PACMAN
TRIVIA: Manufacturer: Bally Midway Year: 1980 Class: Wide Release Genre:Labyrinth/Maze
Type: Video Arcade Monitor: Orientation: Vertical Conversion Class: Namco
Galaxian Number of Simultaneous Players: 1 Maximum number of Players:
2 Gameplay: Alternating Control Panel Layout: Single Player
Controls: Joystick: 4-way (up, down, left, right) Sound: Amplified Mono
(one channel) Abstract A yellow, pie-shaped character named Pac-Man runs
along inside a maze, eating dots as it avoids four ghosts. Each ghost
has its own unique personality and gobbling one of the four super dots
makes Pac-Man invincible to the ghosts for a given period of time. Each
maze has its own unique bonus fruit or object with bonus points increasing
as the game progresses. Cabinet Information These cabinets will sometimes
be "speckled" with pink or blue paint on top of the yellow coat.
Also because of it's high popularity, most cabinets tend to have wear
marks where players would rest the hand they weren't using to control
the game.
Cheats, Tricks and Bugs It is possible to follow a pattern on each maze
that will always clear the screen without being caught by the ghosts.
It is possible to hide forever in one place on the screen. Here's how:
where Pac-Man starts there is a "T"-like wall above him. If
you go up to the right-most part of the "T" from the bottom
without any ghosts seeing you go in, they'll never enter that spot. Also,
don't move, stay still, facing up. Description The four ghosts, which
your character must avoid, each have a different color, name, nickname
and personality. The pink ghost is Speedy, nicknamed "Pinky";
he's fast. The red ghost is Shadow, nicknamed "Blinky"; he's
always behind you and it's hard to shake him. The light blue ghost is
Bashful, nicknamed "Inky"; he's terribly shy and will actually
run away from you. And the orange ghost is Pokey, nicknamed "Clyde";
he'll try his best to get you, but he is slow.
Gameplay: Pac-Man must clear the maze of all 240 dots and all four energizers
to proceed to the next level of difficulty. As Pac-Man eats the dots,
the ghosts chase him around the maze and if Pac-Man collides with one
of the ghosts, he is a goner. He can eat one of the energizers to turn
the ghosts dark blue, which make them edible for him. But after Pac-Man
has eaten any of the ghosts, their eyes will return to the pen in the
middle of the maze where they will each regenerate into their former selves
and return to chase him again. Occasionally, a bonus fruit or prize will
temporarily appear in the middle of the maze below the ghosts' pen. Pac-Man
can eat those bonus items to receive extra points. Also, there is an escape
tunnel in the sides of the maze which Pac-Man can use to get away from
any of the ghosts that may be pursuing him. After the maze has been cleared
of all 240 dots and all four energizers, the entire sequence will begin
again with increased difficulty. Between every three, four or five completions,
there are musical, animated intermissions to amuse the player while he
or she waits for the next challenge to begin. Everything Pac-Man eats
has different point values. The dots are 10 points each, the energizers
are 50 points each, the dark blue ghosts are respectively 200, 400, 800
and 1600 points. There are different point values for every bonus fruit
or prize that is eaten: cherries, 100 points; strawberry, 300 points;
peach, 500 points; apple, 700 points; grapes, 1000 points; thunderbird,
2000 points; bell, 3000 points; and key,5000 points. You will also get
a bonus Pac-Man at 10,000 points.
Hacks: Brakman - Replaces the ghosts with Braks and changes the maze.
It also changes the ready text to "YOWZA!" Clyde's Revenge -
Lets you play as a ghost. DizzyGhost - Lets you play as a ghost. It also
changes the maze. I'm Going Berzerk - Chicken! Eat all the dots like a
robot! Pac-Man 2600 - Changes the maze and graphics to make them look
more like those from the Atari 2600. Popeye Pac-Man - Changes the main
character to Popeye's head. Puckman Renaissance - Changes the graphics
to make them look better. Snowy Day Pac-Man - Has a Christmas theme.
Miscellaneous LICENSOR: Namco SEQUELS: Ms.Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Pac-Man
Plus, Baby Pac Man, Professor Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Pac & Pal, Pac-Land
and Pac-Mania. SPINOFF: Kick Man (Pac Man and the ghosts appear in this
game). AVAILABILITY: This is probably the most common of all arcade games.
Technical The game use a Z80 microprocessor and a Namco 3-channel PSG
for sounds.
Trivia The single most popular game of all time. The game spawned several
lines of merchandise and a Saturday morning animated series on ABC that
lasted two seasons (from 1982 to 1984). There was even a prime-time animated
Christmas special called Christmas Comes To Pac-Land which was first broadcasted
on ABC sometime in December 1982. Actor Marty Ingels supplied the voice
for the main character in both of these animated shows and he was even
given a genuine Pac-Man arcade game by the people who hired him. The game's
hero was born from a pan of pizza with one slice missing, as Toru Iwatani
(Namco), tried to think of a character for his new game. He gazed down
at the pizza, then it dawned on him ... a circle with a wedge missing
for a mouth ... and so, Pac-Man was born. Pac-Man was, at first, called
Puck Man. The name was later changed due to the fact that the middle section
of the 'P' could be scratched away and be offensive to people. If you
are still reading this you must be a Pacman addict !!