Mr. Do!
1982 · Action · Arcade
Overview
Mr. Do! is a 1982 maze video game developed and published by Universal Entertainment.
Deep Dive
Mr. Do! is a 1982 maze video game developed and published by Universal Entertainment. It is the first arcade video game to be released as a conversion kit for other cabinets; Taito published the conversion kit in Japan. The game was inspired by Namco's Dig Dug, released earlier in 1982. Mr.
Developer Story
Mr. Do! was developed by Universal in 1982. The clown protagonist could either dig tunnels through the playfield to drop cherries on enemies, or throw a bouncing powerball at them. The ball would continue bouncing until it hit something, requiring spatial thinking about its path. Mr. Do! was one of the most inventive action games of its era and spawned several sequels.
Did You Know?
- The powerball in Mr. Do! bounced independently of the player's position — throwing it required thinking several moves ahead.
- Extra men were awarded for spelling EXTRA by collecting letters from enemies, an unusual mechanic mixing spelling with action.
- Universal's "Alpha Monster" — a large creature that appeared if play was too slow — forced players to take risks rather than play defensively.
- The game's hand-drawn, fairground aesthetic was immediately distinctive in arcades dominated by space and military themes.
