I absolutely love this. We may think of Pac-Man as a simplistic game, but there is in fact a lot of depth there.
There are three modes of movement for the ghosts: Chase, Scatter, and Frightened. In Scatter mode, each of the four ghosts has a different movement goal, and in Chase mode they have really distinct movement goals.
While not covered by the article, I think the scoring system is sublime and is overlooked by many modern players.
Pac-Man is not fun when played for "survival."
The fun and beauty of the scoring system is only evident if you play for score. Then, it turns into a wonderful exercise of risk vs. reward, with each Frightened ghost worth twice the previous one: 200, 400, 800, 1600.
And you really cannot reach a respectable score without going for those 800's and 1600's!
Here's an example: A perfect score on the first board nets you over 16,000 points and takes just a minute or so. However, if you simply played "to survive" it would take five or ten minutes or more to drudge your way to the same score...
I'm sure I'm not the only one who plays with the goal of getting through the most screens. The score is just a number, but seeing the cutscenes is the prize. Although, I'm not that good, so I don't think I've made it to the third cut scene.
Objectively, you are forgoing most of the complexity. It's sort of like playing baseball without trying to hit the ball because you like watching the pitcher throw baseballs.
Subjectively, of course there's nothing wrong with playing a solitary game however you like. I definitely play GTA as a giant murder sandbox, without bothering with the story or missions. =)
I'm curious what brought this article up to the submitter. I choose to believe it is because they recently watched Tim Rogers's 3 hour review of Pac-Man [0]. If I am incorrect, well, here's a link to a 3 hour review of Pac-Man that happens to include much the same information.
One of my random childhood memories is the family gathered around to witness the rare glitch in Pac-Man where you could enter the ghosts' house. It felt like more of an achievement than winning the game honestly.
This whole article reads like a third-hand regurgitation of the same stuff. Author even admits:
"I did some original research to confirm a few statements here and there, but honestly, most of this article is just rearranged and reworded from Jamey [Pittman]'s amazing work on the Dossier."
And Pittman credits all of his regurgitation (oh, sorry, dossier s'il vous plaît), to Don Hodges.
"Special thanks to Don Hodges (www.donhodges.com) whose invaluable contributions to this guide can be found in every chapter."
Jesus Christ. Whatever. See you on the front page.
Retro Gaming Mechanics Explained is a Youtube channel that covers these sorts of things. He did a great visual deep-dive into this topic a few months back:
There are three modes of movement for the ghosts: Chase, Scatter, and Frightened. In Scatter mode, each of the four ghosts has a different movement goal, and in Chase mode they have really distinct movement goals.
While not covered by the article, I think the scoring system is sublime and is overlooked by many modern players.
Pac-Man is not fun when played for "survival."
The fun and beauty of the scoring system is only evident if you play for score. Then, it turns into a wonderful exercise of risk vs. reward, with each Frightened ghost worth twice the previous one: 200, 400, 800, 1600.
And you really cannot reach a respectable score without going for those 800's and 1600's!
Here's an example: A perfect score on the first board nets you over 16,000 points and takes just a minute or so. However, if you simply played "to survive" it would take five or ten minutes or more to drudge your way to the same score...