It all began in 1979 when Toru Iwatami stared at his pizza with two missing pieces. He noticed that it resembled the mouth of the yellow character he would later create. The name Pac-Man started off as Pakkuman since "paku paku" is the equivalent to "chomp chomp" in Japanese. It was then changed to Puck-Man, and finally to Pac-Man due to fears of vandalism of the previous name.
Iwatami created the game because of his desire for a wider demographic of gamers. Previously, popular arcade games tended to create violent games that mainly attracted crowds of boys and older men. His gender-inclusive game changed the norm and made arcades permissible for everyone.
In addition to its effect on arcade culture, Pac-Manbecame a tool for the new generation of children to learn how to use computers and other electronics in the wake of a new technological era. It was believed that kids who were video game addicts would become the next programmers for future advances.
Today, the game continues to be played across the world. There are even tournaments for intense players. Although Pac-Man is a simple game, its addictive nature has contributed to its long-term success.
https://www.whatitmeanstobeamerican.org/identities/when-pac-man-started-a-national-media-panic/
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/08/the-history-of-pac-man/
https://www.thoughtco.com/pac-man-game-1779412
https://www.fastcompany.com/1683023/how-pac-man-changed-games-and-culture
https://mentalitch.com/history-of-pac-man/
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/could-ms-pac-man-train-the-next-generation-of-military-drones
https://ideainventioncompany.com/digital/understanding-the-origins-of-a-video-game-legend-pac-man/
I learned a lot about Pac-Man! I find it funny how Pac-Man's design stemmed from the look of semi-eaten pizza. It's interesting to see how influential Pac-Man was and how it served as inspiration for many other games. My mom told me that her favorite arcade game growing up was ladybug and whenever she had a few coins to spare she'd go and play the games for hours. The other day I searched the game up and it is very, very similar to Pac-man which I think speaks to how influential Pac-man was to the style of arcade games.
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