DIG is a one of the best emulator frontends for Android devices. DIG makes categorizing your video game emulators and ROMs easy and attractive. With support for Android, everyone can take advantage of DIG to play retro games.
What Is DIG, and What Does It Do?
There are a ton of video game emulators available for Android devices. Unfortunately, if you have a large video game collection, you’re stuck with launching different emulators for each individual system.
DIG acts as a graphical user interface for all of your emulators and ROMs on Android. Essentially, DIG is an attractive way to display your retro game collection, as well as a super-easy way to launch any game from any system.
With DIG, your game collections are organized by console. Furthermore, individual games feature metadata, like box art, screenshots and even a synopsis of game play. It is important to understand that DIG is not an emulator itself; it is merely a graphical interface that organizes the console emulators and ROMs that you already have on your Android device.
Disclaimer
At the time of this writing, it appears as though the DIG frontend app is broken. The app is still available on Google Play; however, there have been numerous user reports that the latest version (1.44.3) does not scan ROM libraries. This could be because Google now requires apps to use the Storage Access Framework. In our tests, we placed ROM files on both the internal device storage and a microSD card. However, we were unable to get the latest version of DIG to “see” our ROM files.
We were able to sideload an older version of DIG on our Android device. The version of the app that we tested was 1.42.4 from APKPure. This version of the app retained all of the functionality detailed in this tutorial. We recommend sideloading this version and refraining from updating to ensure that the app continues to function as intended.
1. Add ROMs to Your Device
DIG does not provide any video game ROMs, nor does it give you the ability to download any ROMs from within the app. Therefore, you must source your ROMs. It’s important to remember that while video game emulators are completely legal, the same cannot be said about ROMs. Obviously, DIG is essentially useless without game ROMs, so you need to get your hands on some before you can start playing.
Once you have your ROMs, you’ll need to transfer them to your Android device. If your Android phone supports microSD cards, we recommend using one. Since DIG is compatible with a number of different consoles, feel free to load your Android device with your entire retro game collection.
Whether you opt for your device’s internal storage or a microSD card, we recommend placing your ROMs in a folder labeled “ROMs” or “Video Games.” If you prefer, you could even organize your ROMs into separate folders by console. This makes it a bit easier to tell DIG where your ROMs are located.
2. Scan for ROMs
With your ROMs on your Android device, launch DIG. When you first fire up DIG, it will ask whether you want it to scrape your device for ROMs. It will give you the option of either scanning your entire device or manually electing a specific folder. Since you’ve already organized all of your ROMs, choose the second option, and point DIG to your ROMs folder to make the scanning process quicker.
Once DIG begins its scan, you’ll notice that your game lists will populate automatically. DIG breaks your ROMs down into categories such as Systems and Genre, making it easy for you to find a game you want to play. For example, tapping on Systems will show you the consoles that have ROMs on your system.
If you have the Super Mario Bros ROM, the Nintendo Entertainment System will show up as a selectable option in the Systems sub-menu. Selecting it will show you all the NES ROMs on your device. Furthermore, DIG will also automatically download the box art, screenshots and other metadata, such as the release date and plot summary associated with each game from TheGamesDB.
Note: your device will need to be connected to the Internet to scan for metadata.
If you add more ROMs to your device in the future, you can easily add them to DIG. To get your new games to show up in DIG, you’ll need to tell DIG to manually scan for new ROMs. To do so, tap on Options in the main menu, then tap ROM scanning, and finally Start manual scan.
DIG will ask whether you want to scan your entire device or a specific folder, then begin its scan. A small wrench icon will appear in the top right of the screen to indicate that it’s still scanning. Once the wrench icon disappears, DIG has finished the scan, and the new games should appear within DIG’s menus. Unfortunately, when you scan for new ROMs, you’ll notice that the cover art and other metadata are missing. To rectify this, scroll down to step number six.
3. Configure the Emulators
While DIG is not an emulator by itself, it is compatible with a wide variety of emulators for a variety of consoles. If you already have an emulator installed on your device that DIG is compatible with, DIG will automatically recognize that emulator and assign it to be used with the ROMs for that system. If you don’t already have an emulator installed for the ROMs in your collection, DIG makes finding and assigning emulators incredibly easy.
If you try to launch a game without an emulator being assigned to play that game, DIG will automatically go to the Google Play Store to download the appropriate emulator. Simply download and install the emulator to your device, and DIG will automatically assign that emulator to be used with corresponding ROMs.
4. Change the Default Emulator
One of the best things about DIG is that you can use virtually any emulator available on Google Play. If you would like to experiment with different emulators, DIG makes it easy to switch between them. To do so, simply navigate to the game list of a console. In the top right of the screen, tap on the three stacked dots. In the drop-down menu, tap on Manage system.
Tap on the default emulator to prompt a list of compatible emulators, then select the emulator that you installed on your Android device. DIG will automatically set that emulator as the default for that system. As a result, the next time you launch a game associated with that console, DIG will use the emulator you nominated to run it.
Tip: looking for more emulators for Android? Try the best Android GBA emulators and the best SNES emulators for Android.
5. Scrape for Missing Cover Art and Metadata
DIG automatically downloads the metadata for your ROMs when you launch the app for the first time. However, if you add games at a later date, those games will not have box art or screenshots when they are added to your game lists. Fortunately, you can scrape for missing cover art and metadata at any time.
To download missing metadata, tap on Options in the main menu. From there, tap on Game covers -> Refresh images. DIG will ask whether you want to attempt to download the missing box art. Tap OK, and DIG will do the rest.
6. Customize the Theme
Now that you’ve added your ROMs and configured the emulators, you’re ready to play your favorite retro games. However, as great as DIG is, the UI is a bit bland. Thankfully, DIG has a number of themes available so that you can customize the look of DIG on your device.
To do so, launch DIG and tap on Options in the main menu. On the following screen, select Themes. In the drop-down menu, tap on Select theme, which will show you four options bundled with the DIG app. The default is Black. You can see examples of the black theme in some of the screenshots above.
In addition to the black and white themes, there is also Gray and, our personal favorite, Blue/Covers, which adopts a blue hue in the menus and uses the box art of the ROMs on your device as a background.
In addition to the default themes, there are a ton of themes available for download, thanks to a robust online community that is making and sharing themes on the official DIG website.
To install a new theme on your Android device, download one you like from the DIG forums. If you downloaded the theme to your computer, you’ll have to transfer the file to your Android device. Be sure to make a note of where you place the file.
Next, launch DIG on your device, and select Options from the main menu, then tap Themes. In the drop-down menu, select Install theme. DIG will prompt you to point it to where the theme is stored on your device. Once the theme is installed, it will be a selectable option alongside the default black, white, gray and blue/covers.
7. Customize How Games Are Displayed
In addition to changing the theme, DIG also gives users the ability to change how games are displayed. The default option displays the box art of your games in a grid. However, there are a number of different options available. When browsing your games, tap on the three stacked dots in the top-right corner of the screen. Tap on View as in the drop-down menu.
In the menu that follows, you will see a variety of options, including Carousel, Wheel, Cover flow, and others. Tap on the option of your choice to apply it. If you don’t like any of the other options, don’t worry. To go back to the default view, follow the same steps, and select Grid.
8. Set DIG to Auto-Start
Don’t plan on using your Android device for anything other than playing retro games? You’ll probably want DIG to launch automatically when you turn your device on. Fortunately, setting this up is a breeze.
First, launch DIG. On the home menu, tap on Options. On the Options screen, select App. In the drop-down menu, tap Auto-start DIG on device boot to flick the toggle switch on. The next time you boot up your Android device, DIG will launch automatically.
With support for multiple systems and emulators and a relatively small footprint, the DIG emulator frontend is an excellent way to easily organize your retro video game collection. While it may take a bit of elbow grease to get the app up and running, it’s definitely worth it. DIG is one of the most user-friendly emulator frontends available for Android. Hopefully, the app isn’t completely abandoned, and we’ll get an update in the near future. Until then, do yourself a favor and track down an older version of the app, and sideload it on your device to enjoy all your old favorites – in a slick package.
Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Ryan Lynch.
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