Inky (light blue) is unpredictable, basically copying the strategies of the other three ghosts on a whim. Pinky (the pink one, duh) is an ambush master, always trying to get around ahead of Pac-Man to cut him off. The reality is, all four of the ghosts have unique personalities and surprisingly complex AI for a game released in 1980.īlinky (the red one) is the most aggressive of the bunch, honing in on Pac-Man and sticking to his heels like a wild-eyed stalker. To the untrained eye, it may seem like there’s no particular rhyme or reason to how Pac-Man’s enemies behave. The ghosts all have unique personalities and strategies they follow. Pac-Man doing exactly what it was designed to do. Quickly Pac-Man became the title less obsessive gamers sought out when they were dragged to the arcade, and soon even the hardcore types started to come around. casual gamer divide already existed in 1980) kids, women and older gamers gravitated toward the unique, less stressful charms of Pac-Man. While hardened Space Invaders fans turned their noses up at Pac-Man (yes, the hardcore vs. In addition to the eating theme, Iwatani focused on less violent gameplay than the shooters that were popular at the time and made the game’s enemies pastel-colored little cuties (the president of Namco wanted them all to be red). I’m not sure that chomping desserts is specifically a girl thing, but it worked out well for Iwatani, so maybe I’m the one who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. In his mind, girls really liked to eat, particularly sweets and desserts, so he decided to make a game based around eating.

Unfortunately, poor Iwatani didn’t have a terribly deep understanding of the women he wanted to attract. He thought they were dirty and smelly and figured they’d be much nicer places to visit if somebody other than teenage guys hung out there, so he specifically set out to create a game that would appeal to women and couples. Iwatani’s general disinterest in gaming and computers would actually serve him well. Pac-Man was designed to appeal to female gamers. Iwatani may not have had the qualifications, but he was clearly quite the artiste. So, the bosses filed this unqualified, directionless kid away in their design department, likely expecting to never hear from him again. Iwatani wanted to get into making pinball machines, but Namco didn’t even make pinball machines. They restrict me, and I’m no different from any artist – I don’t like constraints.” Hardware limitations become my limitations. There’s a limit to what you can do with a computer. A computer is not the only medium that uses images, it just so happens I use the computer. I’m interested in creating images that communicate with people. “I don’t have any particular interest in. Iwatani had no formal training in engineering, programming or graphic design and had no particular interest in video games. Toru Iwatani joined Namco in 1977 at the tender age of 22, with basically zero qualifications. The creator of Pac-Man was in no way qualified to create Pac-Man. The creator of Pac-Man had no formal training, and didn’t even like computers. Here’s a few tasty facts you may not know about the original Pac-Man… Three-and-a-half decades later, the little yellow guy is still going strong. Pac-Man is one of those rare games that simply refuses to age. Pac-Man had characters, carefully designed stages, and - in its own simple way - actually told a story. Pac-Man was the first title to prove video games could be more than simple, reflex-testing digital toys. Pac-Man was the first game to feature power-ups, and its level design and AI was far more advanced than anything else on the market at the time. 35 years ago today, Pac-Man first waka waka waka-ed its way into Japanese arcades, and it’s nearly impossible to overstate the game’s influence.

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