Diamonds (1983)
Introduction
Diamonds may be played as a one or two player game, using joysticks in ports 1 and 2.
Briefing
Around 1880 in the Australian outback near Inverell, the desert was rich with Diamonds: rumour had it that somewhere close by Round Mount, deep beneath the sand, lay a Great Diamond the worth of which was beyond all imagination!
Digger Dan, a hopeful prospector, set out determined to find the Great Diamond; however, on his way to Round Mount, Dan passed through Blob Country. It was here that he crossed a patch of land where many toadstools and fungi grew. When Brian the Blob discovered that Dan had trampled all over his beautiful garden, he wobbled with rage and set off in pursuit! So it was when Dan reached Round Mount he had Brian the Blob hot on his heels; but they weren't the only two in the area...
Philip was a 'Filler', that is to say, he loved to fill in any tunnels or holes he found in the place; if he came to a dead end he would jump into another dimension then reappear in another part of the desert. Three Fireflies would sometimes delve into the tunnels looking for smaller insects to feed upon. Another prospector had made it his life-long ambition to find the Great Diamond, but had died tragically deep in the mines: the ghost of his Eyes could sometimes be seen peering through the tunnels for the Great Diamond. Simon the Snake regarded the place as his territory for catching unsuspecting grubs for his lunch.
With all this disturbance in the earth, an even greater menace was unleashed; its evil intent was to eliminate all prospectors digging for Diamonds. So it was that the Demon, silent guardian of the legendary Great Diamond, rose from the very bowels of the earth to hom in on Dan...
Attract Mode
On booting the game the Attract Mode will start. This mode displays the Title, introduces the characters, shows a Demo of the game being played and displays the first 8 levels.
The Joysticks
Player 1 uses a joystick plugged into Jack 1. Player 2 (optional) uses a joystick plugged into Jack 2. The joystick is used to move Digger Dan and the joystick button will pause/resume the game.
The Select Button
During the Attract Mode, pressing the Select button will display the first level with the current 1 or 2 player setting. To choose the other setting, press Select again.
Starting the Game
To start the game, move player 1's joystick either during the Attract Mode or during the game selection mode.
Game Structure
There are 16 levels in Diamonds, each level having a different configuration of subterranean walls. The higher the level, the harder it is to collect all the diamonds safely. Each level consists of 4 screens. On the 1st screen Philip the Filler will appear; on the 2nd, the Fireflies; on the 3rd, the Eyes; on the 4th, Simon the Snake. If you clear all 4 screens you will advance to the next level.
Brian the Blob starts each screen on the left; Digger Dan starts each screen on the right. If you take too long to clear the screen, the Demon joins the chase from the bottom of the screen.
Should you clear the 4th screen of the 16th level, you will find the Great Diamond. On the rare occasions that this happens, you will have to reload the game to play again.
Scores
These are displayed at the top of the screen. Player 1's on the left, High Score in the centre, and Player 2's score on the right. Your reserve diggers are displayed under your score.
Scoring
You score 1 point for each Diamond you collect. The number of diamonds Dan holds is shown at the top of the screen. If you take diamonds back to the surface, you score a bonus of 2 points per diamond and the hold value drops to zero again. If you squash Brian under a rock you score 10 points. The other four characters are more difficult to squash with a rock. Score 20 points if you succeed (listen for the fanfare). The Demon is invincible — you cannot squash him!
End of Game
When you lose all 3 diggers the game ends. After a slight pause, the Attract Mode will re-activate.
System Reset
Pressing System Reset will cause a jump to the beginning of the Attract Mode and reset the High Score to zero.
Hints on Playing
It is important that you learn how to dig tunnels safely without digging yourself into a pit! Bear in mind that you must have something both sides of you to hold onto to climb upwards.
Dislodge the rocks by digging the earth from underneath them, but don't let them squash you!