Friday Reboot: Dig Dug!

For this week's reboot, I wanted to look at a classic game that I'm sure a lot of people remember fondly, but really hasn't been touched for a very long time: Dig Dug.

The idea behind Dig Dug was to dig tunnels and defeat monsters by inflating them. This is one of the first games that actually incorporated an element of stealth gameplay since what players usually wanted to do was attack the creatures from behind. Much like Donkey Kong, there wasn't a whole lot to it other than playing level after level until you reached the "kill screen."
With such a simple premise behind the game, it lends a lot of freedom to the developers for a new generation so let's get started.

GAMEPLAY
Dig Dug was about digging tunnels and tunnels are what you'll get, but the reboot should expand beyond that. Dig dug needs to include an element of exploration where players are free to discover new areas just by digging in any direction. It can help create a puzzle element to the world and allow for extended gameplay with players having a whole world to discover outside of the story elements. This can be related to power-ups, unlocking new gadgets, or a sort-of open world approach to the game which brings me to my next aspect.


Stealth and digging work together like peanut butter and jelly. What better way to surprise an enemy than dropping down from above or sneaking up from behind with tunnels hidden all around a cavern? For example, one of the most enjoyable elements of Batman: Arkham Asylum dealt with the stealth take-downs a player could use while hanging from above or crawling through air vents. This seems like a natural fit with Dig Dug, the exception being the player is free to set traps of their own design.

What better way to add to the player designed traps than giving Dig Dug more than just the bike pump of old. It would diversify the mechanics of the game to avoid repetition and include elements of strategy. The gadgets can range from different weapons to destroy monsters to new elements of cave exploration like grappling hooks, rocket packs, and wall walking boots. These lend themselves to a more whimsical style of game rather than the hyper-realistic, violent theme of shooters, but when you're a guy who digs holes, I think you can't take things too seriously. Dig Dug whould bring back classic memories and fun rather than the adrenaline pumping style of Gears of War.

STORY
Although the game would have a light hearted feel to it, that doesn't mean you have to have a nonsensical story. Games like the Oddworld franchise, Ratchet and Clank, and Jak and Daxter have shown that you can have a serious plot without sacrificing some of the fun. The setting could be a post-apocalyptic world living underground, offering fun surprises for exploration. Another idea is a more science fiction feel to it with exploring an alien world underground and dealing with a more extraterrestrial threat looming in the shadows. It's not hard to express some freedom in story telling when the original premise was "dig and pop." I'd even recommend giving him a side-kick, but that's only because I'm a sucker for the Clanks and Daxters of the world.

The point is Dig Dug is a classic game that can be rebooted to be something for everybody. The original design could translate into a brand new 3D world full of challenges for players to solve and secrets to explore. Throw in some impenetrable rocks to keep the player in a manageable space with the tunnels and you have a retro game with a brand new appeal.

Friday Reboot: Godzilla

Back finally with another Friday Reboot. This time I'm going to look at a franchise that already had one try in America and ended up as one of the most hideous bastard children of the 1990s, but for some reason Hollywood is going to give it another go, Godzilla.


1998 was America's first try at bringing the giant lizard to America with Mathew Broderick as the unlikely hero scientist to battle the beast. It was dumped on by critics and to this day, even among the tradition of summer blockbusters lacking any substance, it is still seen as a different kind of monster than intended by almost everyone. Yet for some reason there has been talk within the last year of trying it again. I'm a bit pessimistic for it yet I really want to see something beyond a foam rubber suit on the silver screen, and nobody knows how to blow a budget on a movie like America. But to do a proper reboot, you first need to see what went wrong the first time.

GODZILLA


The biggest complaint about the 1998 movie was it just wasn't Godzilla. You had a giant iguana with spikes on its back and had it breath fire. In a very vague way, they got it, but at the same time they were way off the mark. It's almost like they were trying to create Jurassic Park in a way. You see it often with video games but from time to time it happens in movies, somebody has an idea they want to sell and they shoe-horn it into a licensed property to make it look more promising. The 1998 film wasn't Godzilla, it was "Giant Lizard Attacks New York." It just didn't have the soul that Godzilla typically has in the Japanese movies, that feeling like when Optimus Prime finally shows up in Transformers and you know things are about to get awesome. The 1998 film built to that point with the partial reveals of the monster, but then instead of seeing Optimus Prime, you got a Go-bot. One of the key ingredients to pull off the reboot is to really make it feel like Godzilla. In Japan, Godzilla wasn't just some giant monster who happened to come across Tokyo, he was an unstoppable force of nature bordering on chaotic animal and god-like protector.

THE STORY

One thing that stands out about what Japan has done with Godzilla is the movies aren't really about Godzilla. There's always been some underlying theme for the most part, whether it has to do with genetic experimentation, nuclear weapons, or cultural discrimination. That was usually the purpose of the other monster involved, a product of our own evil with the unstoppable destroyer turning into our savior. Sony's 1998 Godzilla was man versus beast, a nerdy scientist becoming a hero and saving the world from a giant monster. There was not much else going on. What could have been a statement about the military, environmentalism, or any number of additional topics was boiled down to a crappy B-movie plot.

For the reboot, the easiest way to solve the problem with the story is to not make an origin movie. So much is spent in American films explaining the monster. We have to know why there is this monster, yet it is this very attitude that ruins zombie movies. Part of what makes the first Living Dead movies so great is George Romero didn't care about explaining the zombies. He has even said he just wants to make movies about people and zombies help him get the funding. In a way, that's how Godzilla should be treated. J.J. Abrams was successful in telling a compelling story with Cloverfield by treating the monster as more of a natural disaster than an enemy. It was a story about a guy trying to get to his girl and there just happened to be a monster tearing up the place while he was at it. It is said that all good science fiction stories have very human problems. The new Godzilla can take any number of approaches with this. The story could be about global warming, an environmental disaster like BP is currently part of with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, over-consumption of natural resources, and yet still keep to the original origin of nuclear testing. The key is to make the story about people, not the monster.

HAVE ANOTHER ANTAGONIST

As it seems to be the theme, the problem was man versus Godzilla. Another antagonist would help to add that more human of a story. Typically it came in the form of another monster, something I would really like to see Hollywood do just because I think it would be awesome to have two CG monsters tearing up the city. It doesn't have to be though. Depending on the story, it could be an evil corporation, government agency, mad scientist, or even some kind of super weapon. Personally, I'd be leaning toward having the giant monster and one of the others. It would be an easy story to have a statement on genetic manipulation and have Godzilla fight a giant monster created using a sample of his DNA and offer an explanation for why this monster is suddenly attacking. The company finds possibly a dead infant Godzilla, takes it for samples bringing the real deal to attack the location, and the company then creates a monster to stop the destruction it unwittingly caused. The monster goes wild and the people end up needing Godzilla to take care of the problem. The human feature could come from the hero of the story having a relative who could benefit from genetic manipulation, whether it be in the form of a disease or any other illness and this could be the main focus of the story, the hero's struggle against the evil company.

In 1998, Hollywood found out people come for the monster, but stay for the story. Unfortunately they didn't have much of a story. True, Godzilla is a giant monster, but at his heart that's not what Godzilla is about. Let's just hope Sony gets it right this time.

Friday Reboot: Maniac Mansion

Well, it's a day late, but it's time for the weekly reboot. This time around it's time for a classic favorite of anyone who played a Nintendo Entertainment System beyond Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. In those 8-bit days, very few games fed into the player's creativity. Most games only had the choice of moving left or right and that's as far as they'd go for open-endedness. But in 1987, the company now known as LucasArts put out a game with optional characters, multiple endings, and hidden comedy ranging from pop culture references to exploding hampsters. It's time to go back to the Maniac Mansion.




If Maniac Mansion had anything, it was a high replayability factor. With seven different endings, six characters having different abilities with only two to select for the game, and the capability to interact with almost any object you came across, anyone would have a difficult time playing it the same way twice. But the times have changed and there are even more possibilities for open game styles. This is a title that would need a serious overhaul to be ready for today's market.


CHARACTERS


One of the most memorable aspects of the original was its diverse cast of characters, playable and non. The Edisons, the primary antagonists living in the mansion, were a colorful group besides their blue skin. It was a family consisting of an evil scientist, a militaristic son, an obsessive daughter, and two tentacles. Depending how you played the game, you could turn your enemies into allies. However, Edna could use some more fleshing out beyond the romantic who hung out in the kitchen at the beginning of the game.

The playable characters could transition into a more modern interpretation but it could stand to have them more balanced. Bernard, the do-anything nerd (and possibly a character created as wish fulfillment on behalf of the developers), could be scaled back with a modern interpretation. I also never saw the need for two musicians when neither of them offered anything different. There is also the option to diversify the gameplay with photography and Easter Eggs with radio channels.

GAMEPLAY

Gaming genres have diversified much more since the days of the NES. Thanks to games like Resident Evil, games offer more suspense and terror than most horror movies now. The classic adventure style of gaming has been fading for a while and perhaps the best way for a reboot to succeed would be to follow more of a survival horror style of exploration. Maniac Mansion, with all its goofy humor, still created a feeling of suspense. You didn't know if the next room you were about to explore would be occupied by one of the house's residents or what kind of danger there was to interacting with any given item. They just have to make sure they get the camera right.

STORY

Obviously there would have to be more to the story in a new generation of the game, not only because of hardware ability but because a refreshed version of the old game wouldn't offer much to old fans. A bigger mansion offers more interactions for side stories and character development. But the most important aspect would be more endings. The original Maniac Mansion and similar games like Crono Trigger begged to be played again just to discover what other outcomes there were. Maybe give Edna that romance she was always looking for. Personally, I'd love to see a giant hampster rampage through town after giving it radioactive water.

With the rough economy, many publishers are going to already established IPs rather than risking a new one. LucasArts is still around and I'm sure they wouldn't have any trouble finding a publisher for a reboot. Maniac mansion is one of those classic games that can send a group of 20-somethings reminiscing of hidden jokes and crazy story developments. It was Maniac Mansion that taught this gamer if you have a problem with something, throw it into the trunk of somebody else's car.