The Pac-Man Syndrome

Pac- man was created by Toru Itwani and licensed by Namco. The game was centered on an old Japanese folk tale.
The object of the game was simply to move through a maze, while gobbling the dots and avoiding ghosts. Pac Man was a tear away success spawning a cult in its wake.

It was picked up for production in the US by Midway.
Pac-man was a nice breakaway for gamers bored with an extreme dose of space invaders. The game soon went on to strip ‘Asteroids’ as the greatest selling game of all time.

Game play

The player maneuvers the protagonist through a maze eating dots. The game proceeds to the next level once all the dots are eaten.

There are four ghosts which roam around the maze trying to catch Pac-man who is the character maneuvered by the player. If the ghosts touch Pac-man, a life is lost.
The game ends when no lives remain.

At the corners of the maze there are four power ups. These power-ups render Pac-man a short-timed ability to gobble up the ghosts.
Once a ghost is eaten, it returns to the ghost pen where it is revived. The regeneration time for the ghosts shortens as the game advances through the stages.

Despite the seemingly randomness movement of the ghosts, their nature is strictly deterministic. This allows experienced players to devise precise patterns of movement that enables them to complete levels without being caught ever.

The simplicity of the game and the adrenaline rush it created, when a ghost came near transformed this game into an addiction. Unofficially, it is the most played game of all time. Read more...

Old School Arcade Titles On Consoles

Porting classic arcade games into consoles has become the latest rage in the gaming industry. The trend clearly affirms the fact that arcade games are not dead.
The gamers are not an elderly bunch of people who grew up on these titles. Kids are also addicted to it. The games have been revamped graphically but never shed the addictive game play which, of course, is the part and parcel of every game.

Arcade games have not been graphically interesting, but this move successfully negates the fact that the popularity of a game largely depends on its game play and not seemingly awe-inspiring graphics.

This phenomenon has also triggered a resurrection of arcade games and made it popular among online gamers. Arcade games are also being ported into handheld consoles like PSP.
This clearly indicates the popularity of arcade gaming.

Some of the ported titles are:

Geometry Wars – The game was a classic when it was released back in 80’s. The upgrade features high end particle physics, digital sound, new special effects, a new scrolling area and high end graphics.
It is set in the far reaches of the galaxy where you battle hordes of vile, neon blazoned aliens. It also lets you choose between the old version and the updated version.

Pac-man – The all time classic has been upgraded with high definition graphics. The game still retains the original game play and the charming retro look.
The newer version features 250 levels of pure action packed fun. The game retains the original music and sound score that the fans remember so well.
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Online Arcade Gaming Community

The success of online arcade gaming can be attributed to the huge number of dedicated online communities that support arcade games.

These games have stood their ground at a time when technological advances have paved way for hardcore graphic systems capable of rendering movie like graphics.

The online community regularly conducts tourneys for arcade games with huge prize money at stake.

Xbox Live conducted a Pac-man championship in New York in May of 2007.

Nine finalists from around the world fought each other for a one of a kind Pac-man inspired Xbox 360 console, 100,000 Microsoft points, and a Pac-Man Live Arcade Trophy.

Finalists were selected based on scores of Xbox LIVE Arcade leader box from Japan, USA, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Canada and Mexico.

The primary reason for a spurt in the online arcade community is the rise of a huge number of multiplayer arcade games.

Arcade games are from another era that is hard pressed to survive an intense competition. This is the primary reason for the close knit nature of arcade gaming communities.

The resurgence of arcade titles on consoles and handhelds is another reason for the growing arcade communities. The online arcade communities have made sure that arcade games are here to stay.

Arcade games have shown an immense resilience surviving everything from consoles to the Internet. The arcade communities have played a huge part in seeing the genre through the hardest of times.

With the advent of internet, these communities saw a massive rise in numbers. These communities are closely knitted and work as a single entity when it comes to competing game genres.
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