This was a great summary of the history of The Dig's development and of the game itself! I had made the original The Dig Museum site nearly 15 years ago, interviewing many of the crew members, some of which I gather you referenced for your video. Great job researching this from different sources. One small correction though is about Spielberg's involvement. All the project leads I've talked to, and the statements by other team members in other interviews indicate that Spielberg actually had very little involvement in the making of the game. Only a handful of in-person meetings and a few phone calls here and there during the five year development period. It's true that he had some specific ideas for scenes (which you describe and show) that got cut, but he never really designed any puzzles himself. Other than providing some brainstorming once in a while, Spielberg had no direct involvement in the making of the game, he was more like a very occasional creative consultant. Still, just a minor thing. The video is great and I'll be sharing it on The Dig's facebook page!
Santiago Méndez thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it! The Dig Museum was an immense help in researching and finding media for this video. And thanks for the correction about Spielberg. I guess I didn’t say it but I was in my head comparing his involvement to that of Lucas (as opposed to one of the developers). He seemed much more involved.
@@Cannotbetamed1 That's indeed a very fair point, he definitely didn't just lend his name to the project and was keeping tabs on it during its lengthy development. One thing I forgot to mention is this great resource you used of interweaving the story of the game itself with the history of its development rather just tell it chronologically and then show the game. It keeps it very dynamic and entertaining. Glad you took the time to tell this story.
The Dig is the best game ever created. Period. I have the game, the book and the audiobook. I love to dive in that whole universe. If you (or anyone else) are interested: I have created a dramatized audiobook of the game 😊. I am super proud of it. Took me hundreds of hours to make. I have included extra dialog that wasn't in the game and fleshed out the story. Adding lots of sound effects. It's simply an amazing experience for your ears, mind and soul!
I had the chance to visit your website back then and I recall it as the best fanmade web I've ever seen. It's a pity that all websites have to disappear at some point...
@@hechss Hey, thank you for the kind words! And the site will probably come back at some point, I still have all the files, so as long as I do there is hope.
I'm 51 and have played almost everything under the sun, on all the consoles. The Dig is in my top 10, even after all those years. The book was also a good read and once in a while, when I write my novel, I play some of the music from the game. I'm just bummed they never made the movie they said they would
Even in comparsion with modern and highly immersive RPGs (just to think of Mass Effect, or non-sci-fi giants like Baldur´s Gate 3 or others) for me it still remains the eternal "immersion champion". Never did I have such an intense and wonderfully "exploring a serene alien world-feeling". This is one for the ages.
My dad bought me this game out of nowhere and I had no idea how much it would impact me and my life. I work in music now and I have the kurzeil K2000 synthesizer that was used for the music in the dig. I didn’t realize so many people love this game and that makes me happy. Thanks for introducing more people to this masterpiece 😎👍
The Dig might be the most influential game from my childhood. It's great to learn all about it's history along with a refresher on the gameplay, nice job.
THIS GAME!!! I played it for half an hour on my dad's friend's computer, and the only part I did was reassembling the turtle skeleton to bring it to life so that it could be immediately killed again (poor guy). Ever since then, I've been trying to find it to no avail; "that one puzzle game where you revive and kill a turtle" yielded little information. But something in the thumbnail reminded me of the art style, so I gave it a go. Thank you! I finally have some closure on a mystery that has been in the back of my mind for decades! It's called The Dig! ...now to see if it's on GOG...
Despite its criticisms in media this game was nothing short of amazing and playing it for the first time after being accustomed to the presentation of earlier Lucasarts point and clicks was mind blowing. Thanks for the great video!
I've been playing this game since the day it was released. I'm 41 yrs old and I'm still in love with the game. One thing that has been with me all this time is: I want to travel to that sort of island/planet even though I know is fictional.
No matter what NextGen game comes out I always feel drawn back to The Dig. You are right in saying it gives a unique sense of wonder and adventure. It does not have too much hand holding. The art is so unique in each zone and the light effects are amazing for its time and is all still art to me. I love The Dig.
When I finally got around to The Dig, I remember being puzzled at the resolution and graphics as compared to "smaller" titles from the same period. Now I know why!
Deeply underrated sci-fi masterpiece. I’ll admit that the gameplay itself wasn’t the best, but the story definitely had me going. Very unique idea how you don’t even meet the aliens themselves until the end.
The quality level in this video is amazing. Must've been lots of work and time putting everything together. Well done, Pam! Feels like a homage. Also, I didn't know about this gem, so thanks for introducing it to me.
Aside from a few puzzle hiccups that she mentions (namely the "claw game" and holding down that mouse key) the game is a lot of fun and feels different from other point and click adventure games.
oddly, i quite liked the "claw game" puzzle. for this particular game, i tore my hair out at the turtle restoration thing. that was RIDICULOUS given the resolution of the era and the way the puzzle solution is presented in the game itself. you're MUCH better off looking at someone's reconstruction in a walkthrough and then just doing it from that. way less silly.
I recently got back to retro gaming, where I made a mobile retro gaming device (Daijisho) and run them as well on my desktop through BigBox. I ended up getting entire collections for each retro emulator, which added up to way over 20,000 video games. I started by playing everything I played long ago and missed. But what I really find myself playing mostly these days are the games I didn't get to play. Like some of the arcade games from the very early 80s. I was still too young to go to an arcade in 1980 and 1981. I play those games mostly when Im in the kitchen cooking and waiting for something to get done or at work. The other era of PC gaming that gets much of my attention are when CDees first started to be used. Games like Dune, Full Throttle, Tie Fighter, Discworld, etc. These CD based games didn't come in the collections I downloaded. I had to know which ones to look for. For example, I didn't even know Dune had voice. When I played it at my friends house, he had a bootleg of it, that had no voice. It wasn't until a vlogger like you showed it with voice on RUclips, that I finally knew. So I looked for it and downloaded it. I didn't know about The Dig. I want it. Im going to go get it now, LOL! And now Im going to see what other videos you made about LucasArts games. Thank you, so much!
It makes me so sad whenever I remember how 2D games were lambasted at the time for not being 3D or FMV because at that time that was just blindly considered "better". Street Fighter 3 got docked points because Virtua Fighter and Tekken were new and hot, etc. Lucasarts games have aged so well because of their stunning use of colours, distinctive character design and animation filled with personality and charm. And because the audience couldn't be just dazzled with hi-res lighting and bombastic action setpieces, much focus was on the writing and tone of the games. The Dig went through a troubled development, but it is a unique and memorable experience because of its strong atmosphere and rich alien sights. I love it, and this video honours it well! Thank you!
I am also sad about that initial push to 3D. Thinking of some of my favorite games and series... Quest for Glory 5, Gabriel Knight 3, and Lands of Lore 2 switching to 3D make them pretty much unplayable for me now. These beautiful 2D games still hold up though.
It's interesting how things have now gone full circle. So many games these days are intentionally made either 2D or with a story focus and the sota "graphics" don't really matter.
I could not agree more. That initial push for 3D over 2D cost the world so much amazing pixel art. Artists who had spend years honing their craft were put in the rough position of doing something completely new or being considered irrelevant.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video! The Dig has been one of my most often replayed games ever since I first played it as a kid in the 90s. It's really a gem, despite its imperfections. Not many games nail the atmosphere so beautifully from both the enchanting score and breathtaking visuals. I've listened to the soundtrack so many times (along with Robyn Miller's Riven soundtrack). At times when viewing a gorgeous sunset, with the colours matched just right, I'd hear the game's synth orchestral score. I grew up near the sea, so the summer that I first played this game was just surreal. Outdoors, there were underwater dives and sunset horizons, promptly mixed together with the game's audio/visual artistry by an impressionable young mind. That underwater airlock chamber for instance, with the blue crystal puzzle in the middle, has such an appropriately calming musical score, invoking a sense of cool sea air with a distant, almost whale-sounding ambience: ruclips.net/video/HniBCOOENl8/видео.html I could go on and on. Super appreciative of your retrospective!
The Dig soundtrack is truly amazing. It is one I still listen to all these years later to enjoy it's relaxing atmosphere. Robyn Miller's Riven score The Fissure/Finale is another favorite :)
@@lonesquiff6551 Omg that's awesome! :) Yes, the Fissure track is like resting your head on a soft pillow the way it softly starts, while all throughout the track an uplifting theme plays as if reminiscing on the past events, a sigh of relief perhaps, perfectly mirroring the more somber version of itself in the opening track Atrus. I had the great fortune of meeting Robyn at GDC after his Myst retrospective talk a few years ago; he was kind enough to sign my copy of the Riven soundtrack CD I travelled with. :) It's really interesting how we cling to these creative works, and ascribe so much value and meaning in them. Perhaps it was the more impressionable younger mind of its time playing tricks with us, idealizing a memory. Still, I can't help that through both the game's soundtracks, I feel that the memory is of me traversing an actual place, long ago. I swear I can pick up an imaginary aroma from some of the environments in Riven and the sea breezy caverns in The Dig. :)
I remember the giant marketing displays for the game at retailers like Egghead Software and Babbages. I was memorized, but didn't own a compatible PC at the time. So glad to be able to revisit classics like this, Loom, and The Fate of Atlantis via GoG/Steam.
I absolutely love this game. Point & click adventure games are what started me in the gaming world. I truly enjoy going back to my roots from time to time... Then I found the NES, and it spiraled out of control since then lol.
You're awesome! I'm actually a sound designer in television and I'm currently teaching myself Wwise and Unreal. I would like to transition to audio implementation in video games. But I came a bit late to gaming. I was an NES kid, and then a bit of Sega, even less PS1, and then the quantum leap to Xbox One.. your channel fills in so many blanks for me on the history and development of gaming. So much history I never even knew... thank you for your content. I learn so much from you. I also love when you throw in an opinion on a soundtrack or even a showcasing of a new vinyl release in your collection! Thanks for the lessons!
Love this game. I remember the weird days of MS-DOS and the funkiness of installing games, but even with those issues, we still loved playing this game on the family computer. Once I got my own laptop, The Dig was the first Steam purchase I ever made.
Probably my all-time favourite game due to its atmosphere, visuals and soundtrack. Great work summarizing the development hell this game went through, Pam.
There's a retro game stores by where I live that I like to frequent. They have a small PC gaming section. They always have Star Wars Knights of the old Republic, Fable and The Dig. I know of the first two but this one has been a complete mystery. Nice to finally see what this is all about, and get the backstory too. Great watch.
This was definitely one of the best games of its time. Especially with the majestic, epic music... amazing artwork, and... come on--the voice acting from SO MANY talented, professional artists was fantastic. Simply fantastic. The idea of "visual puzzles" working into math and science for alien means of inter-cosmic communication was epic, too.
I wasn’t much of a PC gamer but I did play through The Dig when it came out. Well done backstory on the game development. Makes me want to play through it again all this time later.
I'm glad you covered this classic. I can't believe people complained that putting back together the bones of that one bug like creature was too hard... just a screen or two before that you can find a fossil to see how one looks like..like the long neck for the head and the big legs in the back. Made it a lot more easy to solve finding and looking at this fossil.
What made it hard was keeping that visual in your head, walking over, and then trying to reassemble it. I seem to recall there was a weird overlap in the rear legs that wasn't immediately apparent lol
Thank you for this video. I hope a reimagining emerges. The music is simply the best thing that has come out of the Dig, and it still sounds good 25 years later!
Been waiting until I'd finished the game before watching this, which I just did less than an hour ago, and I enjoyed it more than I'd thought I would. Usually with this kind of hype surrounding a game, especially with much of it revolving around someone outside of the world of game development, it turns out not great, but like you said, this was a beautiful alien world that was an absolute wonder to explore. Great video, too; it really surprised me to find out that this game's development was so involved!
This is a fantastic video. Not just going deep on the game, but I love that you took the time to speak about the development and the historical context. Thanks for this, I loved it.
Excellent video, thank you for putting it together. The dig is a classic, one that I'm surprised has not been mined, no pun intended, for a movie since being made.
An absolutely wonderful job on this piece, Pam. I could tell during my playthrough, which ended with me frustrated and crystal seeking, that the quality of this game was terrific. The most enjoyment I had was watching a youtuber playthough it to the end. Another great job by you - many thanks for the entertainment!
Wonderful in depth video. If it wasn't for people like you putting in the work gems like this will be forgotten, so thank you so much for keeping them alive! I just recently finished The Dig again, and the game more than holds up today IMO. I honestly can't believe its this good after such a long and painful development process. I would only warn others that there are some explicit puzzle spoilers here that may reveal more than they want to know if they wanted to experience this amazing game first hand. Its available on Steam and GOG for only $6 which is a total steal for this game. If you're a fan of point/click adventure games, you owe it to yourself to play this.
I think that was how it started, but production on a movie was considered too costly so they made a game instead. But I don't have a source to back that up, I heard that in one of the videos about this game.
Thank you for such an in depth video! You did a great job highlighting behind the scenes as well as gameplay elements that made The Dig and underrated gem.
While the ending feels a bit rushed, and I am ambivalent on how they handled deaths in the last scene, I think it was very fascinating to explore this alien world, learn about its tragic history and see how it effects the human characters just trying to survive and find a way home. I was a great game, surprisingly so with all that it went through during production, despite its flaws.
Great video. I was just laying on my couch when all of a sudden this game randomly popped into my head. I haven't though about it in like 25 years since I played it, I was just instantly curious what anyone had to say about it on RUclips and here we are. It's funny, I actually remember a lot of those scenes you showed in this video, especially the sea monster spitting out the bones of that alien creature it ate. Thanks for putting this together, that was a fun trip down memory lane. I really wasn't expecting any kind of useful info on this one, I'm glad to see other people actually got a chance to play this one too.
Wow--marvellously put together video! Thank you so much! I had no idea about The Dig's storied history. It's a game my partner and I played a few years back thanks to a wonderfully eccentric and generous neighbour. For some reason I always remember the line, 'Light salad dressing,' but totally forgot about, 'Have you seen this boy?' All the best to you and yours.
I remember as a kid in the 90's that I saw a review of this game on a TV show here in Denmark called "Troldspejlet" which is pretty much the oldest running TV show we have that talks about movies, book, games and nerd culture in general. It's actually one of THE oldest still running shows on Danish TV to this day. Back then, it was always so fascinating to even see video game footage on the TV screen that wasn't your own. My mom would always record these episodes and I would rewatch everything that had to do with video games xD The Dig always felt facinating to me but it probably would have been WAY over my head back in the day as I didn't really start to understand English until 2000 or so. Heck, I had to call in my mom every other minute back then to translate stuff for me in Ocarina of Time. Regardless, this game as well as one called ToonStruck always stayed in the back of my mind and while I have since played ToonStruck, I haven't gotten around to The Dig yet. I probably should. Really great and detailed video btw ^^
This is absolutely one of my favourite games. The colours, the environments and backdrops, the characters, the mystery. I was big into astronomy as a kid and this still makes me wonder what else is out there... And how do I find it? Thanks for creating this, it's so interesting to learn the development of such an amazing piece of gaming history.
I dig how that shelf is always changing its display of games heh. I also really love The Dig. And the soundtrack by Michael Land (adding to my growing appreciation of electronic music), which was a happy bonus in the gamebox along with said novel. I think only one other game i know of that was shipped with a novel was Champions of Xanth. The Dig was a challenge especially back in the days of no internet. And it was such a departure tonally from previous LucasArts games. Maybe that's why i really enjoyed it... A serious sci-fi game with lots of exploration of alien landscapes. It was also 1 of 3 games (the other 2 being shooters) i've ever wrote a small review for on Steam. Your vid was definitely way more informative and 24 years later, i'm still learning something new about the game! So excuse me now as i've been compelled to revisit that world... Again... Thanks... 😊
Great video. I loved this game and agree the artwork was top notch. Also loved the setting, the mystery, and the sense of adventure. All around an awesome game.
Thank you so much for this video Pam! The hard work you put into it shows, it would not be out of place on The Gaming Historian channel. The quality of your videos just keeps getting better. I always look forward to seeing what you have in store for us each time. Keep up the awesome retro fun!
A loved the robot repair droid puzzle. The puzzle was to use logical induction to discover and identify what kind of interface was being presented to you. When short codes weren't obvious to me what they were doing, I started spamming 20x of one button into the interface to try to get a good sense of what that one button did. Pressing a lot of one button would make the robot move far in single cardinal direction. Several of the buttons did this, each in their own direction. It was a remote control! Then just to figure out every button and you have a repair droid under your command.
I remember playing The Dig on the demo disc when I was a kid. We could only play the first area where you were in that big valley sorta thing with the crashed ship. It was so weird but enticing, and for SO MANY YEARS I wanted to know what happened after. But I was a kid and didn't have the money. I think it was at least 10/15 years later that I actually played it when I could D/L off of steam. It was so worth it. I still think back to the game today. It was such a deep story, and beats the hell out of so many today for that alone.
I love this video so much my parents used to play this game when I was a kid. I played it years later to relive the nostalgia of watching them play. This was nice to see. I remember my mom getting stuck not knowing to hold the button down on the gems to make the Prismatic bridges to the center of the map.
I just found this video/channel. The whole retrospective was really well done. I had this game as a kid in ‘97 or so. I wanna say I got it along with a LucasArts pack because I was a big Star Wars fan. I totally forgot that Robert Patrick was the main character’s voice, and in 2020 I’m happy to know Steve Blum was kicking around even back then. My entire experience was getting a bit into the game, getting stuck on a puzzle that I couldn’t for the life of me solve, and thinking I’d come back to it. So 23 years later, I watched this video on RUclips. Great stuff here!
Very nice video. :) I didn't play The Dig back when it came out (I was still using an Amiga), but I played it years later in SCUMMVM. I'd heard negative things about it, but I enjoyed it. I loved the cinematic opening that looked like it was taken directly from an animated movie. I always though the ending was a little weak though. For me, the hardest puzzle was the skeleton one. I knew what I had to do, but it was so hard to match the small bones to the ones in the image that it took me quite a few tries to get everything in the right place. Everyone else I knew who played it also had trouble with that point. I also used SCUMMVM's fast mode to speed up entering the door codes. I loved the idea of using the shapes as combinations, but the animations for changing them were painfully slow. Especially as I tend to wander back and forth for ages before figuring out what I need to do. Personally, I didn't mind the art style. In fact, I always preferred the first two Monkey Island games over the later ones. The big, cartoony characters always made the screens feel cramped, and maybe it's just the way the games were designed, but it seemed like there was a lot less to interact with on each screen. Full Throttle felt that way to me as well. Anyway, it's a shame that The Dig isn't as highly regarded as the Monkey Island games are.
You will probably not read this, but as one creative to another you did a great job, and while I was not a computer gamer or will ever be, you piqued my curiosity. Keep up the great work Pam.
Personally, I believe the intro to this game is a piece of art 27:02 It shows you'd put a lot of work into the video. Thanks to you, I want to play the game again.
That part where you have to hold the mouse button completely made me stop playing when I bought the game as a teenager, I just couldn't finish the game without this part and I had no clue it had to be done. It is extremely unintuitive and not even hinted in some way through the game. Great job with the video btw, very informative and thorough !
I love this game. I remember going to Costco in 1995 and asking my dad to buy it for me. This and Full Throttle were a great influence on my childhood.
It's amazing what they did with what they had back then. Incredible art, music and voice acting all coming together for a great sci-fi adventure game. I love games like these that has you wondering what's out there and they nailed the tone of it.
I bought this game on Steam yesterday because of this amazing video. I've watched this three or four times now and never get tired of it. Thanks for making such a great episode!
You have a great skill with writing narration. Never felt formulaic or hard to understand, which is tough to accomplish! Awesome vid, thanks for putting in the hard work.
Hey! I'd forgotten about the novelization. I, too, read it. It was basically the game verbatim with erroneous extras as you mentioned. I always come back to this and Full Throttle when I want to experience a quick two hour game, as I'll never forget the sequence of events or how to overcome the puzzles. Like rewatching a movie. I do recall the turmoil at LucasArts, as I grew up during this era, and followed all of their games. With a monster interest in development. This video still added additional insight beyond what I already knew. Bravo. Subscribed. Will check out your other vids!
One of my all-time favourite games! I recently completed it because when it came out i got stumped on one of the puzzles near the end. I think it was that one where you have to hold down the button (not knowing you could do that) but could be remembering wrong. Great video!
I recently played and finished The Dig, this was my first time playing it. I have nothing bad to say about it. The art, animations and voice acting was amazing. A couple of the puzzles were a little annoying, I struggle a lot with the trap puzzle, where it didn't work as intended for ages. Overall I really enjoyed the game and I would highly recommend anyone to give it a try.
Although I did not play this game very much nor knew much about it, I appreciate all the time and effort you put into creating this video! After watching the entire video, I feel enriched and am grateful you shared this with us. Thank you for putting out such great content!
Great vid! One of my all-time nostalgia faves. Wonderful to revisit it like this. And whoa-I’d completely forgotten about Day of the Tentacle. Need to scratch a build together so I can get my retro PC gaming on. Best!
Just watched your video on Bloodlines, so I decided to check out your other work. I really appreciate how well researched and written these videos are. It's also refreshing to see left-leaning analysis of video games! (Anyway, yeah I totally subscribed)
Thanks for this episode, it was great. I think you hit the nail on the head - while The Dig has some gameplay issues, the story and joy of exploring an alien world really makes up for it. For a sci-fi nerd like me this game was and is so much fun.
Loved playing this game and Full Throttle during the Golden Era of Point and Click adventure games and was a huge part of my childhood. Took me and my brother months but we finally managed to beat it together. Fond memories and beautiful story. I honestly think I would have ended up dumber in my adulthood had I not played it. Thank you for covering this.
Always impressed by these types of videos. Most people just read a wiki and throw up any old thing. It is rare to find a well researched and well scripted video like this. Thanks for all your hard work.
great documentary this, and very spot on about the game, it is certainly unique and beautiful in it's way, the score is just incredible and the feeling of being alone and the alien world is not something many other games have managed to capture in the same way, at least that i can recall
This was a great summary of the history of The Dig's development and of the game itself! I had made the original The Dig Museum site nearly 15 years ago, interviewing many of the crew members, some of which I gather you referenced for your video. Great job researching this from different sources. One small correction though is about Spielberg's involvement. All the project leads I've talked to, and the statements by other team members in other interviews indicate that Spielberg actually had very little involvement in the making of the game. Only a handful of in-person meetings and a few phone calls here and there during the five year development period. It's true that he had some specific ideas for scenes (which you describe and show) that got cut, but he never really designed any puzzles himself. Other than providing some brainstorming once in a while, Spielberg had no direct involvement in the making of the game, he was more like a very occasional creative consultant.
Still, just a minor thing. The video is great and I'll be sharing it on The Dig's facebook page!
Santiago Méndez thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it! The Dig Museum was an immense help in researching and finding media for this video.
And thanks for the correction about Spielberg. I guess I didn’t say it but I was in my head comparing his involvement to that of Lucas (as opposed to one of the developers). He seemed much more involved.
@@Cannotbetamed1 That's indeed a very fair point, he definitely didn't just lend his name to the project and was keeping tabs on it during its lengthy development.
One thing I forgot to mention is this great resource you used of interweaving the story of the game itself with the history of its development rather just tell it chronologically and then show the game. It keeps it very dynamic and entertaining. Glad you took the time to tell this story.
The Dig is the best game ever created. Period.
I have the game, the book and the audiobook. I love to dive in that whole universe.
If you (or anyone else) are interested: I have created a dramatized audiobook of the game 😊. I am super proud of it. Took me hundreds of hours to make. I have included extra dialog that wasn't in the game and fleshed out the story. Adding lots of sound effects.
It's simply an amazing experience for your ears, mind and soul!
I had the chance to visit your website back then and I recall it as the best fanmade web I've ever seen. It's a pity that all websites have to disappear at some point...
@@hechss Hey, thank you for the kind words! And the site will probably come back at some point, I still have all the files, so as long as I do there is hope.
I'm 51 and have played almost everything under the sun, on all the consoles. The Dig is in my top 10, even after all those years. The book was also a good read and once in a while, when I write my novel, I play some of the music from the game.
I'm just bummed they never made the movie they said they would
¿Can you share your top 10 pls? 51 has so much knowledge on it.
Hmm did you play any games on the Magnavox Odyssey 2/Videopac?
What's the novel about?
also interested in hearing your other top 9
@@alejandropardo4891 came to say this
Even in comparsion with modern and highly immersive RPGs (just to think of Mass Effect, or non-sci-fi giants like Baldur´s Gate 3 or others) for me it still remains the eternal "immersion champion". Never did I have such an intense and wonderfully "exploring a serene alien world-feeling". This is one for the ages.
My dad bought me this game out of nowhere and I had no idea how much it would impact me and my life. I work in music now and I have the kurzeil K2000 synthesizer that was used for the music in the dig. I didn’t realize so many people love this game and that makes me happy. Thanks for introducing more people to this masterpiece 😎👍
The Dig might be the most influential game from my childhood. It's great to learn all about it's history along with a refresher on the gameplay, nice job.
Thanks!
THIS GAME!!! I played it for half an hour on my dad's friend's computer, and the only part I did was reassembling the turtle skeleton to bring it to life so that it could be immediately killed again (poor guy). Ever since then, I've been trying to find it to no avail; "that one puzzle game where you revive and kill a turtle" yielded little information. But something in the thumbnail reminded me of the art style, so I gave it a go. Thank you! I finally have some closure on a mystery that has been in the back of my mind for decades! It's called The Dig! ...now to see if it's on GOG...
Glad to help solve that mystery! Have fun with the game.
It's on GOG.
Woah didn't know orson scott card was involved too. The amount of talent that touched this is amazing.
Despite its criticisms in media this game was nothing short of amazing and playing it for the first time after being accustomed to the presentation of earlier Lucasarts point and clicks was mind blowing. Thanks for the great video!
I've been playing this game since the day it was released. I'm 41 yrs old and I'm still in love with the game. One thing that has been with me all this time is: I want to travel to that sort of island/planet even though I know is fictional.
What a masterpiece. The music with the feeling of discover things was a perfect combination that push through the entire game.
The music really made The Dig a truly immersive experience. I still play the soundtrack on its own when ever I'm working on the computer.
No matter what NextGen game comes out I always feel drawn back to The Dig. You are right in saying it gives a unique sense of wonder and adventure. It does not have too much hand holding. The art is so unique in each zone and the light effects are amazing for its time and is all still art to me.
I love The Dig.
When I finally got around to The Dig, I remember being puzzled at the resolution and graphics as compared to "smaller" titles from the same period. Now I know why!
Deeply underrated sci-fi masterpiece. I’ll admit that the gameplay itself wasn’t the best, but the story definitely had me going. Very unique idea how you don’t even meet the aliens themselves until the end.
Congrats on a new “Best Video You’ve Ever Made,” seriously
Thank you
The quality level in this video is amazing. Must've been lots of work and time putting everything together. Well done, Pam! Feels like a homage. Also, I didn't know about this gem, so thanks for introducing it to me.
Thank you very much, it was 2 months in the making.
it is completely worth playing if you haven't played it.
Aside from a few puzzle hiccups that she mentions (namely the "claw game" and holding down that mouse key) the game is a lot of fun and feels different from other point and click adventure games.
oddly, i quite liked the "claw game" puzzle.
for this particular game, i tore my hair out at the turtle restoration thing. that was RIDICULOUS given the resolution of the era and the way the puzzle solution is presented in the game itself.
you're MUCH better off looking at someone's reconstruction in a walkthrough and then just doing it from that. way less silly.
I recently got back to retro gaming, where I made a mobile retro gaming device (Daijisho) and run them as well on my desktop through BigBox. I ended up getting entire collections for each retro emulator, which added up to way over 20,000 video games.
I started by playing everything I played long ago and missed. But what I really find myself playing mostly these days are the games I didn't get to play. Like some of the arcade games from the very early 80s. I was still too young to go to an arcade in 1980 and 1981. I play those games mostly when Im in the kitchen cooking and waiting for something to get done or at work.
The other era of PC gaming that gets much of my attention are when CDees first started to be used. Games like Dune, Full Throttle, Tie Fighter, Discworld, etc.
These CD based games didn't come in the collections I downloaded. I had to know which ones to look for. For example, I didn't even know Dune had voice. When I played it at my friends house, he had a bootleg of it, that had no voice. It wasn't until a vlogger like you showed it with voice on RUclips, that I finally knew. So I looked for it and downloaded it.
I didn't know about The Dig. I want it. Im going to go get it now, LOL! And now Im going to see what other videos you made about LucasArts games. Thank you, so much!
The visuals, music, and ambient sounds were so mystical and really immersed you in that world
It makes me so sad whenever I remember how 2D games were lambasted at the time for not being 3D or FMV because at that time that was just blindly considered "better". Street Fighter 3 got docked points because Virtua Fighter and Tekken were new and hot, etc. Lucasarts games have aged so well because of their stunning use of colours, distinctive character design and animation filled with personality and charm. And because the audience couldn't be just dazzled with hi-res lighting and bombastic action setpieces, much focus was on the writing and tone of the games. The Dig went through a troubled development, but it is a unique and memorable experience because of its strong atmosphere and rich alien sights. I love it, and this video honours it well! Thank you!
I am also sad about that initial push to 3D. Thinking of some of my favorite games and series... Quest for Glory 5, Gabriel Knight 3, and Lands of Lore 2 switching to 3D make them pretty much unplayable for me now. These beautiful 2D games still hold up though.
It's interesting how things have now gone full circle. So many games these days are intentionally made either 2D or with a story focus and the sota "graphics" don't really matter.
I could not agree more. That initial push for 3D over 2D cost the world so much amazing pixel art. Artists who had spend years honing their craft were put in the rough position of doing something completely new or being considered irrelevant.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video! The Dig has been one of my most often replayed games ever since I first played it as a kid in the 90s. It's really a gem, despite its imperfections. Not many games nail the atmosphere so beautifully from both the enchanting score and breathtaking visuals. I've listened to the soundtrack so many times (along with Robyn Miller's Riven soundtrack). At times when viewing a gorgeous sunset, with the colours matched just right, I'd hear the game's synth orchestral score. I grew up near the sea, so the summer that I first played this game was just surreal. Outdoors, there were underwater dives and sunset horizons, promptly mixed together with the game's audio/visual artistry by an impressionable young mind. That underwater airlock chamber for instance, with the blue crystal puzzle in the middle, has such an appropriately calming musical score, invoking a sense of cool sea air with a distant, almost whale-sounding ambience: ruclips.net/video/HniBCOOENl8/видео.html
I could go on and on. Super appreciative of your retrospective!
Glad you liked it, it was an interesting history to learn.
The Dig soundtrack is truly amazing. It is one I still listen to all these years later to enjoy it's relaxing atmosphere. Robyn Miller's Riven score The Fissure/Finale is another favorite :)
@@lonesquiff6551 Omg that's awesome! :) Yes, the Fissure track is like resting your head on a soft pillow the way it softly starts, while all throughout the track an uplifting theme plays as if reminiscing on the past events, a sigh of relief perhaps, perfectly mirroring the more somber version of itself in the opening track Atrus. I had the great fortune of meeting Robyn at GDC after his Myst retrospective talk a few years ago; he was kind enough to sign my copy of the Riven soundtrack CD I travelled with. :) It's really interesting how we cling to these creative works, and ascribe so much value and meaning in them. Perhaps it was the more impressionable younger mind of its time playing tricks with us, idealizing a memory. Still, I can't help that through both the game's soundtracks, I feel that the memory is of me traversing an actual place, long ago. I swear I can pick up an imaginary aroma from some of the environments in Riven and the sea breezy caverns in The Dig. :)
I love this game. I play through it every now and then and have done so since it came out in 1995.
I remember the giant marketing displays for the game at retailers like Egghead Software and Babbages. I was memorized, but didn't own a compatible PC at the time. So glad to be able to revisit classics like this, Loom, and The Fate of Atlantis via GoG/Steam.
I absolutely love this game. Point & click adventure games are what started me in the gaming world. I truly enjoy going back to my roots from time to time... Then I found the NES, and it spiraled out of control since then lol.
You're awesome! I'm actually a sound designer in television and I'm currently teaching myself Wwise and Unreal. I would like to transition to audio implementation in video games. But I came a bit late to gaming. I was an NES kid, and then a bit of Sega, even less PS1, and then the quantum leap to Xbox One.. your channel fills in so many blanks for me on the history and development of gaming. So much history I never even knew... thank you for your content. I learn so much from you. I also love when you throw in an opinion on a soundtrack or even a showcasing of a new vinyl release in your collection! Thanks for the lessons!
So glad you like the videos!
Love this game. I remember the weird days of MS-DOS and the funkiness of installing games, but even with those issues, we still loved playing this game on the family computer. Once I got my own laptop, The Dig was the first Steam purchase I ever made.
Probably my all-time favourite game due to its atmosphere, visuals and soundtrack.
Great work summarizing the development hell this game went through, Pam.
Thank you!
I'm a simple man. I see my favourite LucasArts game and I click.
In all seriousness, great video!
There's a retro game stores by where I live that I like to frequent. They have a small PC gaming section. They always have Star Wars Knights of the old Republic, Fable and The Dig. I know of the first two but this one has been a complete mystery. Nice to finally see what this is all about, and get the backstory too. Great watch.
This was definitely one of the best games of its time. Especially with the majestic, epic music... amazing artwork, and... come on--the voice acting from SO MANY talented, professional artists was fantastic. Simply fantastic.
The idea of "visual puzzles" working into math and science for alien means of inter-cosmic communication was epic, too.
I lost my boxed copy of The Dig years ago. I still regret it. It's such a great game!
I remember playing the Dig demo back in the day, the graphics and mystery blew me away!
I wasn’t much of a PC gamer but I did play through The Dig when it came out. Well done backstory on the game development. Makes me want to play through it again all this time later.
This is a great documentary on one of my most favorite games. Thanks for making such an in depth piece. It is wonderfully enlightening.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'm glad you covered this classic. I can't believe people complained that putting back together the bones of that one bug like creature was too hard... just a screen or two before that you can find a fossil to see how one looks like..like the long neck for the head and the big legs in the back. Made it a lot more easy to solve finding and looking at this fossil.
The turtle skeleton was kinda hard, the fossil doesn't show everything.
What made it hard was keeping that visual in your head, walking over, and then trying to reassemble it. I seem to recall there was a weird overlap in the rear legs that wasn't immediately apparent lol
This is one of the best videos on "The Dig" to find on RUclips. Awesome work! Thank you very much for it!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Dig has such a deep story. Me and my friend playing together and sharing the feelings. Great review!
Thank you for this video.
I hope a reimagining emerges. The music is simply the best thing that has come out of the Dig, and it still sounds good 25 years later!
That game was wild when I was a little kid. It also terrified me at times that my parents wouldn't let me play too close to my bedtime
Been waiting until I'd finished the game before watching this, which I just did less than an hour ago, and I enjoyed it more than I'd thought I would. Usually with this kind of hype surrounding a game, especially with much of it revolving around someone outside of the world of game development, it turns out not great, but like you said, this was a beautiful alien world that was an absolute wonder to explore. Great video, too; it really surprised me to find out that this game's development was so involved!
This is a fantastic video. Not just going deep on the game, but I love that you took the time to speak about the development and the historical context. Thanks for this, I loved it.
Much appreciated, glad you enjoyed it
Over the years I've played through The Dig 3 or 4 times. What a game. Great video!
Thank you!
Excellent video, thank you for putting it together. The dig is a classic, one that I'm surprised has not been mined, no pun intended, for a movie since being made.
These are the important videos on youtube and the justification for this platforms existence, good job! (Sseht and AccursedFarms are similar!)
i see the hard work you put in the production of this video, thanks so much for the great content!
:)
An absolutely wonderful job on this piece, Pam. I could tell during my playthrough, which ended with me frustrated and crystal seeking, that the quality of this game was terrific. The most enjoyment I had was watching a youtuber playthough it to the end.
Another great job by you - many thanks for the entertainment!
Wonderful in depth video. If it wasn't for people like you putting in the work gems like this will be forgotten, so thank you so much for keeping them alive! I just recently finished The Dig again, and the game more than holds up today IMO. I honestly can't believe its this good after such a long and painful development process.
I would only warn others that there are some explicit puzzle spoilers here that may reveal more than they want to know if they wanted to experience this amazing game first hand. Its available on Steam and GOG for only $6 which is a total steal for this game. If you're a fan of point/click adventure games, you owe it to yourself to play this.
I used to play this game in early middle school, around the time it came out. They should turn this into a movie today.
I think that was how it started, but production on a movie was considered too costly so they made a game instead. But I don't have a source to back that up, I heard that in one of the videos about this game.
Thank you for such an in depth video! You did a great job highlighting behind the scenes as well as gameplay elements that made The Dig and underrated gem.
Glad you enjoyed it!
While the ending feels a bit rushed, and I am ambivalent on how they handled deaths in the last scene, I think it was very fascinating to explore this alien world, learn about its tragic history and see how it effects the human characters just trying to survive and find a way home.
I was a great game, surprisingly so with all that it went through during production, despite its flaws.
Even if it this video is years old, I appreciate that someone else has experienced this game as deeply as I did. Was a formative part of my youth.
Great video. I was just laying on my couch when all of a sudden this game randomly popped into my head. I haven't though about it in like 25 years since I played it, I was just instantly curious what anyone had to say about it on RUclips and here we are. It's funny, I actually remember a lot of those scenes you showed in this video, especially the sea monster spitting out the bones of that alien creature it ate.
Thanks for putting this together, that was a fun trip down memory lane. I really wasn't expecting any kind of useful info on this one, I'm glad to see other people actually got a chance to play this one too.
Thanks for watching!
Wow--marvellously put together video! Thank you so much! I had no idea about The Dig's storied history. It's a game my partner and I played a few years back thanks to a wonderfully eccentric and generous neighbour. For some reason I always remember the line, 'Light salad dressing,' but totally forgot about, 'Have you seen this boy?' All the best to you and yours.
So glad you liked it :)
I remember as a kid in the 90's that I saw a review of this game on a TV show here in Denmark called "Troldspejlet" which is pretty much the oldest running TV show we have that talks about movies, book, games and nerd culture in general. It's actually one of THE oldest still running shows on Danish TV to this day.
Back then, it was always so fascinating to even see video game footage on the TV screen that wasn't your own.
My mom would always record these episodes and I would rewatch everything that had to do with video games xD
The Dig always felt facinating to me but it probably would have been WAY over my head back in the day as I didn't really start to understand English until 2000 or so. Heck, I had to call in my mom every other minute back then to translate stuff for me in Ocarina of Time.
Regardless, this game as well as one called ToonStruck always stayed in the back of my mind and while I have since played ToonStruck, I haven't gotten around to The Dig yet.
I probably should.
Really great and detailed video btw ^^
Thanks!
Awesome. I found this game a couple years ago & it's nice to see someone still appreciates it as well. Really good video.
Thanks!
This is absolutely one of my favourite games. The colours, the environments and backdrops, the characters, the mystery. I was big into astronomy as a kid and this still makes me wonder what else is out there... And how do I find it? Thanks for creating this, it's so interesting to learn the development of such an amazing piece of gaming history.
Glad you enjoyed it!
How I love the game's soundtrack. It's truly grandiose golden age Sci-Fi music.
I dig how that shelf is always changing its display of games heh.
I also really love The Dig. And the soundtrack by Michael Land (adding to my growing appreciation of electronic music), which was a happy bonus in the gamebox along with said novel. I think only one other game i know of that was shipped with a novel was Champions of Xanth.
The Dig was a challenge especially back in the days of no internet. And it was such a departure tonally from previous LucasArts games. Maybe that's why i really enjoyed it... A serious sci-fi game with lots of exploration of alien landscapes. It was also 1 of 3 games (the other 2 being shooters) i've ever wrote a small review for on Steam. Your vid was definitely way more informative and 24 years later, i'm still learning something new about the game!
So excuse me now as i've been compelled to revisit that world... Again... Thanks... 😊
Great video. I loved this game and agree the artwork was top notch. Also loved the setting, the mystery, and the sense of adventure. All around an awesome game.
Amazing vid Pam, thanks so much for taking the time to put this together.
This is great so far. Will finish later.
Thank you so much for this video Pam! The hard work you put into it shows, it would not be out of place on The Gaming Historian channel. The quality of your videos just keeps getting better. I always look forward to seeing what you have in store for us each time. Keep up the awesome retro fun!
I really like how in-depth you got with this game.
All good comments already taken. Just discovered your channel as I am rediscovering point N click games. Going old school. Great documentary/review ❤
I loved all of the Lucas Arts adventure games.
I think I'm going to have to re-play them one day.
Came for the 'Moms' episode, stayed for the everything else.
Cool and good channel.
Thanks and welcome to the channel
A loved the robot repair droid puzzle. The puzzle was to use logical induction to discover and identify what kind of interface was being presented to you. When short codes weren't obvious to me what they were doing, I started spamming 20x of one button into the interface to try to get a good sense of what that one button did. Pressing a lot of one button would make the robot move far in single cardinal direction. Several of the buttons did this, each in their own direction. It was a remote control! Then just to figure out every button and you have a repair droid under your command.
Sounds like our brains work differently. Good on you, though.
I remember playing The Dig on the demo disc when I was a kid. We could only play the first area where you were in that big valley sorta thing with the crashed ship. It was so weird but enticing, and for SO MANY YEARS I wanted to know what happened after. But I was a kid and didn't have the money. I think it was at least 10/15 years later that I actually played it when I could D/L off of steam.
It was so worth it. I still think back to the game today. It was such a deep story, and beats the hell out of so many today for that alone.
I love this video so much my parents used to play this game when I was a kid. I played it years later to relive the nostalgia of watching them play. This was nice to see.
I remember my mom getting stuck not knowing to hold the button down on the gems to make the Prismatic bridges to the center of the map.
I just found this video/channel. The whole retrospective was really well done. I had this game as a kid in ‘97 or so. I wanna say I got it along with a LucasArts pack because I was a big Star Wars fan. I totally forgot that Robert Patrick was the main character’s voice, and in 2020 I’m happy to know Steve Blum was kicking around even back then.
My entire experience was getting a bit into the game, getting stuck on a puzzle that I couldn’t for the life of me solve, and thinking I’d come back to it. So 23 years later, I watched this video on RUclips.
Great stuff here!
Thank you for watching! A couple of the puzzles in this game were real stumpers.
One of my favorite games of all time. This video brought back so many memories.
Very nice video. :)
I didn't play The Dig back when it came out (I was still using an Amiga), but I played it years later in SCUMMVM. I'd heard negative things about it, but I enjoyed it. I loved the cinematic opening that looked like it was taken directly from an animated movie. I always though the ending was a little weak though.
For me, the hardest puzzle was the skeleton one. I knew what I had to do, but it was so hard to match the small bones to the ones in the image that it took me quite a few tries to get everything in the right place. Everyone else I knew who played it also had trouble with that point. I also used SCUMMVM's fast mode to speed up entering the door codes. I loved the idea of using the shapes as combinations, but the animations for changing them were painfully slow. Especially as I tend to wander back and forth for ages before figuring out what I need to do.
Personally, I didn't mind the art style. In fact, I always preferred the first two Monkey Island games over the later ones. The big, cartoony characters always made the screens feel cramped, and maybe it's just the way the games were designed, but it seemed like there was a lot less to interact with on each screen. Full Throttle felt that way to me as well.
Anyway, it's a shame that The Dig isn't as highly regarded as the Monkey Island games are.
Man! The Dig is one of my favorite point and click adventure. What a brilliant story!
You will probably not read this, but as one creative to another you did a great job, and while I was not a computer gamer or will ever be, you piqued my curiosity. Keep up the great work Pam.
Thanks!
Amazingly well done, I remember the game vividly and this really brings it back.
Personally, I believe the intro to this game is a piece of art
27:02 It shows you'd put a lot of work into the video. Thanks to you, I want to play the game again.
That part where you have to hold the mouse button completely made me stop playing when I bought the game as a teenager, I just couldn't finish the game without this part and I had no clue it had to be done. It is extremely unintuitive and not even hinted in some way through the game.
Great job with the video btw, very informative and thorough !
Thank you! I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one who had trouble with that part of the game.
I love this game. I remember going to Costco in 1995 and asking my dad to buy it for me. This and Full Throttle were a great influence on my childhood.
It's amazing what they did with what they had back then. Incredible art, music and voice acting all coming together for a great sci-fi adventure game. I love games like these that has you wondering what's out there and they nailed the tone of it.
I bought this game on Steam yesterday because of this amazing video. I've watched this three or four times now and never get tired of it. Thanks for making such a great episode!
I'm glad you liked it!
I love this game so much. People don't talk about this game nearly enough, and I can't believe it does not have an HD remaster.
You have a great skill with writing narration. Never felt formulaic or hard to understand, which is tough to accomplish! Awesome vid, thanks for putting in the hard work.
Glad you liked it!
Thank you so much for that in depth look into one of my favorite video game ever... R.I.P Lucas arts :)
Hey! I'd forgotten about the novelization. I, too, read it. It was basically the game verbatim with erroneous extras as you mentioned. I always come back to this and Full Throttle when I want to experience a quick two hour game, as I'll never forget the sequence of events or how to overcome the puzzles. Like rewatching a movie. I do recall the turmoil at LucasArts, as I grew up during this era, and followed all of their games. With a monster interest in development. This video still added additional insight beyond what I already knew. Bravo. Subscribed. Will check out your other vids!
Thank you! Hope you enjoy the others, I've covered a few more LucasArts games.
Great stuff, one of my favorite point and clicks, listened to the sound track on youtube a few times, good ambient music. Also shared on facebook :)
Thanks!
@@Cannotbetamed1 You are quite welcome!
One of my all-time favourite games! I recently completed it because when it came out i got stumped on one of the puzzles near the end. I think it was that one where you have to hold down the button (not knowing you could do that) but could be remembering wrong. Great video!
Thanks!
What an excellent overview of this awesome game! I also play it every 5 years or so, enough to make me think a little bit about the puzzles.
Thanks so much
Nice flow, visuals and continuity. Really nice piece, thank you.
Thanks for watching!
I must have watched a full playthrough of The Dig on youtube a few times in my life. The music and voicing were amazing.
This is one of your best videos. I loved hearing about the development of the game.
Thank you so much!
I still believe a remake is possible, and a movie adaptation too, lets dream big
I recently played and finished The Dig, this was my first time playing it. I have nothing bad to say about it. The art, animations and voice acting was amazing. A couple of the puzzles were a little annoying, I struggle a lot with the trap puzzle, where it didn't work as intended for ages. Overall I really enjoyed the game and I would highly recommend anyone to give it a try.
Although I did not play this game very much nor knew much about it, I appreciate all the time and effort you put into creating this video! After watching the entire video, I feel enriched and am grateful you shared this with us. Thank you for putting out such great content!
Great vid! One of my all-time nostalgia faves. Wonderful to revisit it like this. And whoa-I’d completely forgotten about Day of the Tentacle. Need to scratch a build together so I can get my retro PC gaming on. Best!
Thanks!
Just watched your video on Bloodlines, so I decided to check out your other work. I really appreciate how well researched and written these videos are. It's also refreshing to see left-leaning analysis of video games!
(Anyway, yeah I totally subscribed)
Thanks for this episode, it was great. I think you hit the nail on the head - while The Dig has some gameplay issues, the story and joy of exploring an alien world really makes up for it. For a sci-fi nerd like me this game was and is so much fun.
Loved playing this game and Full Throttle during the Golden Era of Point and Click adventure games and was a huge part of my childhood. Took me and my brother months but we finally managed to beat it together. Fond memories and beautiful story. I honestly think I would have ended up dumber in my adulthood had I not played it. Thank you for covering this.
No problem :)
Always impressed by these types of videos. Most people just read a wiki and throw up any old thing. It is rare to find a well researched and well scripted video like this. Thanks for all your hard work.
Glad you enjoyed it
great documentary this, and very spot on about the game, it is certainly unique and beautiful in it's way, the score is just incredible and the feeling of being alone and the alien world is not something many other games have managed to capture in the same way, at least that i can recall
The visuals and score really set it apart
Thank you for all your hard work, Pam. I have both the disc and Steam versions of The Dig and enjoyed your look back at how it came to be.
Just finished this one for the first time. Loved it!