Crossword Dictionary
pac-man
In 1980 the Japanese arcade game manufacturer Namco Limited introduced the world to Pac-Man. The lead designer was Iwatani Tohru, who intended to create a game that did not emphasize violence. The game concept was therefore inspired by food and eating, as opposed to the shooting of space aliens and other foes that prevailed in most arcade games of the time. Instead, players maneuvered through a simple maze with a joystick, devouring coloured dots until all were gone, thereby completing a level and moving on to the next maze.
In Japanese slang, paku paku describes the snapping of a mouth open and shut, and thus the central character, resembling a small pizza with a slice cut out for the mouth, was given the name Pac-Man. The game was made challenging by a group of four “ghosts†on each level that tried to catch and consume Pac-Man; the roles of predator and prey were temporarily reversed when Pac-Man ate special “power pills†placed in the maze.
GHosts
Each of the four ghosts in the game has both Japanese and English names. In Japan they started as Fickle, Chaser, Ambusher and Stupid. Their English names are Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde. They were each created with their own distinct personalities so that the game would never get boring yet would have behaviors that players could learn. For instance, Blinky has a chaser personality while Pinky likes to ambush Pac-Man.