''Dung Beetles'' is an

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

maze video game written by Bob Bishop published in 1982 by Datasoft. The gameplay is similar to ''

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'', but a portion of the maze around the player-controlled character is enlarged as if being viewed through a square

magnifying glass A magnifying glass is a convex lens—usually mounted in a frame with a handle—that is used to produce a magnified image of an object. A magnifying glass can also be used to focus light, such as to concentrate the Sun's radiation to create ...

. ''Dung Beetles'' was ported to

Atari 8-bit computers The Atari 8-bit computers, formally launched as the Atari Home Computer System, are a series of home computers introduced by Atari, Inc., in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The architecture is designed around the 8-bit MOS Technology 650 ...

and the

TRS-80 Color Computer The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer, is a series of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Computer is a completely different ...

. The Color Computer version, programmed by Steve Bjork, was sold by

Tandy Tandy may refer to: Companies * Tandy Corporation (1919–2000), a leather supply company which became the RadioShack Corporation in 2000 ** Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company, name used from 1919 to 1956 ** TRS-80 Color Computer, rebranded as Tandy C ...

as ''Mega-Bug''. Later Apple II and Atari versions were renamed to ''Tumble Bugs''. In 1983, Datasoft moved the game to its Gentry Software label with another name change: ''Magneto Bugs''. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the game was sold as ''Bug Attack''. It was also released for the

PC-6000 series The PC-6000 series is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced in November 1981 by NEC Home Electronics. There are several models in this series, such as the PC-6001, the PC-6001 MK2 and the PC-6001 MK2 SR. There is also an American version, c ...

Gameplay

The game concept and gameplay are based on ''

'', but features are much larger, randomly-generated maze and a moving "magnifying rectangle" that shows the player's character, maze details, and nearby enemies close-up. The objective of the game is to score points by eating all of the dots in the maze. As the player character moves through the maze, it leaves a trail of dung behind.

Dung beetle Dung beetles are beetles that feed on feces. All species of dung beetle belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea, most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles). As most species of Scara ...

s navigate the maze searching for the player. When a beetle finds a trail of dung, it will start following that trail, consuming it as it goes. It picks a direction at random when the trail splits, and goes back to searching if the trail ends. The game ends when the player's character is caught by a dung beetle, at which point the game plays a digitized voice that says "We gotcha!" and gives a brief animation.

Reception

'' Softline'' found the magnifying glass "an impressive programming feat," and concluded that it was "a solid game ... It could stand some more variety, but it certainly does not lack challenge". Writing for ''

ANALOG Computing ''ANALOG Computing'' was an American computer magazine devoted to Atari 8-bit computers. It was published from 1981 until 1989. In addition to reviews and tutorials, ''ANALOG'' printed multiple programs in each issue for users to type in. Almo ...

'', Marc Benioff called ''Tumble Bugs'', "an outstanding variation on ''Pac-Man''".

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , title=Tumble Bugs Atari manual , url=https://archive.org/details/TumbleBugs_201509/page/n1 , website=archive.org , publisher=Datasoft , date=1982 1982 video games Apple II games Atari 8-bit computer games Datasoft games Maze games NEC PC-6001 games Pac-Man clones Single-player video games TRS-80 Color Computer games Video games about insects Video games developed in the United States