Favorite Video Games #1

 Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig.

I can tell you the first time I ever played Dig Dug. It was the early 90s and I found myself at an urban amusement/theme park called Felicilandia. Note that Felicilandia sucked. Large and ungainly it was a county fair made permanent by the tropical latitudes. The sort of rides they truck in to the fairgrounds every summer? Those were held down by cinder blocks at this park. It had an open air arcade with rows of cabinets, their backs to each other, under a high zinc roof. There I first played Dig Dug. I don't remember anything happening or "clicking" in that moment but it is the only game I can remember exactly where I was when first playing it.

DigDug is a maze game, like PacMan*, except you make the maze as you dig through the brightly colored strata. There is a satisfaction in clearing away the level albeit that is challenging as the game eventually sends the enemies into a frenzy and speeds them up.

How you defeat your enemies? Will you poke them and then you blow them!** But, seriously you pump them up with air until they pop.

A great feeling in Dig Dug is finessing killing two enemies on both sides of you by flippings the joy stick left and right pumping one enemy and then flipping to the other before the first deflates. You are able to shuffle them back and forth until you are out of a jam.

You can always go deeper in Dig Dug save that not much changes save the color of the digital dirt. Your level is signified by a flower on top Roman numeral style. Each little tulip is one level and then big spindly one is ten. 

Dig Dug is the only game I can see I am somewhat good at. And good in the way of netting high scores. Not anything to specifically brag about. The world record is in the millions but I can get to 75,000 which is enough to hold it down on the arcade side. This is the oldest game on the list (1981) and it is one where you can memorize patterns and "get gud." The first few levels are all muscle memory save when you want to have fun and mess around. Clear all the spaces and try to crush four monsters at once with a rock. 

It is GREAT to crush enemies with a rock. You can kill them by pumping them. When there is only one enemy left, the last one freaks out and runs away meaning you can always leave one survivor. Crushing with a rock? Now that is classy. It is using a semi colon appropriately. It is satisfying like pulling a long seam of painter's tape off the baseboard. Two enemies at once with a rock! Just lovely. Three? Its Babe Ruth calling a home run blast. Four at once?! Pure power!

Dig Dug reminds me of The Happy Dog bar in Cleveland and playing for hours with out of town friends on the square table stop cabient. Your look down into the game and can set your drink on the glass! Later that night...we had an early Halloween party and told everyone we were expecting our first child. 

There is a Dig Dug port on the arcade game at work. One (the best) of the 5000 games on it. I swear no one plays the thing save for me (Dig Dug) and someone deep down the hall who plays Tetris. More digging for me. 

*Made/owned by same company and the DigDug characters are canon in the PacMan lore. Whether the lore is in the original games I doubt (Ms. PacMan had cut scenes) but the later games had something.

** I know that is not the exact quote but too good to turn it down