Boulder Dash is a maze-based puzzle video game released in 1984 by First Star Software for Atari 8-bit computers . It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who tunnels through dirt to collect diamonds. Boulders and other objects remain fixed until the dirt beneath them is removed, then they fall and become a hazard. Puzzles are designed around collecting diamonds without being crushed and exploiting the interactions between objects (such as a butterfly turning into diamonds when hit with a falling rock). The game's name is a pun on balderdash .
13-398: (Redirected from BoulderDash ) Boulder Dash may refer to: Boulder Dash (video game) , a 1984 video game Boulder Dash (roller coaster) , a wooden roller coaster See also [ edit ] Balderdash (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
26-971: A level by traversing all paths and a way of temporarily turning the tables on pursuers. While the character in a maze would have a limited view, the player is able to see much or all of the maze. Maze chase games are a specific subset of the overheard perspective. They're listed in a separate section. 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1999 2003 2008 2009 2014 Differentiated from more diversified first-person party-based RPGs , dungeon crawlers , first-person shooters , and walking sims by their primary emphasis on navigation of largely abstracted maze environments often with little to no texture mapping or in-game objects and props. 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1991 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 2001 2017 This subgenre
39-451: A series of caves, each of which is laid out as rectangular grid of blocks. The player guides the player character, Rockford, with a joystick or arrow keys . In each cave, Rockford has to collect a set number of diamonds within a time limit. Player has to avoid falling rocks and other obstacles, including amoeba, butterflies, and fireflies. When enough diamonds have been collected, the exit door opens, and going through this exit door completes
52-517: The Commodore 64 version. Although the graphics and sound were both found to be dated they enjoyed the game stating that it "still feels as fresh as it did in 1984". They concluded by stating "though it doesn't look like much, Boulder Dash rocks". Boulder Dash was included in the top 30 Commodore 64 games by C't Magazin in Germany. The game sold more than 500,000 copies by August 1994. Boulder Dash
65-448: The cave. As an aspiring game developer, Peter Liepa reached out to a local publisher called Inhome Software. They put him in touch with a young man—Chris Gray—who had submitted a game programmed in BASIC that was not commercial quality, but had potential. The project began with the intention of converting this game to machine language and releasing it through Inhome, but according to Liepa,
78-485: The game was very primitive. He decided to expand the concept and add more interesting dynamics, and he wrote the new version in Forth in about six months. When it became clear that the game was worth releasing, Liepa rewrote Boulder Dash in 6502 assembly language . Dissatisfied with the lack of a contact from Inhome Software, Liepa searched for a new publisher. He settled on First Star Software , which, according to him,
91-485: The lines of Dig Dug , but faster and more exciting. Ahoy! called the "fascinating" Commodore 64 version "an entertainment classic", with excellent graphics and sound and "lots of delightful touches". Mean Machines gave the Game Boy port of Boulder Dash a score of 90%, praising it as "one of the finest video games ever written", describing the game as "one to buy as soon as possible" and noting its faithfulness to
104-484: The original Commodore 64 version. The same publication reviewed the NES version favourably, stating that it was "an extremely impressive title" and "one of the greatest games ever written". It was given a 92% rating. The ZX Spectrum version of Boulder Dash received a positive review from Computer and Video Games magazine. The reviewer found the game's sounds and graphics to be adequate, though noted that slow screen scrolling
117-482: The title Boulder Dash . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boulder_Dash&oldid=1150953825 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Boulder Dash (video game) Boulder Dash
130-517: Was an issue. Despite this, the reviewer praised the game's "incredible playability" and addictive nature. The ZX Spectrum version was placed ninth in the Your Sinclair Top 100 Speccy Games Of All Time (Ever) by journalist Stuart Campbell . In 1993, Commodore Force ranked the game at number 17 on its list of the top 100 Commodore 64 games. IGN reviewed the Virtual Console release of
143-445: Was ported to many 8-bit and 16-bit systems and turned into a coin-operated arcade video game . It was followed by multiple sequels and re-releases. Many games were influenced by Boulder Dash , such as Repton and direct clones like Emerald Mine , resulting in the sub-genre of rocks-and-diamonds games . As of September 2017, BBG Entertainment owns the intellectual property rights to Boulder Dash . Boulder Dash takes place in
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#1733085798856156-445: Was the first in a long series of games: Maze game Maze game is a video game genre description first used by journalists during the 1980s to describe any game in which the entire playing field is a maze . Quick player action is required to escape monsters, outrace an opponent, or navigate the maze within a time limit. After the release of Namco's Pac-Man in 1980, many maze games followed its conventions of completing
169-480: Was very happy to publish the game. The game was licensed by Exidy for use with their Max-A-Flex arcade cabinet . Released in 1984, it allows buying 30 seconds of game time. This was the first home computer game to be converted to an arcade console. II Computing said that "bright, colorful animation coupled with a breezy story line make this game more than just a momentary diversion". Computer Games magazine called it an "incredible addicting maze game " along
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