Description
A group of scientists discovers an asteroid that is on its way to a collision with the Earth. Is there any way to prevent the disaster? Boston Low, a NASA veteran, is sent to command a space expedition on the asteroid. Accompanied by the journalist Maggie Robbins and the archaeologist Brink, Boston investigates the asteroid and finds a strange structure that undoubtedly belongs to an alien civilization. During the course of investigations, the team finds itself on a seemingly deserted planet. They have no knowledge of the planet and no possibility of going back. Will they ever discover the secret of this strange world and find a way to get home?
"Dig" is a point-and-click adventure game with a simple one-cursor interface and more complex puzzles than usually encountered in LucasArts' adventures. Despite having a serious story, the game follows in many ways the tradition of LucasArts' humorous adventures.
Alternate Titles
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
The Press Says
| High Score |
Feb, 1996 |
5 out of 5 |
100 |
| Adventure Europe |
Jun 22, 2005 |
95 out of 100 |
95 |
| Joystick |
Jan, 1996 |
90 out of 100 |
90 |
| PC Games (Germany) |
Dec, 1995 |
89 out of 100 |
89 |
| PC Gamer |
Feb, 1996 |
88 out of 100 |
88 |
| Aventura y Cía |
Apr 10, 2006 |
  |
80 |
| PC Gameplay (Benelux) |
Jan, 1996 |
76 out of 100 |
76 |
| Adventure Classic Gaming |
Jan 28, 2009 |
|
60 |
| The Good Old Days |
Aug 10, 2008 |
3 out of 6 |
50 |
| GameSpot |
May 01, 1996 |
4.5 out of 10 |
45 |
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Trivia
The Dig went through three phases of development while in production, each with different project leaders.
The first phase was led by Noah Falstein (of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis). In this version, the game was set upon a jungle planet, very unlike the final version. One major part of this version apparently was that you had to collect and consume food and water to keep your character alive.
The second phase was led by Brian Moriarty (of Loom and the text adventure Trinity). Moriarty tossed out all of the old art from the first version, as well as the "collecting resources" RPG-style elements.
In this version, there were four characters: Boston Low, Ludger Brink, Judith Robbins, and Toshi Olema, a Japanese physicist. As in the final game, this crew was transported to an alien planet via a ship disguised as an asteroid.
This version was controlled via a standard LucasArts-style interface at the bottom of the screen containing visual icons for the functions Examine, Pick up, Use, Move, and Talk, as well as inventory items. Strangely, the game was not programmed in LucasArts' standard SCUMM engine, but instead something called StoryDroid Development System.
After a long series of internal conflicts, Brian Moriarty left the company and Sean Clark took over the project. Clark was the one who actually got the game finished. He changed Judith's name to Maggie and removed Toshi Olema from the plot.
In early betas of Sean Clark's version, the characters looked the same as they did in Brian Moriarty's version (with Low and Robbins both having blond hair). These sprites were later changed and made more visually striking.
In addition, though early betas of this new version used an interface at the bottom of the screen with the same icons for interaction as in Moriarty's game, this was later rejected for the final "one-click-does-it-all" interface which the public saw.
Also, the voices in the final game were not the same as those heard in early betas of Clark's The Dig. Those unused voices lasted long enough to be present in the official demo of The Dig.
Steven Spielberg proposed the initial game idea to LucasArts in 1989, but the game only saw release in 1995.
