Line #27 VideoGame/TheDig1995


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5	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Dig_artwork_4692.jpg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:256:This can't be good.]]
7	''The Dig'' is a ScienceFiction graphical AdventureGame developed by Creator/LucasArts, released in 1995 and based on an idea originally pitched by Creator/StevenSpielberg. Unlike [[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland other]] [[VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle wackier]] [[VideoGame/SamAndMaxHitTheRoad adventure]] [[VideoGame/GrimFandango games]] by [=LucasArts=], this one has a much more serious tone, in addition to being a hard science fiction.
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9	The game starts when an asteroid appears, seemingly out of nowhere, on a [[ColonyDrop collision course]] with Earth. NASA sends a shuttle mission to the asteroid to plant nuclear charges in the hopes of deflecting it into a more stable orbit. The mission is an apparent success, but on a standard EVA to survey the "new moon", the astronauts discover that the whole asteroid is an artifact manufactured by intelligent beings, and inadvertently activate a device that transforms it into a starship, [[FasterThanLightTravel which whisks them off to a distant star system in the blink of an eye]].
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11	The three astronauts who make the journey - TheStoic Commander Boston Low (Creator/RobertPatrick), OmnidisciplinaryScientist Dr. Ludger Brink (Creator/SteveBlum) and [[IntrepidReporter Investigative Journalist]] Maggie Robbins (Mari Weiss) - find themselves on an alien planet, littered with the ruins of an ancient civilization (and a few previous abductees), with no apparent way to get back home. They must find a way to survive both the hostile alien environment and their own interpersonal conflicts while searching for a clue to the fate of the planet's original inhabitants.
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13	A novelization by Creator/AlanDeanFoster was included in the box with some releases of the game. If you're getting the game these days, however, it's more likely that you'll be getting the game without a box of any kind, since today it is sold by [=LucasArts=] on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and Website/GogDotCom (though the Gog version at least includes the manual). The game, however, had dialogue written by well-known SF writer Creator/OrsonScottCard and by designer-director Sean Clark. Card also developed detailed backstories for the main characters, which appeared in Foster's novelization.
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16	!!Tropes:
17	* ActorAllusion: "Have you seen this boy?" Delivered absolutely perfectly by Creator/RobertPatrick, who played the T-1000 in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''.
18	* AlienGeometries: Judging from their architecture and machinery design, the Cocytans are very fond of the five Platonic solids. The buildings and devices are full of triangles and pentagons, and have shockingly few right angles. See also SinisterGeometry below.
19	* AlienSky: The planet's two suns and two moons. [[spoiler:One puzzle requires Low to manipulate the moons' positions to create an eclipse. To be clear, changing their positions in a "planetarium" room moves the ''actual moons''.]]
20	* AliensSpeakingEnglish: First averted, later TranslationConvention is used when Maggie deciphers the alien language and then played straight.
21	* AllThereInTheManual: The novelization provides a ''ton'' of background information, to the point where, despite minor inconsistencies, it's required reading to really understand everything that's going on in the game. One of the more obvious ones is Cocytus, the name that Brink gives to the planet, which is never mentioned in the game.
22	* AlmostDeadGuy: [[spoiler:The Cocytan scientist is so ancient that the life crystals are losing effectiveness and he can only remain "alive" for minutes at a time before "dying" again, until the crystals lose all effectiveness and he dies for real.]]
23	* AlreadyUndoneForYou: Averted at first with Maggie in the library, then later played straight with Brink.
24	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: What happened to the original inhabitants of Cocytus. [[spoiler:Subverted in that it is ''not'' a happy, fun place to spend eternity.]]
25	* BaitAndSwitchSilhouette: Boston Low walks through a tunnel. The walk is shown from his point of view and at one point, he sees what appears to be a man's shadow. Then he rounds the corner and sees that the shadow was of a pair of rocks that happened to form a man's silhouette.
26	* BeautifulVoid: The six-dimensional space is described as this: beautiful, but empty of life.
27	* BittersweetEnding: Depending on the choices you make. The best ending baits the player with this before flipping it over to HappilyEverAfter... allegedly. However, the fact that the player does NOT have any life crystals to spare is a pretty major plot point, and the game is coded to prevent you from yanking the two crystals that you DO have out of the machine after [[spoiler: Maggie's death]], so accessing this alternate ending requires a bit of extra effort. [[spoiler:The trick is to get two extra crystals right after Brink dies by reactivating the machine.]]
28	* BoxAndStickTrap: A somewhat infamous case, due to its [[ThatOnePuzzle frustrating difficulty]], requires you to catch a scavenging creature so that you can find its nest, by constructing such a trap out of various bones and machine parts that are lying around. Collecting these parts in the first place is a maddening case of {{pixel hunt}}.
29	* BreakTheCutie: Maggie is pretty enthusiastic about exploring an alien planet at first. After [[spoiler:Brink dies]], she just wants to be alone, and she's pretty blunt about saying goodbye to Boston. Low's commentary gets much more pessimistic at the same time.
30	-->'''Maggie:''' ''(before)'' This is the greatest story of my life. The only trouble is, I have no way of telling it to anybody.\
31	''(after)'' Adios, ciao, sayonara, auf Wiedersehen.
32	* CallASmeerpARabbit: We have "rats", "turtles", "guard dogs", "bats", a giant "spider", a giant "eel", and so on. Low even {{lampshade\|Hanging}}s it by remarking how the bats on Cocytus have evolved to be just as "weird and disgusting" as the bats on Earth. The turtles, by contrast, have six legs and two shells.
33	* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Anyone resurrected with the "life crystals", especially Brink]].
34	* ColonyDrop: The threat of this provides the initial CallToAdventure for the story. The novelization gives more information about it but leaves unanswered the question of whether the asteroid really would have hit Earth if nobody had come up to stop it. One assumes it simply moves on to the next likely planet; otherwise the Cocytans are [[InferredHolocaust implied genocidal mass murderers]] on a galactic scale.
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36	* CunningLinguist: In addition to being the mission's reporter, Robbins was chosen because of her exceptional language skills. [[spoiler:She manages to translate the Cocytan language in a matter of hours, though she points out that it was designed to be easily translated.]]
37	* DamselInDistress: [[spoiler:Robbins is abducted by the spider monster, and Low and Brink have to save her. Though she helps them out with her rescue.]]
38	** Brink is a dude is distress... twice. And he [[spoiler:dies both times]].
39	* DeadpanSnarker:
40	** Low, most of the time, except when his frustration boils over.
41	** Robbins has her moments too, especially when feeling stressed.
42	--->'''Low:''' [[spoiler:Brink is still dead.]]\
43	'''Robbins:''' Thanks for the status report.
44	* DeathIsCheap: Especially when you can be quickly and easily resurrected by "life crystals"... [[spoiler:[[CameBackWrong except...]]]]
45	* DevelopersForesight: There's nearly always some response for using the life crystals on various bones and even electronic equipment, even if it doesn't impact the plot.
46	* DisneyDeath:
47	** [[spoiler:Brink (twice) and Maggie before their revival.]]
48	** One of the earlier versions that never got released averted this. Instead of the first death among the astronaut crew being [[spoiler:Brink falling down a hole and bloodlessly breaking his neck]], it happened when a Japanese astronaut tried to cross the hard crust on top of a suspiciously steaming lake. He broke through into the acid pool below, thrashed his way to the other side while ''literally melting to death'', and ended up a bloody skeleton on the far shore. In full view of the other [[WhatCouldHaveBeen three]] astronauts. Naturally, this was the version that introduced the HandInTheHole puzzle.
49	* DisneyVillainDeath:
50	** [[spoiler:Brink (though he only technically became a villain as he became further insane) before his revival.]]
51	** [[spoiler: Maggie does this as well if you try to bring her back with a life crystal]].
52	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Maggie, if you try to bring her back with a life crystal.]]
53	* DrugsAreBad: Ludger Brink and the life crystals, 'nuff said.
54	* EarnYourBadEnding: The fact that the player does NOT have any life crystals to spare at the end is a pretty major plot point, and the game is coded to prevent you from yanking the two crystals that you DO have out of the machine after Maggie's death, so accessing this alternate ending requires foreknowledge of the event [[spoiler: so you know to make two extra crystals after Brink's second death]].
55	* FantasticDrug: [[spoiler:The life crystals, in a sense. They make you feel so good that you become addicted to them.]]
56	* FanRemake: Not really a complete remake, but Website/YouTube user, rickonami, made a 1080p 60fps [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHJlIhpNS2I remake of the intro]].
57	* {{Foreshadowing}}: During the mission to the asteroid early in the game, Low can speak to the rest of his crew and hear things like "For all we know, Attila (the asteroid) could be a giant bubble." and "It could be a trap. Why? To catch some mice?"
58	** Also subverted when Robbins asks [[spoiler:the Cocytan scientist]] if there are more of the giant spider creatures around. [[spoiler:He replies with the evasive "There are as many as there need to be," which seems like it's implying that there are more, but the heroes never see any others.]]
59	* ForScience: The reason Brink gives for wanting the crystals. He explicitly [[spoiler:demands them from Low]] with these exact words.
60	* GhostPlanet: The entire planet is deserted of intelligent life, aside from a few mysterious ghostly apparitions.
61	* GoneHorriblyRight: What happened to the Cocytans. [[spoiler: They succeeded in creating a portal to another dimension, only to become lost and trapped forever, unable to find their way back.]]
62	* GoryDiscretionShot: The camera cuts away right when Low starts to [[spoiler:saw off Brink's [[HandInTheHole trapped wrist]].]] Subverted when the end of the scene shows the bloody stump being pressed into a life crystal.
63	* GreenRocks: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The "life" crystals]].
64	* HandInTheHole: ''[[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough Yeah right. Like I'm going to stick my hand in some crack in the rock on an alien planet.]]'' ...Brink, you dope!!!
65	* GuideDangIt: The planetarium, among a few other spots.
66	* HardLight: The "light" bridges. {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d amid a HurricaneOfPuns by Low and Maggie.
67	* HisNameIs: Subverted. When Maggie [[spoiler:is captured]], she is about to reveal [[spoiler:what it is that she's reading]]. However, [[spoiler:if you ask her about it after you rescue her, she states that it wasn't actually important]].
68	* HumansAreBastards: Played with. The Cocytans invite humans to come visit and study. Maggie warns the Cocytans that not all humans are as nice as them. The Cocytans just laugh it off, saying all young species are like that and if any human tries to pick a fight they can just squash them like bugs.
69	* HumansAreSpecial: Apparently, "not getting distracted by infinite shinies in heaven, and just staying put instead so everyone can find you" is humanity's superpower.
70	* HumanPopsicle: Not human but [[spoiler:the Cocytan scientist, when "dead" is kept in stasis in a pyramid under the tomb.]]
71	* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: As told in the novelization, "Cocytus" is the deepest circle of Hell in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy''.
72	* InformedAbility: Despite being a military officer and thus the most physically proficient member of the team, Commander Low is twice bested in a fight by [[spoiler:Brink, a scientist who probably hasn't been in a fight since kindergarten.]] The second time is even more inexplicable as [[spoiler: Brink]] manages to blindside Low immediately after declaring that he is going to kill him. ''Twice.''
73	** Low specifically states that he's choosing not to fight back: "And if I ever actually decide to fight you, I don't care how strong and healthy you are."
74	* InformingTheFourthWall: The main character continually talks to himself about various objects and locations, which is only aimed at the player.
75	* InsaneEqualsViolent: [[spoiler:In addition to being more violent, Brink becomes a more capable fighter as he becomes more paranoid.]]
76	* InsufferableGenius: Brink, even before [[spoiler:he goes crazy]], but afterwards gets delusions of superiority to his fellow humans.
77	* IntrepidReporter: Maggie Robbins, who is said to be the greatest reporter on the planet.
78	* KillItWithWater: Not so much the water itself but [[spoiler:Low's plan to get rid of the "spider" is to divert water into a strategically placed drain, thus knocking it off its perch and washing it away.]]
79	* LateToTheTragedy: The Earth astronauts missed the Cocytans by a undefined length of time that's stated to be at least a few million years, and they are far from the first to judging by the collection of abandoned rusting spacecraft they encounter.
80	* LetsSplitUpGang
81	** {{Justified\|Trope}} by Maggie when she argues that since [[spoiler:Brink died]], sticking together isn't necessarily any safer, and that therefore logically they are twice as likely to find the answers they're looking for by splitting up. It seems to pay off at first, when Maggie discovers the Library through means which could have killed Boston had he followed along, but [[spoiler:their separation eventually comes back to bite them in the ass when Maggie is captured by a giant spider]].
82	* LostTechnology: From the protagonists' point of view, certainly. Once [[spoiler:the Cocytans come back]], everything gets fixed up pretty quickly.
83	* MiniGame: The PDA has a very simple orbital lander minigame. Low even comments as you play, such as claiming "the button was stuck" if you screw up.
84	* MrExposition: [[spoiler:The Cocytan scientist]], whose main role is to provide the backstory.
85	* MultipleEndings: The game has a few extra scenes in the end depending on whether or not [[spoiler:you choose to revive Maggie with a life crystal]]. However, the fact that the player does not have any life crystals to spare at the end is a pretty major plot point, and the game is coded to prevent you from yanking the two crystals that you ''do'' have out of the machine after Maggie's death, so accessing this alternate ending requires a bit of extra effort and foreknowledge.
86	* NoBiochemicalBarriers:
87	** Averted with regards to food, as the humans debate and ultimately decide against trying to eat any of the plant or animal life they encounter. Fortunately (or not), starvation ends up being the least of their worries, although [[WhatCouldHaveBeen the game was originally supposed to have an additional survival mechanic where the player would have to keep searching for food to stay alive]]. The life crystals, on the other hand, are [[JustifiedTrope explicitly stated]] to work on both Terran and Cocytan biology.
88	** Also played straight with Cocytus' atmosphere, although the humans first use their suits to check if the atmosphere is breathable, concluding that it's "at least as breathable as the air in L.A." Low also mentions the possibility of airborne infectious agents, but Brink shrugs it off by assuming that they haven't evolved to take advantage of their cellular structures given they're the first humans to ever set foot on Cocytus.
89	* NotSoAboveItAll: The normally [[TheStoic straight-laced]] Low has an unexpected moment of pride after [[spoiler:killing one of the guard animals.]]
90	-->'''Low:''' That'll teach you guys not to mess with Boston Low, Space Commander!
91	* {{Novelization}}: There are several differences between the game and the novelization, such as the state of the alien ship. In the game, it simply disappears after bringing the trio to Cocytus (which is also only named in the book). In the novel, the ship becomes inactive. When [[spoiler:the Cocytans return]], they [[spoiler:build another ship in the game and reactivate the same one in the book]]. There is also considerably more going on between Low and Maggie in the book, which ends with them kissing. In the game, she either slaps or hugs Low (depending on player choices).
92	* {{Omniglot}}: Maggie, with the assistance of an UpgradeArtifact (the library teaching device), manages to become passably fluent in Cocytan in a matter of hours. It's said in her {{Backstory}} that she's "good with languages", being an IntrepidReporter. It's also justified in that the language was deliberately tailored to be easy for newcomers to learn. That Maggie learns to speak it perfectly by merely reading it for a few hours is still a stretch.
93	* OurGhostsAreDifferent: [[spoiler:They aren't even dead to begin with.]]
94	* OutOfContinues: Implied; the Alien Inventor exposits that the life crystals can't be used an infinite amount of times, and their effect wears off gradually with each use, until they fail to resurrect the target at all. This is never actually seen in the game proper, however, although the inventor in question ''is'' running dangerously close to that limit, since he can only stay alive for a couple of minutes each time you use a crystal on him.
95	* PixelHunt: The programmers went out of their way to make the game pretty. They were decidedly lax on making it obvious which parts of the gorgeous landscapes were objects that can be interacted with, or which parts were areas that you could visit.
96	* PlotlineDeath: [[spoiler:Brink (twice), later Maggie]]. Their deaths all happen in cutscenes, and there is no way for the player to prevent them.
97	* PunnyName: Brink, as he is driven to the brink of insanity, then over it.
98	* RagnarokProofing: At one point, Low comments on how Cocytus is completely unpopulated, but all the machinery seems to be working fine. Brink agrees, saying it feels like the aliens just stepped out.
99	** Most of the time, though, Low says the opposite: that after millions of years, the machinery has been pretty badly degraded. At the very least, repairing broken alien machinery is a pretty big part of both the plot and the gameplay.
100	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:The Cocytan scientist claims that the only way he can atone for his mistakes is for the life crystals to lose effectiveness entirely and for true death to take him.]]
101	* SaharanShipwreck: Of the crashed-alien-starship kind.
102	* SceneryPorn: And how!
103	* SeenItAll: Low is a Type 2 in the novelization, explaining why he is TheStoic.
104	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Brink when distracting the giant "spider". Lampshaded by Low, who is briefly distracted from the rescue by trying to figure out what Brink just said.
105	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Pretty much the plot. The astronauts found something inside the asteroid they just pushed away from Earth, but activating it sent them to an alien planet, and now they must get home. [[spoiler: Also the reason they were brought there: The Cocytans sent the asteroid in hopes that someone smart enough would decypher its secret, be sent to Cocytus, and in their attempt to get home they would hopefully figure out a way to bring the rest of the Cocytans back from Space Time 6.]]
106	* ShownTheirWork: You might think that all the Spacetime Six stuff is [[AssPull pulled straight out of the writer's ass]]. You'd be wrong.
107	* SinisterGeometry: The starship that takes the astronauts to Cocytus is shaped as a crystal dodecahedron.
108	* StarfishAliens: The Cocytans are as inhuman-looking as possible (a griffin is perhaps the closest reference for their appearance), yet they have their own well-developed language, a long history, rich culture, and impressive technological prowess.
109	* TheStoic: Boston Low. {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d ''several'' times by the other characters.
110	* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: The Cocytans, capable of constructing light bridges, near-instantaneous interstellar travel, and opening portals to other dimensions (specifically, a dimension with three space ''and'' three time dimensions).
111	* TheyCalledMeMad: How MadScientist Brink deflects the accusation.
112	* TimeTravel: [[spoiler:How Brink and Maggie are eventually saved.]]
113	* TrappedInAnotherWorld: The astronauts [[spoiler:...and the Cocytans]].
114	* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler:After seeing the [[CameBackWrong effects of the life crystals]], Maggie tells Low not to use one on her if she dies. After she's killed reactivating the Eye, you can use one to bring her back to life, but she commits suicide by throwing herself off a cliff to stay dead. Later, when the Cocytans bring her back properly, she slaps Low in the face.]]
115	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The Cocytans, especially the ancient scientist, who now only longs for permanent death, and does not even want his name to be remembered.

Context VideoGame / TheDig1995