Pac-Man
| Pac-Man | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Action game |
| Year of Release | 1980 |
| Platform(s) | Originally arcade, conversions have been made since |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
Pac-Man is a video game designed by Tōru Iwatani for Namco and first released in Japan in May 1980 under the name Pakkuman (パックマン ). The first Pac-Man game was an arcade game, but due to its popularity it became a game series[1] on a wide variety of platforms and even led to two television shows. Pac-Man has appeared in many other games, including Super Smash Bros games, Mario Kart Arcade GP, and Crossy Road.
In the original Pac-Man game, the goal is to collect every pellet on each level without being caught by four ghosts. These ghosts have different names and personalities expressed through their AI programming. For example, Blinky, the red ghost, constantly chases after the player, while Pinky, the pink ghost attempts to ambush them. Occasionally, a piece of fruit will appear on the screen, allowing players to earn extra points. Power pellets, rarer, larger versions of the normal pellets, allow Pac-Man to eat ghosts and send them to their starting area for a short amount of time. The ghosts flash blue and flee whenever Pac-Man eats a power pellet. When a level is cleared of pellets, the player moves on to the next level.
Within one year, Pac-Man sold 100,000 arcade units. In 1981, ayear after Pac-Man's release, Ms. Pac-Man. This arcade game was an alternate version of the game in which Ms. Pac-Man wore a red bow, and maze designs alternated[1].
Design
I wanted to make a game that would also appeal to women, because arcades back then were really the domain of men. I wanted to make something they could play together on a date, or just on their own. That's why I wanted to make a game that was fun and accessible, and characters that were cute (kawaii).
For the setting I thought of several things that would appeal to ladies, like fashion or shopping. Miy girl friend back then really liked to eat, so that was going to be my theme. When I was eating at Mickey's Pizza, - an American pizza restaurant in Japan, because Japanese pizza's are not really tasty- and had eaten a slice, I looked at the rest of the pizza, and there was the character I was looking for: cute and edible. Pac-Man was born. He was named after the Japanese term for 'the sounds of the movement of the mouth when eating': paku-paku taberu.
The ghosts were also created with the idea of kawaii characters in mind. Something like aliens would not appeal to the ladies, but the colorful little ghosts were really the adversaries I wanted for Pac-Man. It made the rivalry become a bit like Tom and Jerry: adversaries, but with a bit of comic relief.
— Tōru Iwatani, speaking at the 2010 Festival of Games[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The History of Pac-Man on the official Pac-Man website
- ↑ Pac-Man wereldrecord beklonken en het hele verhaal.