Pac-Man is possibly the most iconic video game in history. It was developed in the pioneer country of this industry par excellence, Japan, in 1980. A fact that flies over the fan community of this arcade is that its creator, Toru Iwatani, came up with the idea of the protagonist while eating a pizza , due to its similarity to a face with an open mouth when one of the pieces is sectioned.
Since its launch, Pac-Man has delighted young and old. The secret of this game is its simple operation (at least, for those of us used to the complex works of art that the industry offers us today); but, at the same time, this entertainment genius was full of richness.
The player must get all the Pac-Dots (the points that the character eats) as he moves through a maze, with the difficulty of having to avoid the annoying ghosts, each one of them, programmed to complicate the life of various ways.
Did you know that it is impossible to beat Pac-Man? If you have the patience and the necessary skill, you will be able to complete 255 levels without problem; But, upon reaching level 256, what its players call ‘the split screen’ takes place; at this moment, a programming error occurs that divides the screen in two , and fills it with elements, making it impossible to complete that level.
Although no one can get past the split screen, Pac-Man was designed to be an indefinite game with no end . Even if you can’t win, you can get the so-called ‘perfect game’, and you will if you manage to reach level 255 with all lives intact, and with the maximum possible score. In 1999, Citizen Billy Mitchell of Florida broke a record by being the first to achieve the perfect game ; at the same time, he offered a reward of ten thousand dollars to the person who managed to overcome the split screen level. Obviously, no one ever claimed that reward.
Pac-Man is not only video game history, but also a cultural icon. Its success is such that the development of products from its rich universe has never ceased. There are 78 versions of the game, the last of them dated 2018. In addition, Pac-Man has its own universe, which even contains members of his family; all of them, reflected in the different games, movies and series that have been produced so far about the Pac-Man universe.
