History VideoGame / DigDug

''Dig Dug'' is a DiggingGame by Namco, first released as an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame in 1982. The objective of the game is for your player (initially just named "Dig Dug", but later changed to [[PunnyName Taizo Hori]]) to dig underground and eliminate all of the monsters on each stage using a special pressure pump to inflate them to bursting. You can also dig out the dirt beneath buried rocks to drop them on enemies. There are two types of foes: Pookas, somewhat harmless round things that bounce around and go about their business, and Fygars, dangerous dragons that can breathe fire. The further down you are when you kill an enemy, the more points you'll receive--and you score double for killing a Fygar horizonally. Throughout each level, you'll sometimes come across vegetables that will boost your score. The enemies can turn into ghosts and slowly work their way through the dirt to close in on you and/or run off the screen.

* SirCameosALot: Pookas tend to appear in other [[Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] games, especially games in the ''VideoGame/PacMan'' series.

[[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dig_dug_ds.png]]
[[caption-width-right:251:Killing stuff with an air pump since 1982.]]

* CuteIsEvil: The Pookas and Fygars are rather adorable.

* TunnelKing: Taizo Hori.

* WaddlingHead: The Pookas.

''Dig Dug'' is a DiggingGame by Namco, first released as an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame in 1982. The objective of the game is for your player (initially just named "Dig Dug", but later changed to [[PunnyName Taizo Hori]]) to dig underground and eliminate all of the monsters on each stage using a special pressure pump to inflate them to bursting. You can also dig out the dirt beneath buried rocks to drop them on enemies. There are two types of foes: Pookas, somewhat harmless round things that bounce around and go about their business, and Fygars, dangerous dragons that can breathe fire. The further down you are when you kill an enemy, the more points you'll receive--and you score double for killing a Fygar in a horizontal tunnel. Throughout each level, you'll sometimes come across vegetables that will boost your score. The enemies can turn into ghosts and slowly work their way through the dirt to close in on you and/or run off the screen.

''Dig Dug'' is a DiggingGame by Namco, first released as an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame in 1982. The objective of the game is for your player (initially just named "Dig Dug", but later changed to [[PunnyName Taizo Hori]]) to dig underground and eliminate all of the monsters on each stage using a special pressure pump to inflate them to bursting. You can also dig out the dirt beneath buried rocks to drop them on enemies. There are two types of foes: Pookas, somewhat harmless round things that bounce around and go about their business, and Fygars, dangerous dragons that can breathe fire. The further down you are when you kill one, the more points you'll receive. Throughout each level, you'll sometimes come across vegetables that will boost your score. The enemies can turn into ghosts and slowly work their way through the dirt to close in on you.

A few sequels have been released (''Dig Dug II'', the PC-only ''Dig Dug Deeper'', ''Dig Dug: [[SuperTitle64Advance Digging Strike]]'', and ''Dig Dug Online'') as well as a spinoff series in ''VideoGame/MrDriller''. Taizo himself appears in two Website/ShiftyLook properties, ''VideoGame/NamcoHigh'' and ''WebAnimation/{{Mappy}}'', oddly still being referred to as Dig Dug.

* ArmlessBiped: Most artwork depicts the Fygars having visible arms which are just hidden in-game by [[GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed the simple graphics]], but they have occasionally been officially depicted as not actually having arms, such as in the ''Namco Museum Battle Collection'' edition of ''Arrangement''.

* {{Intangibility}}: Pookas and Fygars normally walk around in their own pocket. Eventually they'll switch to ghostly eyes or faces to travel through the soil, and rematerialize when they reach a tunnel.

* KillScreen: At a certain level, enemies will start spawning right on top of you and killing you before you can even move. Repeat until you run out of lives.
** This happens only if you're experienced enough to make it to level 256 (which, since the game uses only a single byte to keep track of the level, wraps around internally to level 0). The game takes the level number and converts it to a number between 0 and 14. It then multiplies this number to create an offset into the tables that tell the game where to draw the tunnels, rocks, and enemies. Since the subroutine was not expecting level 0, it generates an offset that actually points somewhere in the middle of the game's program code instead of the tables. As it turns out, one of the values in that location causes a Pooka to be drawn right on top of Dig Dug. [[http://donhodges.com/How_Deep_Can_You_Dig_Dug.htm Don Hodges analyzed this bug in detail on his website.]]

* UndergroundLevel: Every level in the original is underground, with the player making his own tunnels. ''Dig Dug II'' simply uses islands instead.

* CuteIsEvil: The Pookas and Frygars are rather adorable.

* UndergroundMonkey: Games such as ''Arrangement'', ''Deeper'', and ''Digging Strike'' added multiple variants of Pooka and Frygar.

-->-- '''Creator/StephenColbert'''

** Taken UpToEleven in the original ''Arrangement'', where a text pops up saying [[TakeThatAudience "PoorPlay!"]]

* SirCameosALot: Pookas tend to appear in other [[CreatorBandaiNamcoEntertainment Namco]] games, especially games in the ''VideoGame/PacMan'' series.

Has nothing to do with [[{{Franchise/Pokemon}} Diglett or Dugtrio]].

* SuperDeformed

* ArmlessBiped: Most artwork depicts the Fygars having visible arms which are just hidden in-game by [[GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed the simple graphics]], but they have occasionally been officially depicted as not actually having arms, such as in the ''Namco Museum Battle Mode'' edition of ''Arrangement''.

* VideogameCrueltyPotential: Who ''hasn't'' tortured the last mook by trapping it in a continuous inflation/deflation cycle at least once?

A few sequels have been released (''Dig Dug II'', the PC-only ''Dig Dug Deeper'', ''Dig Dug: [[SuperTitle64Advance Digging Strike]]'', and ''Dig Dug Online'') as well as a spinoff series in ''VideoGame/MrDriller''.

* InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons: The Fygars. The original ''Arrangement'' adds one more type of dragon that hurls fireballs, capable of digging through dirt.

* UndergroundLevel: Every level in the original is underground, with the player making his own tunnels. ''Dig Dug II'' simply uses islands instead.

''Dig Dug'' is a DiggingGame by Namco, first released as an UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame in 1982. The objective of the game is for your player (initially just named "Dig Dug", but later changed to Taizo Hori; see PunnyName below) to dig underground and eliminate all of the monsters on each stage using a special pressure pump to inflate them to bursting. You can also dig out the dirt beneath buried rocks to drop them on enemies. There are two types of foes: Pookas, somewhat harmless round things that bounce around and go about their business, and Fygars, dangerous dragons that can breathe fire. The further down you are when you kill one, the more points you'll receive. Throughout each level, you'll sometimes come across vegetables that will boost your score. The enemies can turn into ghosts and slowly work their way through the dirt to close in on you.

* {{Intangibility}}: Pookas and Fygars normally walk around in their own pocket. Eventually they'll switch to ghostly eyes or face and travel through rock and rematerialize.

* MusicalGameplay: In the original arcade game and ''Digging Strike'', the music stops whenever you let go of the joystick/directional pad.

* FastTunnelling

* UndergroundLevel: Every. Level. Unless you're playing ''Dig Dug II''.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/928801_69301_front_8430.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Killing stuff with an air pump since 1982.]]

Taizo Hori himself appears in the turn-based strategy RPG ''VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom'', his backstory portraying him as a [[RetiredBadass retired soldier]] who now works as a [[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Digger]]. His ex-wife, [[MeaningfulName Toby]] [[InSeriesNickname "Kissy"]] [[SamusIsAGirl Masuyo]] from ''VideoGame/{{Baraduke}}'' (who is teamed up with ''Burning Force'''s Hiromi Tengenji), is also playable in the same game, [[WorkingWithTheEx still apparently holding a grudge against Taizo]]. The characters are respectively voiced by Creator/ToshioFurukawa (Taizo), Creator/YukoMizutani (Toby), and Creator/ChisaYokoyama (Hiromi).