Based on a concept by Steven Spielberg (originally intended to be a movie) and featuring the voices of Robert Patrick and Steve Blum (yes, that Steve Blum), Lucasfilm take a closer look at 1995’s The Dig and the journey Spielbergs initial idea took to get to the gaming world. While not one of Lucasfilm’s most well-known games, the story of The Dig certainly had plenty of star power.
Spielberg’s concept of unearthing the secrets of an alien civilization first took shape in 1989 as a possible science fiction tale for the screen. The renowned director, famously a fan of computer games, brought the idea to Lucasfilm Games — where it would eventually become The Dig.
“I decided early on that the game should be more than a story on an alien world — it should be a story in an alien world,” wrote designer and project leader Sean Clark in the foreword of The Dig’s game manual. “That is, you should be immersed (as well as can be done with current technology) in an alien environment…. Some of the scenes required up to 38 layers of individually drawn animation cels, which were all hand-painted and then composited. In short, wherever we found an opportunity to make the world feel more complete, we exploited it shamelessly.”
The fully-voiced game stars Robert Patrick as Commander Boston Low, Mari Weiss as Maggie Robbins, and Steve Blum as Dr. Ludger Brink. Their talents give the characters compelling and distinct personalities, and each of them could easily steal the scene in any sci-fi blockbuster.
With an outline and guidance from Spielberg, dialogue contributed by Orson Scott Card and voiced by an outstanding cast, and almost 200 locations to explore, the pieces all came together to create a memorable experience for anyone who ventures to The Dig’s alien world.
Remarkably, the game manual also takes a moment to share the team’s design philosophy, which deliberately encourages exploration and discovery without the punishment of a game over. “[You] won’t find yourself accidentally stepping off a path or dying because you’ve picked up a sharp object,” the text says. “Anything potentially disastrous that happens to the crew of the Attila mission is supposed to happen to them.”
We recently spoke to Steve, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Vanessa Marshall, an interview (screened at the National Space Centre over the May the 4th weekend) you can watch below.
