Saturday, October 18, 2014

Dig Dug Vs. Mr. Do! - Which is a better game?


Among classic gamers, there are few subjects more controversial than Dig Dug Vs. Mr. Do!.
Online polls show that gamers are strongly divided over which of these two is the better game, with Dig Dug fans saying that theirs is the better of the two and that Mr. Do! is just a rip-off, where as Mr. Do! fans praise their game's extra depth and variety.

Today I'm going to try to settle this debate once and for all from the perspective of both a classic gamer and game designer.


For those of you who are unfamiliar with one or both of these games, Dug Dug and Mr. Do! are both vertically oriented arcade games from 1982 that have a similar game mechanic of digging through the play field and making tunnels. Dig Dug was developed by Namco, famous for previous successes like Pac-Man and Galaga, where as Mr. Do! was developed by Universal, who had some moderate successes with previous games like Space Panic and LadyBug.

Dig Dug is a game about a man in a protective suit who digs through the earth in an attempt to rid screen after screen of Pooka and Fygar monsters.
The player is armed with an air pump who's hose can shoot out several feet and stick into the enemies.  Using this pump, you can inflate your enemies until they explode.  There are also rocks which you can dig underneath of and drop on your enemies (or yourself), and after dropping 2 rocks, an item appears in the center of the screen which you can collect for bonus points.
Occasionally, the enemies will go into "ghost mode" and float towards the player until they intersect a tunnel.
When only one enemy remains, it will try to run away, which forces the player to give chase, or else lose out on the chance for some extra points.
Each round is basically the same, except for some slight changes to the color of the earth, increased number of enemies and increased speed.
The game also includes a continue feature that lets you start the game at the last stage you were on, but with your score reset to zero.

As for Mr. Do!: in this game, you play as a clown who digs through the playfield in the exact same fashion as Dig Dug, but you can finish the round in one of 4 different ways: collect all the cherries, kill all the enemies, Kill all the "Alpha Monsters" to spell EXTRA, or collect the rare diamond that awards a free game.  Instead of an air pump, Mr. Do! is armed with a ball that can be thrown and will bounce through the tunnels until it hits and destroys an enemy.  When a ball destroys an enemy, it disappears for a few seconds before reappearing back in Mr. Do!'s hands.
There are apples in the playfield that can be dropped just like the rocks in Dig Dug, but unlike those rocks, Mr. Do!'s apples can also be pushed.  On rare occasions, a diamond will appear after dropping an apple.
The enemies in this game are Dinosaurs, who appear one by one from the center of the screen. Once all the dinosaurs have entered the screen, the bonus item will appear.  Collecting this item will freeze all dinosaurs in their tracks, and 4 Munchers will appear followed by an Alpha Monster (Alpha monsters also appear every 5000 points).  Destroying the Alpha monster will net you a letter, and all remaining Munchers will turn into apples.
Dinosaurs will occasionally transform temporarily into a "digger" who will tunnel through the earth in an attempt to reach Mr. Do!
Each stage of Mr. Do! is shaped like a number, except for stage 1 which is shaped like a D, and as the stages progress, the enemies become faster and faster.


So, which of these two games came first, and was one of them a rip-off of the other?

Well, according to the Japanese release dates, Dig Dug came first in April 1982 followed 6 months later by Mr. Do! in October 1982.
With 6 months between the two games, it's quite possible that Mr. Do! was inspired by Dig Dug.  Adding to this theory is an unconfirmed report that Dig Dug was shown to the public at trade expos some time in 1981, which if seen by Universal at that time, would have certainly allowed them plenty of time for them to "rip-off" Dig Dug.

For Universal, Cloning other companies games certainly isn't without precedent.  In their earlier days, most of Universal's games were clones of other popular games.  For Example, 1979's Cosmic Monsters was an obvious clone of Space Invaders.
Though, as time went on, Universal's games became more and more original, but still tended to show influence from other games of the time. One example of this would be 1981's Lady Bug, which shows strong design influences from Pac-Man, yet manages to be a completely original game.

In the case of Mr. Do!, the game design shows clear influence from Dig Dig, but changes the game around quite a bit while attempting to improve upon it in several ways.

Regardless of who came first, it's time to decide once and for all, which of these two arcade classics is a better game.

The Battle!

Round 1: Graphics and Presentation (this round is worth 2 points)

The graphics for Dig Dug are quite good: the game has a nice title screen, excellent sprites, and pretty good colors for a game that's mostly dirt and rocks.
Mr. Do! also has a nice title screen, but Dig Dug's title screen wins out with it's large renditions of the in-game characters.
For in-game graphics though, Mr. Do! is definitely the more colorful of the two.  The enemy sprites aren't quite as good as Dig Dug's, but Mr. Do! has more variety: colorful apples, nicer looking bonus items, more enemy types, the dazzling starburst effect when you kill an enemy, and the cutscenes.
It's hard to decide a winner in this category, and I'd like to give the point to Mr. Do! for all it's extras, but the dinosaur sprites barely look like dinosaurs and the cutscene art could have been drawn better.
Round 1 winner - Tie. 1 point for Dig Dug, 1 point for Mr. Do!

Round 2: Sound  (this round is worth 3 points)

In Mr. Do!, you have a pleasant coin-up sound, a short musical intro which is followed by a fun rendition of the can-can that plays throughout the stage.  When the Alpha Monsters and Munchers are chasing after you, the music changes to a cute, but intense loop, and upon finishing the stage, you get a short musical outro.  
The cutscene that plays every 3 stages has a simple little tune, and when you get an extra life, you are treated to a quick rendition of the Astro Boy theme song.  The sound effects in Mr. Do! are great, with an excellent apple falling sound, a magical destroy enemy/ball re-appearing sound, and  the ball bouncing and apples hitting the ground sfx are quite good as well.
Overall, Mr. Do!'s sounds and music are well done and provide an enjoyable atmosphere for the game.
As for Dig Dug, it too has good sound: a cute coin-up sound, a nice musical intro and outro for each stage, and a fun in-game tune.  One major difference is that while Mr. Do! constantly plays it's music, Dug Dug only plays music while you are digging.  This gives the game an original quality of it's own, and although different, seems to work well.
Also, when the last enemy is trying to escape, the music speeds up to add to the tension/excitement.  The game has a nice high-score tune as well, but for sound effects, Dig Dug only seems to have very basic sounds, although they suit the game just fine.
Both games sound good, but Mr. Do! sounds better over all, and when you compare the two side-by-side, Dig Dug's sounds and music are more "tinny", and Mr. Do! has a greater variety of sounds in general.
Round 2 winner - Mr. Do!  1 point for Dig Dug, 2 points for Mr. Do!

Round 3: Gameplay (this round is worth 5 points)
  • Variety.   Dig Dug has little variety to it's gameplay: 2 fairly similar enemies, dirt, rocks, and a bonus item.  Mr. Do! on the other hand has a lot more variety: 4 ways to end the round, cutscenes, Alpha monsters, pushable apples, and a unique design for each stage.  The point goes to Mr. Do!
  • Replayability.  Both Dig Dug and Mr. Do! have a good deal of replayability.  Dig Dug is always challenging you to get a higher score, and taunts you every time you get a game over with it's continue function that makes you want to see what the next round has in store for you. Unfortunately though, all the next round has is more or faster enemies and an extra flower at the top of the screen.  Mr. Do! beats out Dig Dug in this category with it's Alpha monster system of earning extra lives and the lure of winning a free game by finding the diamond.  Both Dig Dug and Mr. Do! are designed so that the player needs to develop a strategy to progress far in the game, but Mr. Do!'s extra gameplay mechanics give a seasoned player more to keep them entertained.  The point goes to Mr. Do!
  • Excitement.  Both games are exciting, but Mr. Do! is just so much more exciting.  Dig Dug's excitement mostly stems from being swarmed by enemies and trying to stay alive.  Dig Dug is almost purely a game of quick reflexes mixed with simple strategies.  Mr. Do! on the other hand, while also a game that requires quick reflexes and simple strategies, ramps up the excitement in many ways.  For example, Mr. Do!'s ball:  The more you attack with your ball, the longer it takes to return.  While the ball is gone, you have to run from the monsters and focus on using the apples to your advantage; this adds an element of fear to the game which increases the excitement.  Also, the dinosaur enemies can push apples and sometimes drop them on you, which also adds to the excitement.  But what really makes the game exciting are the alpha monsters and diamonds.  When the Alpha monsters come out, the munchers come out too, and they're quick, meaning that you need to be alert to get your letter.  On the rare instance when a diamond appears, you have to try to grab it quick while trying not to get killed by the monsters.  all of this makes for very exciting gameplay.  The point goes to Mr. Do!
  • Game feel. These 2 games have a similar feel to them.  For digging through the dirt, both games behave exactly the same.  One plus that Mr. Do! has is the ability to push the apples, and one plus that Dig Dug has is that he's quicker to attack, making it easier to turn around and hit an enemy that's chasing you.  This is essentially a tie.  One point each.

Round 3 winner: Mr. Do!  1 point for Dig Dug, 4 points for Mr. Do!

Round 4: Appeal  (this round is worth 3 points)

Mr. Do! is a colorful, fanciful game with an appealing protagonist (unless you don't like clowns) and a great deal of variety.  
Dig Dug on the other hand is a little less colorful, and a bit simpler of a game. This simplicity works well in Dig Dug's favor, as there is virtually no learning curve.  
You have a game screen that you can dig through, enemies to get rid of and a weapon that is both amusing and effective.  You can immediately understand the game mechanics, the characters and the concept of the game by just looking at the marquee or title screen, and that goes a long way when trying to get people to drop a quarter into the machine.
Round 4 winner: Dig Dug.  2 points for Dig Dug, 1 points for Mr. Do!

Final score: Dig Dug: 5 , Mr. Do!: 8

When you carefully dissect these two games, it becomes apparent that Mr. Do! is the better game.  Even so, there is a massive fan base for Dig Dug that will always defend it as the better game.  Why is this?

As far as I can tell, Dig Dug's popularity stems from 2 factors: Simplicity and Name Recognition.  While some players strongly prefer Dig Dig's simplicity, others seem to choose this game because they're more familiar with it.

Consider this:

Dig Dug was developed by Namco, a company who was well known and well respected back in 1982 and is still respected as a great game developer even to this day.

Namco regularly publishes "Namco Museum" collections of their classic arcade games, which typically include Dig Dug.  By continually re-releasing the game, it continues to stay in the public's consciousness.  

Dig Dug was originally published and distributed in the U.S. by Atari; a huge, well known and well respected company who's name was synonymous with video games back in the day.

Atari also secured the rights to port Dig Dug to the majority of game consoles and home computers back in the day.

The game's characters are prominently featured on the title screen, marquee, flyer and side art.  This makes the game instantly recognisable and incredibly memorable.

Because of all this, more people have been exposed to Dig Dug than to Mr. Do!.
Greater exposure leads to more fans, and more fans leads to more people who prefer the inferior game.

So there you have it,  Mr. Do! bests Dig Dug in many ways, but loses a lot of potential fans due to Dig Dug's superior marketing and distribution.

This brings up a good topic:
Marketing and appeal are incredibly important things to consider when making a game.
Often, developers/designers are only concerned with gameplay and deadlines, and it's usually up to the art or marketing department to make sure the game has adequate appeal, but when designing a game, you should keep this in mind as well.

I'm sure you've seen it time and time again, a game comes out that isn't any better than another, but ends up becoming vastly more popular.
For example:
Bejeweled Vs. Candy Crush: candy has a little more appeal than jewels, add in an aggressive marketing campaign, and the game makes a fortune.
Crush the Castle Vs. Angry Birds: Crush the Castle came first, but the character appeal of the birds made the game a global phenomenon.
This is why is Hello Kitty a billion dollar industry: character appeal and marketing go a long way.

I believe that if Mr. Do! had an excellently drawn clown on the marquee, the title screen and the game flyer, it would have been a much more successful game.

So keep that in mind if you are designing a game, it doesn't matter how good your game is; a weak presentation will impact your sales.

Trivia:

Dig Dug wasn't the first arcade game to feature a player who digs through the earth, that honor goes to 1981's The Adventures of Robby Roto by Bally/Midway.

Dig Dug contains a hidden copyright notice that is accessed by entering the service mode, holding down the player 1 fire button and pressing Up 6 times, Right 3 times, Down 4 times and Left 8 times.

Dig Dug's hero was named "Dig Dug" up until it was revealed that his name is Taizo Hori, and he is the father of Susumu Hori AKA Mr. Driller.

In Mr. Do.! , if you dig out the dirt from around all sides of a cherry, it turns into a rose.


In the prototype of Mr. Do!, Mr. Do! was a snowman with a rake.


Also in the prototype, Mr. Do!'s head swells up and bursts when he dies. This might indicate that Mr. Do! initially started out as a Dig Dug clone, seeing as this death sequence makes a lot more sense if it were in a game about inflating your enemies to death.

And finally, the Mr. Do! character is based on the company logo/mascot that Universal used in the 1970's.
Here's a detail from the 1977 arcade flyer for B-29 / Scratch

4 comments:

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  2. The Mr. Do Snowman(Yukidaruma/雪だるま) prototype is really quite neat. Unlike the final release version, the Alphamonster doesn't chase you, it can't eat apples, there are no blue chompers, and when a diamond appears, all enemies freeze.

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  4. Dig Dug is more aesthetically pleasing and iconic.

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