In a strange deserted landscape we find an archaeological team excavating the ruins of a great castle-like structure. In front of the castle they are uncovering what looks like a statue, and due to its shape and size, the depicted figure doesn’t look at all human. From the desolate and barren landscape to the nature of the strange looking tools and clothing, this scene is seemingly set on an alien planet in the distant future.

What the hell's that thing he's holding in his hand?

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Two best buds, about to raise some heck on the town.

“ The Dig was released a full six years after development began... and everything from the story and the art, to the core mechanics, the project leads, and even the game engine, had changed.

THE DIG – VERSION 1.0

You might remember this robot from The Simpsons.

“ The Dig quickly became a huge undertaking requiring a pre-production process more akin to a big budget sci-fi film with writing, concept design, art, and even animation technology, all being worked on simultaneously.

THE DIG – VERSION ZORK.0

Surely this was a hit with the teens?

A world before Jurassic Park. I don't even want to think about it.

Wait, what gap was this meant to be bridging again?

“ The Dig was going to be almost metaphysical in its description of events and dialogue. So much so that numerous people at LucasArts apparently couldn’t really understand a lot of what was happening.

By the time the statue is revealed this presumption is almost undoubtedly true, but as we see that the statue is, in fact, Mickey Mouse and the castle an attraction at Disneyland, we realise that yes, we are indeed in the distant future, but still on Earth.This is a basic synopsis of a story that Steven Spielberg had for his ‘80s television series Amazing Stories that was never filmed. In many ways Amazing Stories was an updated version of the seminal The Twilight Zone; an anthology series focussing on fantasy, science fiction, and horror stories, taking its name after a classic magazine from a time when radios were considered the pinnacle of technology.This story also serves as the basis for what would ultimately become LucasArt’s The Dig , a science fiction adventure game released in 1995 whose history and development started in 1989 as acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg took an idea he first had for an Amazing Stories segment, further developed to be a feature film, before finally deciding that it would be best suited as a computer game.It’s no secret that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are close friends, and one wouldn’t be surprised if they both wore matching lockets with pictures of each other inside and the acronym ‘BFF’ blazoned in a Star Wars font across a star-filled background. Or at the very least wore matching friendship bracelets.Spielberg, an avid gamer since the days of arcade classics like Donkey Kong and Missile Command, also enjoyed playing the games coming from his friend’s company, Lucasfilm Games, throughout the 1980s. Being close friends with George Lucas naturally came with perks, and when he found himself stuck in any of their games he would have direct lines to the developers who were more than happy to pass on hints and tips to the director of Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark.As the release of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade was making its theatrical debut in 1989, so was the adventure game from Lucasfilm Games, a release that Spielberg enjoyed discussing with the team during development and playing upon release. Maniac Mansion and the soon to be in development The Secret of Monkey Island, he told him about an idea he had for a movie that never eventuated but may work as a game. This particular idea wasn’t The Dig but it did open the door for face-to-face discussions at Skywalker Ranch with designers Noah Falstein, Ron Gilbert, and Dave Grossman. And it was during these sessions, with George Lucas also present, that the foundations for what would eventually become The Dig were laid.In 1989 the development time of an average computer game was around about 12 months, give or take a few in either direction. Now, with The Dig being released in 1995, a full six years after development began, and coupled with the hype surrounding it due to it being ‘the Steven Spielberg game’, its development was anything but straightforward. In fact, over that length of time, everything from the story and the art, to the core mechanics, the project leads, and even the game engine, would change.In distilling the initial idea that he had for The Dig, Spielberg would say that the story was a cross between two classic films: The Forbidden Planet (1956); in which a crew sent to investigate the disappearance of a prior expedition uncover the remnants of a super-intelligent alien race, and The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948); a tale of treasure hunters who uncover lost gold and in turn begin to doubt each other’s motives as greed takes hold.Spielberg’s story would incorporate elements of both, but focus on separate teams of archaeologists working on an alien planet, who - under the influence of what they find - begin to turn on one another.The first of what would eventually become four separate project leaders on The Dig was Noah Falstein, who oversaw the first version of the game that bore more resemblance to this initial idea of blending The Forbidden Planet and The Treasure of Sierra Madre. For those that have played The Dig the details of this version will be as alien as the aliens on the alien planet it takes place on. Translation: it’s very different.First off it was to be set in the distant future when mankind has developed faster-than-light travel and begun exploiting planets for their natural resources. That’s exploiting and not exploring, as in this future resource hungry corporations treat interplanetary exploration like they’re BP or ExxonMobil. In space. Where nobody can hear you raping a planet’s resources. They only get excited when they see ores and minerals of the sellable kind, in other words.Traditional puzzles in the mould of those established in previous SCUMM-based adventures would be present but players would also be in control of separate characters as they explored the planet’s ruined cities across jungle, desert, frozen, and beachfront landscapes.Development on this version of The Dig continued for well over a year with only incremental progress being made and the game never actually being in any sort of playable state. But it wasn’t a case of squandered time, the sheer number of different environments to explore was something that far exceeded anything the studio had released up to this point.The Dig quickly became a huge undertaking requiring a pre-production process more akin to a big budget sci-fi film with writing, concept design, art, and even animation technology, all being worked on simultaneously.Before joining Lucasfilm Games Brian Moriarty came from the world of text adventures, in which a release was typically designed, coded, and debugged by a single person. Beginning as a hobbyist he later made a name for himself working at Infocom, where amongst other titles he created Beyond Zork, a 1987 text adventure that blended RPG elements with the traditional interactive fiction that players had grown accustomed too.At Lucasfilm Games he released his first graphical adventure in 1990, Loom, which was notable for its experimental interface that had all player interaction be through the use of musical phrases called ‘Drafts’.Hailed as an artistic achievement in many circles, Loom unfortunately failed to gain as much commercial traction as other titles from the still relatively small studio. Even though it was conceived as the first part of a trilogy, plans for the subsequent sequels were ultimately cancelled.As Lucasfilm Games became LucasArts and in the process its own independently run company, there were many changes made at all levels that naturally resulted in projects being green-lit, cancelled, and reshuffled, in addition to some company-wide downsizing. As with many changes made at the highest levels, speculation seems to replace fact, but at some point Noah Falstein was let go, leaving The Dig without a project leader.Already in trouble due to its boundary-pushing animation techniques and VGA graphics, all signs pointed to The Dig’s eventual cancellation. But with the personal involvement of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, development would continue, with Brian Moriarty taking over as project lead.As a creator who always worked within the confines of his own singular vision, as seen with his text adventures and in Loom, Brian Moriarty pretty much threw out all of the work and progress made on The Dig and started fresh.This meant that the story would change, this time being set in present day (well, 1998) with a team of astronauts set to embark on a mission to save humanity from a large incoming asteroid just like in that other ‘90s classic, Michael Bay’s Giant Asteroid Movie starring Famous Actors. Which notably, was released a few years after The Dig.But unlike that film the story didn’t end here or with Bruce Willis marrying off his daughter to Ben Affleck, as upon closer inspection the asteroid turns out to be a camouflaged interplanetary spaceship of sorts. And after finding some sort of ancient geometric device, the asteroid takes flight and sends the surface team to a distant planet where they discover ancient ruins and the remnants of an alien race that has somehow achieved a form of immortality.Due to the technical limitations of the SCUMM engine, this version of The Dig was being developed on a new engine called StoryDroid that would feature sophisticated scrolling, animation and pre-rendered videos from Industrial Light & Magic. Being the early ‘90s, having computer animation from one of Hollywood’s top effects houses was a big deal, so naturally early press on the game began hyping it as a release that would bridge the gap between games and big budget movies.Although this description of the story could be applied to the version released in 1995, minus an additional astronaut character that apparently was going to die in a uniformly gruesome way, this version of The Dig was also going to be very scientific and almost metaphysical in its description of events and character dialogue. So much so that numerous people at LucasArts apparently couldn’t really understand a lot of what was happening.See, baby stuff.With all the background artwork being hand-drawn and going through constant revisions, in addition to the dialogue and story continuously changing shape, the planned release date of 1993 and key milestones along the way were missed entirely or delayed indefinitely. It’s unclear as to exactly why, but Brian Moriarty departed LucasArts during development of The Dig, yet again leaving it in a state of limbo.