 Wednesday, August 2, 2023 in Games  No Comments |  | | The original game is at the root of a rich design tradition, one that goes well beyond detailed graphics and fluid controls. 
When Pac-Man arrived in 1980, it didn’t just become a popular video game. It transcended video games. There was Pac-Man cereal in grocery stores, a Pac-Man cartoon on television, and even a hit Pac-Man song on the radio. In other words, Pac-Man blew onto the scene with a scale of cultural impact that video games, already an international phenomenon, had never previously achieved.
In the decades since its release, the game inspired a Martin Amis novel and a fashion collection, not to mention a slew of merchandise, from novelty boxer shorts to a commemorative alcohol from Matsunami Sake Brewery. Clearly, Pac-Man’s appeal goes beyond games.
And yet the games themselves — there have been over 200 releases to date — continue to find a receptive audience. This week, 40 years after Pac-Man’s launch, Google’s Stadia service will release Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle, yet another addition to the franchise. And Google is far from alone. In October, Pac-Man creators Bandai Namco released Pac-Man Geo, an app that turns real city streets into Pac-Man mazes; earlier this month, British developers Steamforged Games released Pac-Man: The Card Game, a family tabletop game. So what explains the enduring appeal of Pac-Man?
Just like film has a set of fundamental techniques — angles, cuts, pans, and zooms — there are fundamental techniques of video games. But unlike film’s metalanguage, which we’ve been discussing for a century, we are just starting to understand the fundamentals of video games — how their operations create meaning and shape our playing experiences. This is where Pac-Man blazed new trails.
In my new book, “How Pac-Man Eats,” I explain the design innovation that made Pac-Man possible — and so impactful — and explore how game developers still apply that approach to the fundamental techniques of games today, broadening the ideas that they can express.
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