GUG GUG stands for the Grand Unified Game. It is a puzzle game that combines Dig-Dug, Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, and Joust. Needless to say, all of these games belong to people who gave no permission to use them whatsoever. I won't tell them if you don't. Gug is a puzzle game. The objective is to get all 4 people out of the maze by getting them all to stand on the exit at the same time. Every level has an exit somewhere. It's your job to get these four 8-bit buddies to safety. There will be old enemies, gates, and puzzels to delight and confound. I hope you enjoy it. Installation Once you have downloaded the zip file, unzip all the files in it to a single directory. That's all there is to it. Launching Gug To play the levels that came with the game, simply double-click "Gug.exe" to begin playing. To play a specific map, drag that map file onto "Gug.exe". If launched by itself, Gug will look for the file "1.map" in the directory the Gug.exe application is in. Once 1.map is completed by the player, Gug will move on to 2.map, and so on until it can't find any more. If Gug is launched by dragging a map on to the program icon, gug will load that map. Once that map is done, Gug will attempt to load the next map in numerical sequence. For instance, if you drag 8.map on to the program icon, once you finish that level, Gug will look for 9.map in whatever directory the 8.map you dropped on it was. When Gug fails to find a file to be the next level, you will find yourself on the "default level" (Just the four friends near an exit) and some floating text will tell you Gug couldn't find any more levels for you. Controls The arrow keys move around the currently selected character. The space bar performs an action based on the character (jump, flap, fire pump). Tab and Shift-Tab will cycle through which character is currently selected. Control-D will kill the current character and restart the level from the most recent checkpoint. Escape will quit the game. The Spinner The Spinner is in the upper left corner of your screen. It tells you which character you are currently playing. The green blob will highlight the current player. Press Tab to advance to the next character, or Shift-Tab to go to the previous character. Also, you may use the number keys 1 through 4 to directly select the character you want to play at that moment. The Characters Dig-Dug: Move Dig-Dug up, down, left, or right with the arrow keys. Press the space bar to fire his pump. If you hit an enemy with it, that enemy will inflate. If you hold down space, or move while repeatedly hitting space, the enemy will pump up more and more until he pops. Were the guys who made this up on drugs or what? Movement: Dig-Dug can move left or right through any space. He can only move up and down in tunnels or in dirt. He can dig through dirt, making tunnel out of it. Remember though, if there is empty space below him, he'll fall. Special Powers: Dig-Dug is the only character who can dig. Pac-Man: Move Pac-Man up, down, left, or right with the arrow keys. Movement: Pac-Man moves along any edge. Think of him like a bug who can stick to walls and ceilings. The bad news is he can't jump, and can't let go of edges. Pac-Man can move freely in any direction in a tunnel (he's good with tunnels). Special Powers: While other characters and even enemies will die if they so much as touch an air mine, Pac-Man can eat up air mines like candy. Pac-Man can also eat power pellets, making all the enemies in the game temporarily harmless. When enemies are "feared" due to a power pellet, they can not kill any characters, but only Pac-Man can eat them. Mario: Use the arrow keys to move Mario left and right. Use the space bar to jump. Movement: Mario can run and jump. The longer you hold down the space bar, the higher he will jump. Special Powers: Unlike Dig-Dug and Pac-Man, Mario can Jump. The Jouster: Move the Jouster left or right with the arrow keys. If he is on the ground, you can press the down arrow to stop. Press the space bar to flap his wings. Movement: You can direct the Jouster's motion while in flight. Flapping keeps him aloft. Remember that if you want him to stop while he's walking, press down. IMPORTANT NOTE: The Jouster does NOT stop walking unless you make him stop. Special Powers: The Jouster can fly. The Enemies The enemies of our 8-bit heroes are many and varied. Unless otherwise specified below, they can be killed by being pumped up by Dig-Dug, getting jumped on by Mario, getting landed on by the Jouster, or being eaten by Pac-Man while they're Power-Pellet-feared. Pooka: Pookas, enemies of Dig-Dug, can move any direction in tunnels, and they can "transmute" through dirt. They can not transmute through brick, though. Fygar: Fygars are also Dig-Dug enemies, and they move exactly like Pookas do. However, they can also shoot fire, so be careful of that. Ghost: These Pac-Man enemies are the fastest moving enemies in the game. They can move any direction in tunnels, but only laterally in open air. Mushroom: The little mushoom guys that give Mario mild headaches. They walk slowly in one direction in the hopes that you hit them by mistake. They are the least threatening enemies in the game. Koopa: These turtle-creatures are Mario enemies that act pretty much like Mushrooms. However, when they get stomped on, they turn in to shells, and the shells can be kicked around to kill other things. Their hard shell makes them impossible to pump up. Vulture Rider: These enemies of the Jouster can fly. They are noble enemies and fearless. In other words, they are not afraid when a power-pellet is eaten. Immobile Things Brick: Brick can not be passed through or destroyed by any character or enemy. Dirt: Dirt can only be passed through by Pookas and Fygars, and Dig-Dug can dig it out to make it tunnel. To all other characters and enemies, it is impassable. Tunnel: Tunnel is like open space, however some characters and enemies have special movement abilities in it. Dig-Dug, Pac-Man, Ghosts, Pookas, and Fygars can move up and down in tunnels. Gates: Gates start out closed, and there will be a switch somewhere that opens them. At least, there will be unless the guy who made the module messed it up. When a gate is closed, it is impassable. If you're on a gate when it closes, you get squished and die. Platforms: Platforms are initally invisible and you can pass right through them. They will materialize when you hit the right switch. Until then, they're just empty space. Once they appear, they're as solid as brick. If a platform materializes on you, you die horribly. Switch: A switch will activate a gate (opening it) or platform (making it appear). Any character touching it will turn it permanantly on. Pressure Switch: This works like a switch, but it is only "on" when a character is standing on it. It takes a few seconds to activate when the character stands on it, and a few to deactivate once the character steps off. Air Mine: It floats in a fixed position. If you touch it, it blows up and you die. If an enemy touches it, it blows up and he dies. Pac-Man, however, can eat Air Mines without any ill effect. Lava: The old video-game standard. Anything that touches lava dies. Power Pellet: Pac-Man's favorite snack. Nothing happens if anyone but Pac-Man touches it. If Pac-Man eats it, all enemies on the level (except Vulture Riders) become "feared" (and turn blue). When they are feared, they are harmless to everyone, and Pac-Man can eat them. Checkpoint: If a character stands on a checkpoint, the flag will slowly raist up. When the flag gets to the top, the level is saved internally. If you die, it will reload the level the way it was when you activated the most recent checkpoint instead of the beginning. Rock: From Dig-Dug, a rock will remain in place as long as there is something under it. If its support goes away, it will fall, killing all characters and enemies in its path. Exit: This is what it's all about. You have to find the exit and get all four characters standing on it at the same time to proceed to the next level. Legal Stuff Gug is freeware, and may be distributed openly and without permission. Dig-Dug, Fygar, and Pooka are the property of Namco entertainment. Pac-Man and the Pac-Man Ghosts (That would make a good name for a band!) and Power Pellets are the property of Bally Midway. Mario, Mushroom, and Koopa are the property of Nintendo. Joust and the Vulture Riders are the property of Williams Entertainment.