-
Introduction
The game Pac-Man always brings back waves of nostalgia and the memories of fun nights in arcades. However, the game we know and love is actually just the original version. The game Pac-Man evolves and changes as time goes on and many different versions of the game have been created. A few of these versions are Pac-mania, Pac-In-Time, and Pac-Man Arrangement. -
The Original Pac-Man
An image of the very first Pac-Man game. It was created by Toru Iwatani, who worked for the company Namco. Intended to be a fun arcade game that appeals to both genders. The gameplay features Pac-Man who is controlled by a joystick and the goal is to "eat" all of the pac-dots and to avoid being caught by the ghosts that are chasing you the entire game, you get three lives before it is game over. -
Pac-Man Gumball Bank
This object is an old gumball machine bank. This object represents the culture that the original Pac-Man created. It was created by Superior Toy & Manufacturing Co., Inc in 1983. The audience is small children who like Pac-Man and playing with toys.
This goes hand in hand with the first artifact because it represents how popular the game became. This shows that the game became so popular that merchandise relating to the game was made so that people could have it in their everyday life. -
Pac-Mania
A later version of the game called Pac-Mania. Created by the same developers of the original Pac-Man. Also meant to be appealing to all audiences like the original. This version of Pac-Man is actually 3D and features a few differences in gameplay. The goal of the game stays the same however it is now in a 3D format, Pac-Man also has the added ability to jump over things like dots and ghosts.
These changes were likely made to bring back the original excitement that came with the first game. -
Pac-In-Time
This is another later version of the Pac-Man game. It features much more active gameplay than the previous versions but keeps things like the classic yellow dots that Pac-Man eats and the player is still being chased but instead of ghosts, the game features a caterpillar. This new version of the game was developed to better compete with more popular games of the time. The popularity of the earlier games decreased so this game was designed to be new and different from the others. -
Pac-Man Arrangement
The most recent arcade game since Pac-Mania came out. This game features very similar gameplay to the original Pac-Man but features many cosmetic changes. The background music was changed to full songs and the characters were given a more 3D-like appearance. There was also another ghost added to the game that has unique abilities. -
Works Cited
“History of Pac-Man.” Pac-Man Official Website,pacman.fandom .com/wiki/Pac-Mania.
Lowood, Henry E.. "Pac-Man". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May. 2004, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pac-Man-1688279. Accessed 27 March 2021.
“Pac-Man Gumball Bank.” National Museum of American History, americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1277873.
“Pac-Mania.” Pac-Man Wiki, pacman.fandom.com/wiki/Pac-Mania. -
Summary
The well-known character of Pac-Man has always been a staple in the gaming world but not many people pay attention to the amount that he has changed over-time. His character as well as the gameplay has evolved. As different trends became popular different versions of Pac-Man were created to keep up with these trends and to maintain popularity. Many aspects of Pac-Man stay the same but others have changed to maintain popularity in modern times.