Pac-Manis a storied franchise that set off a craze at arcades in the 1980s, withPac-Manhaving its own rich historythat continues to this day. As the franchise hits its 40th anniversary,Pac-Mancreator Toru Iwatani reveals the origins of the Ghosts seen in the game.
The iconic franchise has been released, and re-released, on countless consoles and has a plethora of spin-offs to its name. Some of these skew close to the original, and others break from the dot-munching standard like the platformer,Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. The brand has remained in the spotlight, and in the hearts of fans, for all these years. Some fans have gone so far as to makecorn mazes that replicatePac-Man’s style.
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Despite its huge cultural impact, there are still questions to be asked about the origins ofPac-Man, and in a new interview, Iwatani addresses the origin of the Ghosts that chase Pac-Man. Iwatani states that he came up with the idea to have ghosts feature in the game because he was inspired by ghosts he read about in Japanese manga. He specifically mentionsLittle Ghost Q-Taroand also cites cartoons likeCasper the Friendly Ghost. Iwatani’s conceived the Ghosts to be more in line with Japanese “youkai,” spirits that simply exist, and did not come to be as a result of a person passing. “Ethereal beings and concepts that reside among nature that were simply ‘there’ from the very beginning.”
The interview also takes a look at the development process of the original game, and makes mention of a visit to American arcades Iwatani made duringPac-Man’s height of popularity. Iwatani doesn’t express too much fondness for other iterations ofPac-Man, but perhaps the version of the gamerecreated by NVIDIA AIwould receive praise from the legendary designer.
The influence ofPac-Mancannot be overstated enough. It was groundbreaking at the time, and has remained iconic for 40 years. Even outside of the video game realm, the namePac-Manappears, as seen in the acronym for a medical technology beingused to fight COVID-19.
While the game may be dated now, Iwatani says of it “we didn’t compromise the design because of technical limitations, and [the game] is as close to perfect as we can get.”
