* FollowTheLeader: Clones of this game eventually emerged. Many, like ''{{VideoGame/Supaplex}}'' and ''VideoGame/SubTerra'', were considered an improvement to the formula.

* FollowTheLeader: Clones of this game eventually emerged. Many, like ''{{VideoGame/Supaplex}}'' and ''SubTerra'', were considered an improvement to the formula.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BD_TitleScreen_7746.JPG
[[caption-width:645: [[EarWorm Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-doooh-dooooooooh]]...]]

''Boulder Dash'' was one of the more popular action-puzzle games of the 8-bit era, and remains the archetypal DiggingGame. First released for UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers in 1984 and [[MultiPlatform endlessly ported]], including to the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole. In it, the hero Rockford must explore a series of caves/levels, collect a certain quota of diamonds, and reach the exit without dying. Depending on how a level is designed, it could be evocative of {{Block Puzzle}}s like ''VideoGame/{{Sokoban}}'' or a hectic arcade game similar to ''VideoGame/DigDug'', minus the player's capacity to directly defend himself.

''Boulder Dash'' was one of the more popular action-puzzle games of the 8-bit era, and remains the archetypal DiggingGame. First released for UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers in 1984 and [[MultiPlatform endlessly ported]], including to the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole. In it, the hero Rockford must explore a series of caves/levels, collect a certain quota of diamonds, and reach the exit without dying. Depending on how a level is designed, it could be evocative of {{Block Puzzle}}s like {{Sokoban}} or a hectic arcade game similar to DigDug, minus the player's capacity to directly defend himself.

* ArcadePerfectPort: ''Inverted'', as bizarre as that may sound. Boulder Dash was the first game to be ported from a home computer system ''to'' the arcade.

* FanSequel: Visit sites that offer ROM files of C-64 games and you will find literally ''hundreds'' of home-grown Boulder Dash sequels.

''Boulder Dash'' was one of the more popular action-puzzle games of the 8-bit era, and remains the archetypal DiggingGame. First released for Atari8BitComputers in 1984 and [[MultiPlatform endlessly ported]], including to the [[NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and VirtualConsole. In it, the hero Rockford must explore a series of caves/levels, collect a certain quota of diamonds, and reach the exit without dying. Depending on how a level is designed, it could be evocative of {{Block Puzzle}}s like {{Sokoban}} or a hectic arcade game similar to DigDug, minus the player's capacity to directly defend himself.

Boulder Dash's primary feature is that boulders and diamonds are subject to gravity, but the player is not. A stack of rocks and diamonds will roll off of each other into a pile if there is room to do so. A careless player may find himself crushed or trapped beneath a mountain of rubble. Certain enemies, when killed, explode into diamonds which can either be collected or kill enemies or players beneath them. Other enemies simply explode, like highly mobile ExplodingBarrels, which can be necessary for blasting a hole in a wall.

''Boulder Dash'' was one of the more popular action-puzzle games of the 8-bit era. First released for Atari8BitComputers in 1984 and [[MultiPlatform endlessly ported]], including to the [[NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and VirtualConsole. In it, the hero Rockford must explore a series of caves/levels, collect a certain quota of diamonds, and reach the exit without dying. Depending on how a level is designed, it could be evocative of {{Block Puzzle}}s like {{Sokoban}} or a hectic arcade game similar to DigDug, minus the player's capacity to directly defend himself.

* FollowTheLeader: Clones of this game eventually emerged. Many, like ''SupaPlex'' and ''SubTerra'', were considered an improvement to the formula.

** ''Boulder Dash'' Intermission 3 is reported to be unwinnable on PAL systems. This optional level is not required to complete the game.
** ''Boulder Dash 3'' Cave A-5 is unwinnable, with a boulder blocking the entrance. Caves I-4 and I-5 also suffer from unwinnability.

* FollowTheLeader: Clones of this game eventually emerged. Many, like ''SupaPlex'', were considered an improvement to the formula.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: the GameBoyAdvance title, Boulder Dash EX, is an AdaptationExpansion of sorts, since it adds an enhanced single-player mode (with a JRPG-like plot and VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}-like items thrown in the mix) to a VideoGameRemake (with the same enhanced interface) of the original hit; but the fact the whole soundtrack [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4RToNusfHE&feature=related can be found on Youtube ONLY in a single video]] pretty much ''defines'' the "NeedsMoreLove" trope.
* EarWorm: the title screen may be the only music in the game (not quite: see "Nothing Is Scarier" below), but you know it uses ''well'' the limited powers of the Commodore64 when it gets stuck in your head like that. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14CAO72_pJw Listen for yourself.]]

* NothingIsScarier: the only music outside the title theme is heard [[SongsInTheKeyOfPanic when the clock is ticking out]]. Imagine if the last ten seconds were represented by ascending notes, coming in the same number. As one YouTube user commented on the above link (see "Ear Worm"):

* {{UnwinnableByMistake}}: Beyond the ability to ruin your own attempt at finishing a level, some levels are unwinnable.
** ''Boulder Dash'' Intermission 3 is reported to be unwinnable on PAL systems. This optional level is not required to complete the game.