Pac Man is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the USA by Midway, first released in Japan in 1979.
When Pac Man was released, most arcade video games in North America were primarily space shooters such as Space Invaders and Defender or Asteroids.Pac Man is often credited with being a landmark in video game history, and is among the most famous arcade games of all time.
The Game Play:
The player controls Pac-Man through a maze, eating dots. When all dots are eaten, Pac-Man is taken to the next stage. Four ghosts (known to most gamers as Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) roam the maze, trying to catch Pac-Man. If a ghost touches Pac-Man, a life is lost. When all lives have been lost, the game ends.
Near the corners of the maze are four larger, flashing dots known as "energizers" or "power pellets", which provide Pac-Man with the temporary ability to eat the ghosts. The ghosts turn deep blue, reverse direction, and usually move more slowly when Pac-Man eats an energizer. When a ghost is eaten, its eyes return to the "ghost pen" where it is regenerated in its normal color. Blue ghosts flash white before they become dangerous again and the amount of time the ghosts remain vulnerable varies from one board to the next, but the time period generally becomes shorter as the game progresses. In later stages, the ghosts do not change colors at all, but still reverse direction when an energizer is eaten.
Ghosts:
Initially, Pac-Man’s enemies were referred to as "monsters" on the arcade cabinet, but soon became colloquially known as "ghosts." The ghosts are bound by the maze in the same way as Pac-Man, but generally move and turn corners slightly slower than the player, and they slow down significantly while passing through the tunnels on the sides of the maze. (Pac-Man can pass through these tunnels unhindered.) The red ghost speeds up after a certain number of dots are eaten (this occurs earlier in higher levels). The accelerated Blinky is unofficially called "Cruise Elroy", though opinions differ on the origins of this term. |
