Boulder Dash

de:Boulder Dash

Boulder Dash, aka Rockford, is a classic series of computer games for the Apple II, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Atari 400/800 home computers, released in 1984 and later ported to the NES, PC, and many other platforms. It was programmed by Peter Liepa and published by First Star Software, which still owns the game.

The hero of the game, whom the player has to control, is the brave prospector "Rockford". He has to dig through caves collecting gems and diamonds, while avoiding dangerous creatures of various types as well as obstacles like falling rocks and the problem of being trapped behind mountains of gems or piles of rock.

Game titles

Note that Mastertronic/Arcadia Systems licensed Boulder Dash as Rockford. Some games of the series may therefore exist under that name as well.

• Boulder Dash (1984), published by First Star
• Boulder Dash 2 – Rockford's Revenge (1986), published by Electronic Arts
• Super Boulder Dash (1986), ditto (combo pack incl. the first two games)
• Boulder Dash Construction Kit (1987), published by Epyx

Game objects

(commonly referred to as "entities")

• Rockford is the hero of the game, the character controlled by the player. His goal is to collect diamonds and avoid contact with monsters and falling rocks. (Interesting note is that the game allows more than one entry points, thus allowing multiple characters moving simultaneously.)
• Dirt and Space are the two basic components of the playfield. Dirt can serve for blocking objects, while space allows them to move free. Rockford clears dirt as he moves, creating space.
• Walls are the delimiters of the level. Two basic types exist, destructible (which can be removed with explosions) and indestructible (from which is the edge of the level is usually made of). Destructible walls have a special version called magic walls, which allows the player to turn rocks into diamonds (and vice versa).
• The exit is the final goal Rockford must reach after collecting enough diamonds. The exit is normally hidden, disguising itself as an indestructible wall, but starts to blink after it is opened. It is, however, opposed to its disguise, destructible by explosions. A level can have multiple exits. Hidden exits also exist - these behave the same way as normal ones, except the blinking.
• Rocks are probably the most often used elements of the game. Upon removing the dirt under them, they start falling down until they reach a solid ground again. A falling rock can crush enemies, but also Rockford. When a rock lands on the top of another rock or diamond, it slides off sideways. Rocks also slide off the edge of destructible walls. Rocks can be destroyed by explosions.
• Diamonds are the items Rockford must collect in order to open the exit on a level. Otherwise they act the same way as rocks do, including their ability to crush Rockford.
• Fireflies are one of the enemies in the game. They always try to follow the wall on their left. Upon contact with a falling rock they explode in a 3x3 radius, creating space. Contacting Rockford also makes them explode - alas this explosion always involves Rockford as well.
• Butterflies differ from fireflies in two important things. They follow the wall to their right and when they explode, they leave behind 3x3 diamonds.
• Amoeba is one of the most unpredictable elements of the game. Amoeba can grow by occupying spaces and dirt (the grow rate is not constant but can be defined in the level settings), and it causes enemies to explode upon contact. If it reaches a specific percent of the area available on the level, it turns into rocks. However, if the player manages to enclose it into a smaller area and the amoeba cannot grow more, it turns into diamonds. (An amoeba enclosed on start of the level does not start to grow or turn into diamonds before being "let loose".) Amoeba, while growing, makes a distinctive sound during the game.
• Slime is the lookalike of amoeba, but it works completely differently. Slime does not grow, eventhough it does cause enemies to explode. It's functionality can be revealed when dropping a rock or a diamond on top of it; slime has a permeability rate which defines how fast will it allow the item on top of it to go through it. This happens in quite a sudden and random manner, making the game rely on improvising even more.
• Horizontal and vertical expanding walls look and act just like destructible ones with one difference: when possible, they expand in their given direction, often trapping the player or the monsters. Expanding walls are made out of themselves - blowing a hole in the middle of a row causes it to close in again almost immediately.

External links

• Boulder Dash entry at First Star's website (http://www.firststarsoftware.com/boulderdash.htm)
• BDDB - The Boulder Dash Database (http://boulder.cl4.org/)
• Remakes.org (several BD-remakes available) (http://www.remakes.org/)
• Boulder Dash ®-Treasure Pleasure™ (http://www.flyordie.com/bdtp/index.html)
• One of the most accurate remakes for PC by Mascot Entertainment (http://www.mascot.hu/projects/recent/boulder/index.html)