| Pac-Man – Immensely popular computer game of its category, firstly released in the year 1979 in Japan. Its release affected different fields of culture: a serial was taken and a musical album called PacMan Fever was released, which included the tracks of the popular games from that year. Until the launch of PacMan, most of the American games were cosmic shooters like Space Invaders or Defender. PacMan evolved absolutely as a new style game, not anticipated by violence because of which it is targeting boys and girls.
The character also appears in more than 30 officially licensed games and sequels, as well as in numerous unauthorized clones and bootlegs.
Subject Matters:
PacMan – a round yellow being, containing of one mouth. Player target – to collect all the white dots on the level avoiding collision with ghosts. The level finishes when all dots are eaten. A ghost exists in the center of the screen while starting the level in a small room from where they keep moving out one by one, and one ghost starts the level out side the room. Every ghost has their individual characteristics. If Pac-Man eats the big white dot – “Energizer”, ghost becomes soft for a period of time and avoids meeting pacman. Ghosts which are eaten at such a situation do not disappear but move to the center of the screen, and the player gets some additional points. If at all to enter into the corridor, the guide on the left side border of the screen or the right side border of the screen, pacman comes out from the opposite side of the screen(how ever ghosts also can do this, but before entering the corridor they gets slow down and pacman maintains the speed). Also at levels there may be some bonus – fruits, which gives additional points to the player when he eats them.
Reflection in the culture
Inspite of that in Europe Pac-Man was not able to get wide support, in USA round yellow shaped being received huge distribution. Particularly, smileys which are used in modern messengers were pictured from him.
PacMan is mentioned in the song “Mope” by the group Bloodhound Gang, and also in the clip from this song, for reality in humoristic manner.
In the computer game Wlofenstein 3D there exists a secret floor, designed as Pac-Man game. In the place of yellow dots player may collect treasure, stealing from those four ghosts.
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Today is the anniversary of PacMan. On October 10, 1979 this video game was first released in Japan and became a classic hit. The original game name for the US release was planned as Puck Man, but the distributors realized that many people would erase part of the first letter, so PacMan name was used instead, which became classic and virtually synonymous with video games.
