PAC-MAN
Words Craig Grannell
RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES 1980
Ah, gaming’s greatest glutton… and sole icon based on a pizza with a missing slice.
Well, maybe. Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani’s anecdote about an inspirational lunch has become wrapped up in myth… but he’s also said that the character’s design was inspired by the Japanese word for mouth. This was down to the game being an attempt to create some family-friendly entertainment that would attract more women to arcades and thus make them less seedy. Also, he thought women really liked desserts, so an eating game would appeal. Or something.
That sounds a bit sexist. You won’t catch modern games getting caught in that trap!
Raised eyebrow emoji… still, whatever its origins, Pac-Man - dubbed Puck Man until US distributors realised gamers in those seedy arcades might get ‘creative’ by scratching out part of the first word - got something right. After a slow start in Japan, where players preferred Galaxian, its popularity soared. And now Pac-Man is the best-selling arcade game of all time. Hundreds of thousands of machines gulped down billions of coins, helping the little muncher to become the AAA mega-hit of his day.
Hey, steady on. Retro games are fine, but
Pac-Man
is a long way from a AAA title.
Arguably, it went further than today’s AAA games - through innovating and influencing countless other titles. It had advanced visuals (colour sprites rather than cellophane strips), cut-scenes and AI enemies with individual personalities… and a bug that glitched out the game at level 256, creating a real challenge for hardcore nutters. But most of all, Pac-Man, unlike most of its contemporaries, remains distinctive and objectively fun. How many of today’s AAA titles will we be saying that about in 2060?