
Postmortem: Pac-Man, Iwatani's Rhapsody in Yellow (2005) - Red_Tarsius
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/244181/Postmortem_PacMan_Iwatanis_rhapsody_in_yellow.php
======
Red_Tarsius
Check out Iwatani's original sketches: [http://control-
online.nl/gamesindustrie/2010/06/22/iwatani-t...](http://control-
online.nl/gamesindustrie/2010/06/22/iwatani-toont-gamesgeschiedenis-in-meest-
pure-vorm/)

A few years ago I found this dossier
([http://home.comcast.net/~jpittman2/pacman/pacmandossier.html](http://home.comcast.net/~jpittman2/pacman/pacmandossier.html))
about Pac-Man. Jamey Pittman discusses Toru Iwatani's development journey and
provides players with the most complete and detailed study of game's logic.
It's a treasure trove for gamers and developers alike.

~~~
hanlec
Thanks for the dossier link. Now I know how I'll spend my Sunday morning.

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ChrisGranger
"We also considered a few additional game features, such as gates that would
trap the ghosts, but these also had to be sacrificed in order for us to finish
on time."

I recall that Lock 'n' Chase
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_%27n%27_Chase](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_%27n%27_Chase)
(1981) had gates to block the baddies. I wonder what the earliest example of
blocking gates in a maze game like this would be...

~~~
ianstallings
I never played Lock 'n' Chase but I did play Ladybug, that also had a gated
system too:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Bug_(video_game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Bug_\(video_game\))

That game left a great impression on me as a kid.

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fit2rule
" It was especially difficult for us to explain the concept of how Pac-Man,
who spends most of his time avoiding ghosts, is able to turn the tables and
chase the ghosts after eating a power cookie."

I don't know how this could be a difficult concept to grasp - even in the
context of the alien-shoot-em-up-fest that was inflicting the industry at the
time, surely it made sense to have a 'powerup' that would turn the tides?

I'm trying to think of other games of that era that might have had a powerup
for the user to enjoy, but I can't honestly think of something prior to Pacman
so readily .. is it myopia, or was Pacman really one of the first video games
that offered a 'turn the tables' power mechanic?

Because its such an obvious feature of games these days, its sort of
befuddling to be thinking of game design without powerups. I remember the
first time I played Super Mario, thinking .. oh, this magical shroom is a bit
like the Pacman power pill .. but why is any similar example prior to Pacman
so obfuscated to me? I guess the Pacman powerpills were the ultimate in player
revenge ..

