''Boulder Dash'' is a 2D

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...

released in 1984 by

First Star Software First Star Software, Inc. was a Chappaqua, New York based video game development, publishing and licensing company, founded by Richard Spitalny (who remains the company's president), Billy Blake, Peter Jablon, and Fernando Herrera in 1982. It is ...

for Atari 8-bit computers. It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who collects treasures while evading hazards. ''Boulder Dash'' was ported to many 8-bit and 16-bit systems and turned into a coin-operated

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade vi ...

. It was followed by multiple sequels and re-releases and influenced games such as '' Repton'' and direct clones such as '' Emerald Mine''. As of January 1, 2018, BBG Entertainment GmbH owns the intellectual property rights to ''Boulder Dash''.

Gameplay

left, Rockford drops a series of boulders on butterflies which explode into diamonds and fall down the shafts. ''Boulder Dash'' takes place in 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 A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

or cursor keys. In each cave, Rockford has to collect as many

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

s as are needed and avoid dangers, such as falling rocks. When enough diamonds have been collected, the exit door opens, and going through this exit door completes the cave.

Development

As an aspiring game-developer, Peter Liepa reached out to a local publisher called "In-Home Software". They put him in touch with a young man (Chris Gray) who had submitted a game in Basic, that was not really commercial quality, but they thought it had potential. The project began with the intention of converting this game to machine language and releasing it through In-Home Software, but according to Liepa, it quickly became apparent that the game was very primitive. He decided to expand the idea and bring some more interesting dynamics to the game. He started coding a new project in

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

, which took about six months. About the time it became clear that this was a shippable product, Liepa migrated Boulder Dash from Forth to assembler. Being dissatisfied with the lack of contact from In-Home Software, Liepa began searching for a new publisher. His choice was

and according to him the company was very happy to publish the game.

Ports

A port of the original title was licensed by

Exidy Exidy was a developer and manufacturer of coin-operated amusements. The company was founded by H.R. "Pete" Kauffman and Samuel Hawes in 1973. The name "Exidy" was a portmanteau of the words "Excellence in Dynamics". Notable games released by Exid ...

for use with their Max-A-Flex

arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Mac ...

. This version released in 1984 allowed buying 30 seconds of game time. This was the first home computer title to be converted to an arcade console.

Reception

''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 the lines of '' Dig Dug'', but faster and more exciting." ''

Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Origins In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generation of 8-bit computers l ...

'' 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 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 was placed ninth in the ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History Th ...

Top 100 Speccy Games Of All Time (Ever)'' by journalist Stuart Campbell. IGN reviewed the Virtual Console release of 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.

Legacy

Following the original home computer title, other games in the series were published by First Star Software. * ''Boulder Dash'' (1985 – Arcade) – in 1985 another arcade version was released on Data East's "DECO Cassette System", with improved graphics but a reduced display grid on a vertical monitor. * '' Boulder Dash II'' (1985) – published under several different titles; ''Rockford's Riot'' on the MSX, ''Rockford's Revenge'' on the C64. The second release in Japan was titled ''Champion Boulder Dash'', but it is not a port of the western game. * ''Boulder Dash 3'' (1986 – Apple II, C64, Spectrum, PC) – monochrome space-themed graphics and poorly designed levels made this a critical failure. * '' Boulder Dash Construction Kit'' (1986 – Apple II, C64, Spectrum, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST) – this release included a small number of levels (12 caves and 3 intermission levels), but was titled ''Boulder Dash IV – The Game'' for the Spectrum re-release. The title allowed players access to tools which allowed them to design their own levels. * ''Super Boulder Dash'' (1986 – Apple II, C64, PC) – a compilation of ''Boulder Dash'' and ''Boulder Dash II'' published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...

. * '' Rockford'' (1988 – Arcade, Amiga, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Arcade, Spectrum, Amstrad, C64) - Rockford was originally a licensed arcade game produced by Arcadia Systems, and later converted to various home computer formats. * ''Boulder Dash Part 2'' (1990 – Arcade) * ''Boulder Dash'' (1990 - Game Boy) * ''Boulder Dash'' (1990 - NES) * ''Boulder Dash EX'' (2002 – Game Boy Advance) - this one has a new "EX mode" and "Classic mode" which is a direct port of the 1984 PC version. * ''Boulder Dash Xmas 2002 Edition'' (2002 – PC) * ''GemJam Gold'' (2003 – PC) – the game's credits claim this is based on ''Boulder Dash'', and is licensed by First Star. * ''Boulder Dash – Treasure Pleasure'' (2003 – PC) * '' Boulder Dash: Rocks!'' (2007 – DS, iOS) * ''Boulder Dash Vol 1'' (2009 – iOS) * ''Boulder Dash-XL'' (2011 - Xbox Live Arcade, PC) * ''Boulder Dash - The Collection!'' (2011 – Android) * ''Boulder Dash'' (2011 – Atari 2600) - limited edition of 250 copies. * ''Boulder Dash-XL 3D'' (2012 - Nintendo 3DS) - 3D port of Boulder Dash-XL. * ''Boulder Dash-XL'' by HeroCraft (2012-2014 – iOS) - has a retro mode which copies the look of the classic Boulder Dash. * ''Boulder Dash 30th Anniversary'' co-published by TapStar Interactive and First Star Software, Inc. with a world designed by the original creator Peter Liepa as well as another world by TapStar CEO, Chris Gray. This sequel was developed in collaboration by TapStar Interactive, First Star Software, SoMa Play Inc. and Katsu Entertainment LLC (2014 - Android, iOS) as both a Premium (paid) and a

freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium," is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical ...

game. * ''Boulder Dash'' (2015 – Intellivision) – Co-published by First Star Software, Inc. and Classic Game Publishers, Inc./Elektronite * ''Boulder Dash 30th Anniversary'' (2016 – iOS, Android, Switch, Steam (PC and Mac)) – co-published by TapStar Interactive and First Star Software, Inc. with a world designed by the original creator Peter Liepa as well as another world by Chris Gray. * ''Boulder Dash Deluxe'' (2021 – Switch, Xbox, Atari VCS, Steam (PC and Mac), Windows Store and Mac Store) – developed and published by BBG Entertainment with a world designed by the original creator Peter Liepa and a Retro world with the 20 original levels from 1984.

References

Bibliography

GAMES Magazine ''GAMES World of Puzzles'' is a puzzle magazine formed from the merger of Games and World of Puzzles in October 2014. The entire magazine interior is now newsprint (as opposed to the part-glossy/part-newsprint format of the original ''Games'') an ...

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