| Ms. Pac-man | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Midway / General Computer Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | Midway / Namco |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Atari 8-bit family, Atari Lynx, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, iPod, Mobile Phone, NES, Sega Mega Drive, Super NES, ZX Spectrum, Xbox Live Arcade |
| Release date | 1981 |
| Genre(s) | Maze |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Input methods | 4-way Joystick |
| Cabinet | Upright, cabaret and cocktail |
| Arcade system | Namco Pac-Man |
| Display | 19 inch Raster, Vertical orientation, 224 × 288 |
Ms. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video Midway Games ( (formerly Midway Manufacturing) is an American Video game publisher. The General Computer Corporation (GCC is a printer company today but was started in 1981 by Doug Macrae and Kevin Curran as a Video game company Midway Games ( (formerly Midway Manufacturing) is an American Video game publisher. is an amusement company based in Japan, best known overseas for Video games development In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in businesses such as Restaurants Pubs Video arcades and Family Entertainment The Atari 2600 is a Video game console released in October 1977 The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, or simply the Atari 5200, is a Video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a Video game console released by Atari Corporation in June 1986 The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit Home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992 The Atari Lynx was a Handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in 1989 The is a handheld video game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. The is Nintendo 's successor to the Game Boy and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan and in November 19, 1998 The Sega Game Gear is a Handheld game console which was Sega 's response to Nintendo 's Game Boy. iPod is a popular brand of Portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc The Nintendo Entertainment System (often abbreviated as NES or simply Nintendo) is an 8-bit Video game console that was released by The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES (also called SNES and Super Nintendo) is a 16-bit Video game console that was The Sinclair ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal Home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to digitally distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling The Namco 8-bit Pac-Man Arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1980 In Computer graphics, a raster graphics image or bitmap, is a Data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of Pixels Pac-Man is an arcade video game produced by Midway as an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man. An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in businesses such as Restaurants Pubs Video arcades and Family Entertainment A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Midway Games ( (formerly Midway Manufacturing) is an American Video game publisher. is an Arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution It was released in North America in 1981 and became one of the most popular video games of all time, leading to its adoption by Pac-Man licenser Namco as an official title. Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 is an Arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution This article is about the holding company and the group of companies it owns This game introduces a female protagonist, new maze designs, and several minor gameplay changes over the original game. The Protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story.
Contents |
Gameplay
The gameplay of Ms. Pac-Man is largely identical to that of the original Pac-Man. The player gathers points by eating dots and avoiding ghosts (contact with one loses a life). Power-pellets or energizers change the ghosts which reverse their course and can be eaten for bonus points (200, 400, 800, and 1600 points if all 4 are eaten before they change back to their normal colors). Fruit bonuses can be consumed for increasing point values, twice per level. As the levels increase, the speed and difficulty increase as well.
There are, however, some notable differences:
- There are now six different mazes (four styles, with 5 colors), and "filled-in" walls (compared with the original Pac-Man's hollow walls). Each maze has two pairs of "warp tunnels" connecting the right and left sides of the maze (except for the third maze design which only has one set of tunnels). The maze is changed after each intermission.
- The ghosts have pseudo-random movement, which precludes the use of pre-set movements (patterns) to beat each board.
- Instead of appearing in the center of the maze, "fruits" enter the maze through one of the warp tunnels and bounce around the ghost pen. They eventually leave through another tunnel if not eaten. The point values increase through the banana (5,000 pts), after which fruit appears in a somewhat random pattern.
- The orange ghost's name changed from Clyde to Sue. (Sue would later become a purple female ghost in Pac-Land, appearing alongside Clyde. Pac-Land is an entry in the Pac-Man series of arcade Video games released into arcades by Namco, and its American distributor )
- The three intermissions have changed to follow the developing relationship between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man (from when they first meet to having a stork drop off their baby. )
Like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man has a bug in the fruit-drawing routine, which renders the 256th board unplayable. While it may be possible to reach the 256th board using the "rack test" cheat available as a DIP switch (usable through MAME or other arcade emulator), the actual arcade hardware will crash at or around the 134th board. A DIP switch is a set of manual electric switches that are packaged in a group in a standard Dual in-line package (DIP (the whole package unit may also be referred MAME is an Emulator application designed to recreate the Hardware of Arcade game systems in Software, with the intent of preserving gaming At this point in the game, a bug in the code causes invalid data tables to be used for a subroutine which is supposed to draw invisible characters which slow down the ghosts in the tunnels[1]. On level 142, a similar bug causes a corrupt value to be loaded into the pointer to the maze data, causing the screen to turn black. Although the ghosts and Ms. Pac-Man are still visible, the game becomes unplayable.
History
Ms. Pac-Man was originally conceived as a bootlegged hack of Pac-Man called Crazy Otto[2], created by programmers employed at the General Computer Corporation (GCC). A counterfeit is an imitation that is made usually with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins Hack has several meanings in the technology and computer science fields The General Computer Corporation (GCC is a printer company today but was started in 1981 by Doug Macrae and Kevin Curran as a Video game company
The programmers, surprised at the quality of the game they had created, showed it to Midway, Namco's American distributor of the original game. is an amusement company based in Japan, best known overseas for Video games development Midway had become impatient in waiting for Namco to release their next Pac-Man game (which would be Super Pac-Man), and were enthusiastic that such a game had come to their attention. Super Pac-Man, released in 1982 and taking a slant on the legendary Comic book hero Superman, is the third installment of the They bought the rights to Crazy Otto, changed the sprites to fit the Pac-Man "universe," renamed the game Ms. In Computer graphics, a sprite (also known by other names see Synonyms below is a two-dimensional/three-dimensional Image or Animation that Pac-Man and released it into arcades. The game is considered by many to be Midway's answer to the question of how they could get girls to play their games.
After the game became wildly popular, Midway and GCC undertook a brief legal battle concerning royalties, but because the game was accomplished without Namco's consent, both companies eventually turned over the rights of Ms. Pac-Man to the parent company, fearing a lawsuit. Nonetheless, Ms. Pac-Man was the first of a series of unauthorized sequels that eventually led to the termination of the licensing agreement between Namco and Midway. [3]
Ms. Pac-Man was later released on the third Namco Museum game, however there is no mention of it in Namco's official archives (including the archives on all of the Namco Museum releases). Namco Museum refers to the series of Video game compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles containing releases of
In 2001, Namco released an arcade board featuring both Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga in honor of the 20th anniversary of both games. Galaga is a Fixed shooter Arcade game and the sequel to Galaxian. It also features Pac-Man as a hidden bonus game. is an Arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution The later 25th Anniversary Edition allows all three games to be selected at the main menu.
Home versions and re-releases
Like many other games of its era, Ms. Pac-Man has been ported to many home computer and gaming systems. It has also been included in Namco's, Microsoft's and Atari's late 1990s series of classic game anthologies, and is an unlockable minigame in Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures and Pac-Man World 2. Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer ANThology is the first Major label album by Alien Ant Farm released on March 6, 2001 in the USA and March 19 Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures (ハロー! パックマン Hello! Pac-Man /Herō! Pakku-Man is a Side-scrolling game incorporating both puzzle Pac-Man World 2 is a Video game by Namco for Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, and
The Mega Drive/Genesis and NES versions, by Tengen, and the Super NES version, by Williams Electronics, took a few liberties. The is a 16-bit Video game console released by Sega in Japan in 1988 North America in 1989 and the PAL region in 1990 The Nintendo Entertainment System (often abbreviated as NES or simply Nintendo) is an 8-bit Video game console that was released by Tengen was a Video-game publisher and developer that was created by arcade game manufacturer Atari Games. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES (also called SNES and Super Nintendo) is a 16-bit Video game console that was WMS Industries Inc ( is a long-standing American electronic gaming and amusement company based in Waukegan Illinois. They featured 4 different sets of mazes: the original arcade mazes, bigger mazes, smaller mazes, and "strange" mazes. There was also a "Pac-Booster" option which lets players make Ms. Pac-Man go much faster. All of these versions also allow two people to play simultaneously, with player 2 as Pac-Man, either cooperatively or competitively. A special version of the game was also released for the Atari Lynx, introducing new mazes and a power-up that gave the player a temporary speed boost. The Atari Lynx was a Handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in 1989
A tabletop version of Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1981 by Coleco. The unit was shaped like a miniature arcade cabinet, was controlled with a built-in joystick, and used a multicolor vacuum fluorescent display. A vacuum fluorescent display (VFD is a Display device used commonly on consumer-electronics equipment such as Video cassette recorders Car radios [4]
A standalone, battery-powered version of the game released by Jakks Pacific can be plugged directly into a television. In electronics a battery is a combination of two or more Electrochemical cells which store chemical Energy which can be converted into electrical energy JAKKS Pacific Inc is a multi-brand company that designs and markets a broad range of Toys and consumer products and is based in Malibu California. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic Ms. Pac-Man and four other games (Galaga, Mappy, Xevious and Pole Position) are included in a self-contained joystick hand controller[5]. Galaga is a Fixed shooter Arcade game and the sequel to Galaxian. Mappy is a 1983 Arcade game by Namco. In the US, it was manufactured and distributed by Bally/Midway. is a vertical Scrolling shooter Arcade game by Namco, released in 1982. Pole Position is a racing Video game released in 1982 by Namco. Ms. Pac Man was also a free game bundled with every Xbox Live Arcade disc for the original Xbox. Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to digitally distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners The Xbox 360 XBLA version was released on January 9, 2007. The Xbox 360 is the second Video game console produced by Microsoft, and was developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, and SiS. Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to digitally distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
A version of Ms. Pac-Man was created for the Puffer exercise bike controller by Jim Leiterman for the Atari 5200 as part of the Puffer project. The Atari 5200 SuperSystem, or simply the Atari 5200, is a Video game console that was introduced in 1982 by Atari Inc It was never intended to be published. [6]
Ms. Pac-Man in popular culture
In film and television
- Ms. Pac-Man is a central character in the Pac-Man animated TV series, where she is named Pepper and is Pac-Man's wife. Pac-Man, also known as Pac-Man The Animated Series, is an animated TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based upon the popular
- A Ms. Pac-Man machine is the basis of a storyline in the Friends episode The One Where Joey Dates Rachel. Friends was an The following is a list of episodes of the Emmy Award -winning United States Situation comedy Friends. The plot line revolves around Chandler entering crude words onto the game's high-score screen and then have Phoebe attempt to beat his scores (thus removing them) before Ross's seven year old son arrives.
- A Ms. Pac-Man machine is the focus of several scenes in episode "My Own Private Practice Guy" of the TV show Scrubs. The following is a complete episode list for the television show Scrubs, which began being broadcast on October 2 2001 Scrubs is an Emmy and Peabody Award -winning American Comedy-drama that premiered on October 2 2001 on NBC. The Todd comments "Oh Ms. Dr Todd " The Todd " Quinlan MD, is a fictional character in the Comedy-drama Scrubs played by Robert Maschio Pac-man I would sex that bow right off your head. Eat those dots you naughty, naughty girl. " Dr. Kelso is also an expert at the game, with an impossibly high score of 40,000,000 (the maximum score possible is 3,333,360). Robert "Bob" Kelso, MD (most commonly referred to as Bob Kelso, Bobbo or Kelso) is a fictional character played by Ken Jenkins
- In an episode of the animated series Futurama, "Anthology of Interest II", in Fry's video game inspired segment Ms. Futurama is an Emmy Award -winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Groening and " Anthology of Interest II " is the eighteenth episode of the third season of Futurama. Pac-Man appears after her husband, General Colin Pac-Man, is killed by a laser bolt from a Space Invader. is an arcade Video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978 Fry then asks Amy to tend to "the Widow Pac-Man".
- In The Go! Team's music video Junior Kickstart, Ms. The Go! Team are an English, Brighton -based six piece band (with two Drummers whose songs are a mixture of action theme songs, cheerleader Pac-Man is depicted running around New York City while being chased by Blinky, Inky and Pinky. The City of New York
- In an episode of The Simpsons, Marge reminisces to a time in the early '80s when Ms. " Lisa's First Word " is the tenth episode of The Simpsons ' fourth season, which was originally broadcast on December 3 Marjorie "Marge" Simpson (née Bouvier) is a Fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons Pac-Man "struck a blow for women's rights. "[7] Also in the episode Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass, when Homer tried to come up with an idea for his halftime show by watching previous Super Bowl halftime shows, there was the wedding of Pac-Man and Ms. " Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass " is a Super Bowl themed episode of The Simpsons that was broadcast after Super Bowl XXXIX. halftime show is a performance given between the first and second halves or the 2nd and 3rd quarters of a sporting event professional American football, the Super Bowl is the Championship game of the National Football League (NFL Pac-Man, who began dancing along with the ghosts of Pac-Man.
- In the movie Wayne's World, Wayne asks the owner of 'Noah's Arcade' "I've always wanted to know what is the difference between Pac-Man and Ms. Wayne's World is a 1992 Comedy film starring Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar hosts of the Aurora Pac-Man, really?", to which he replies "Well, she has a bow on her head". Wayne responds with: "That's it? Get right out of town!".
- In an episode of the animated TV show Drawn Together Xander, a video game character, hosts a party for his video game friends. Drawn Together is an American Animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November Pac Man is there, and during the course of the party it is revealed he is also Ms. Pac Man, as he is a transvestite. This article deals with the history of the word 'transvestite'
- In an episode of Viva Variety, Michael Ian Black's character Johnny Blue Jeans performed a song dedicated to his love for Ms. Viva Variety was a television show on Comedy Central satirizing European variety shows with characters from the Eastern Bloc. Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American Comedian, Actor, and Writer. Pac-Man.
- Comedian and talk show host Tom Green owns a Ms. Michael Thomas "Tom" Green (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian Actor, Rapper, Writer, Comedian Pac-Man arcade machine which could often be seen in his living room during episodes of Tom Green Live!, and less frequently during episodes of Tom Green's House Tonight. Tom Green's House Tonight (formerly known as Tom Green Live) is an Internet-based Talk show hosted by Tom Green.
In music
- In 1982, R. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Cade and the Video Victims recorded a song titled "Ms. Pac-Man", using sound effects from the game, and released it on the album "Get Victimized", a lesser-known video game song album. Get Victimized! by R Cade and the Video Victims, who appear to be John Lombardo and D
References
- ^ Donhodges.Com - Ms. Pac-Man'S Kill Screens Analyzed And Fixed
- ^ Crazy Otto
- ^ Ms. Pac-Man Videogame by Midway (1981) - The International Arcade Museum and the KLOV
- ^ Coleco Ms Pac Man
- ^ Welcome to JAKKS TV Games >> Ms. Pac-Man
- ^ Reichert, Matt, 5200 Rumor Mill: Puffer Ms. Pac-Man, <http://www.atariprotos.com/rumormill/5200/5200rumor.htm#M>. Retrieved on 24 October 2007
- ^ "Lisa's First Word" Episode 69 Season 4 Production code 9F08
External links
- Ms. Pac-Man guide at StrategyWiki
- Ms. Pac-Man (360) Reviews at Metacritic
- ClassicGaming.com entry on Ms. Pac-Man
- Ms. Pac-Man at the Killer List of Videogames
- Ms. Pac-Man at MobyGames
- Ms. Pac-Man at the Internet Movie Database
- Twin Galaxies Scoreboard for Ms. Pac-Man
- Pactionary -- list of terms and current games
- Ms. Pac-Man being used to test cognitive reasoning in chimps
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic