WOCKA WOCKA WOCKA: Pac-Man turns 25

By Matt Slagle

AP Technology Writer

June 15, 2005

 

For a video game, Pac-Man is getting downright old. The ghost-wary hero with an insatiable appetite for dots turns 25 this month. 

From the early 1980s "Pac-Mania" to today's endless sequels and rip-offs, the original master of maze management remains a bright yellow circle on the cultural radar. 

But there was more to Pac-Man's broad appeal than eating dots and dodging on-screen archrivals Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. 

"This was the first time a player took on a persona in the game. Instead of controlling inanimate objects like tanks, paddles and missile bases, players now controlled a 'living' creature," says Leonard Herman, author of "Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of Videogames." "It was something that people could identify, like a hero."

 It all began in Japan, when Toru Iwatani, a young designer at Namco, caught inspiration from a pizza that was missing a slice. Puck-Man, as it was originally called, was born. Because of obvious similarities to a certain four-letter profanity, "Puck" became "Pac" when it debuted in the U.S. in 1980.

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So this month is the 25th Anniversary for our yellow pizza geezer. Interesting about him being the first 'persona' for us to control. 

Next up is our space invader. The first thing that struck me is that this is not the archetypal invader of the '80s. If you look at the enclosed screenshot from the original arcade game you will see (and possibly remember) that the green invader was the main man for the remainder of the 20th century. Invader's Revenge was a spin-off by Taito which only used this fella and the saucer. Invaders DX came out in 1994 and the title screen was this same green alien being constructed one pixel at a time in a giant gold metallic effect. 

2003 was (you guessed it) the 25th Anniversary of Space Invaders and after releasing 'Space Invaders Anniversary' in Japan that year, the English version came out last year for the PC and PS2. Check out the cover:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0006M5YP8.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

 

Quelle surprise, suddenly like some unknown actor from the back row of the Dad's Army platoon we have a new frontman. 

Now not having visited either formation I could not comment on whether they were man-made (do you still use the term hoax?). We know that the formations have always been symbols which are tailor made for our psyches. They are all familiar symbols from various times. What strikes me though is why use an updated symbol for a space invader when the original has endured for 25 years and would therefore be the obvious choice to represent part of our recent technological evolution? It suggests to me that this was made by the PC generation and not coin-op fans of a bygone age or space invaders themselves. As I say, it could well display all the hallmarks of a cosher circle but I have my suspicions. 

The piece you have included with the Telegraph Hill formation is bizarre. TSA GAG LALAL - ITS A GALAXIAN or She Who Talks Bollocks. Why try to weave an impressive mystery into an obvious symbol? What do we have here - an alien in a classic round cropcircle. If hoaxers are the most popular candidates as circlemakers, aliens must rank as second. Message explained.