![]() ![]() When I am out with friends and see a rare machine out in the wild, they always go “Ryan, there’s Pac-Man.” At first I thought they point this out to me because they know I loved playing the game, but I was quick to discover that they just wanted to watch me play the game. Since I had that experience as a kid, I am now well-trained in the art of Pac-Man. ![]() It allowed me to learn every pattern, nook and cranny of the maze – And I got really good at avoiding those ghosts. It was free for me to play, so that fear of losing quarters went away. It was here that would spend hours honing my Pac-Man skills. There were some other arcade cabinets there as well, but I always stuck to Pac-Man. The games I remember most were one of those basketball machines and Pac-Man. They had a large family room full of toys, board games and some arcade machines. The other memory was at a friend’s house. Those ghosts got me every time, but I was a kid and I was working on those puzzle-solving skills. I would lose the game before the pizza would be cooked, and then I would hound my dad for more quarters. A few quarters went a long way back then - most games were only 25 cents. My dad would give me a few quarters to entertain myself while we waited for pizza. Tucked in the corner were a few machines – Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong, and Pac-Man - back when every store and restaurant had at least two arcade machines. It was small, maybe two tables at best with a counter. It was always a little humid in there, even during the winter, as the scent of freshly cooked pizza wafted through the restaurant. The first took place at a pizza place my dad frequented down the street from our small two bedroom apartment. I have two very distinct memories of playing Pac-Man from my childhood. Today we are just talking about the original Pac-Man in all of its arcade glory. I could list off all of the crazy sequels Pac-Man which have been produced by Namco, but we can discuss those on a different day. There is not a single console or piece of technology that I don’t have Pac-Man on, and that’s just the original incarnation of the game. Pac-Man is my earliest gaming memory and as such, has left an imprint on my life. ![]() The original game was released in arcades in 1980 by Namco and has accumulated hundreds upon hundreds of sequels, ports and spinoffs over the years. Survive a few rounds of gameplay, and be treated to humorous intermissions starring Pac-Man and the ghosts.I have been playing Pac-Man for as long as I can remember. This only lasts for a limited amount of time as the ghosts' eyes float back to their center box and regenerate to chase after Pac-Man again. During this time, the ghosts turn blue, and Pac-Man can eat them for bonus points. Pac-Man can turn the tables on his pursuers by eating one of the four Power-Pills located around the maze. One touch from any of these ghosts means loss of a life for Pac-Man. Pac-Man's goal is continually challenged by four ghosts: The shy blue ghost Bashful ("Inky"), the trailing red ghost Shadow ("Blinky"), the fast pink ghost Speedy ("Pinky"), and the forgetful orange ghost Pokey ("Clyde"). One of the most popular and influential games of the 1980's, Pac-Man stars a little, yellow dot-muncher who works his way around to clear a maze of the various dots and fruit which inhabit the board. Android, Apple II, Arcade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit, BlackBerry, Commodore 64, FM-7, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, Intellivision, iPhone, MSX, Neo Geo Pocket Color, NES, Nintendo 3DS, Palm OS, PC-6001, PC-88, PC-98, PlayStation 4, Sharp MZ-80K/700/800/1500, Sharp MZ-80B/2000/2500, Sharp X1, Sharp Zaurus, TI-99/4A, VIC-20, Wii, Wii U, Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox 360, Xbox One, ZX Spectrum ![]()
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