User:PrimalMustelid/sandbox2: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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”[[Pac-Man]]” is a [[maze video game]] produced by the game designer [[Tōru Iwatani]] under the video game company [[Namco]] (now merged under [[Bandai Namco]]) that was first released in Japan on May 22 of 1980. In ”Pac-Man”, the player operates a [[Pac-Man (character)|yellow figure named Pac-Man]], who eats dots in a maze and is pursued by [[Ghosts (Pac-Man)|multiple ghosts]] (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde). The game was later released in October of the same year in the United States, selling successfully in markets and becoming a cultural icon. Originally created to appeal to both gender demographics, ”Pac-Man” has been praised for its addictive gameplay and spawned various forms of media as [[List of Pac-Man video games|a franchise]] in addition to appearing in other video games.<ref name=”marked”>{{cite web|last=Beaumont|first=Claudine|date=21 May 2010|title=Pac-Man 30th anniversary marked by Google Doodle|work=Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7750074/Pac-Man-30th-anniversary-marked-by-Google-Doodle.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522004101/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7750074/Pac-Man-30th-anniversary-marked-by-Google-Doodle.html|archive-date=22 May 2010|access-date=17 October 2025}}</ref><ref name=”insert”>{{cite web|last=Heussner|first=Ki Mae|date=21 May 2010|title=”Insert Coin”: Google Doodle Celebrates Pac-Man’s 30th Anniversary|work=ABC|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/google-celebrates-pac-mans-30th-anniversary-doodle/story?id=10709477|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522065810/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/google-celebrates-pac-mans-30th-anniversary-doodle/story?id=10709477|archive-date=22 May 2010|access-date=17 October 2025}}</ref><ref name=”gear”>{{cite web|last=Hutchinson|first=Roland|date=24 May 2010|title=Google Celebrates Pac-Man’s 30th Birthday With Playable Google Doodle|work=Geeky Gadgets|url=https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/google-celebrates-pac-mans-30th-birthday-with-playable-24-05-2010/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531013952/https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/google-celebrates-pac-mans-30th-birthday-with-playable-24-05-2010/|archive-date=31 May 2010|access-date=17 October 2025}}</ref> Other games have been created within the ”Pac-Man” franchise like ”[[Ms. Pac-Man]]” (playable as the [[Ms. Pac-Man (character)|namesake character]]) in 1982, although it was created under a separate game company called [[General Computer Corporation]] and published by another named [[Midway Games]].<ref name=”maps”>{{cite web|last=King|first=Channing|date=31 March 2017|title=Play ‘Ms. Pac-Man’ on Google Maps|work=IndyStar|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/2017/03/31/ms-pac-man-google-maps/99872102/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121172817/https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/2017/03/31/ms-pac-man-google-maps/99872102/|archive-date=21 January 2021|access-date=18 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=5 September 2021|title=The Polygon staff tries to draw Ms. Pac-Man from memory|work=Polygon|url=https://www.polygon.com/22654628/ms-pac-man-fan-art-polygon-draws/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905145549/https://www.polygon.com/22654628/ms-pac-man-fan-art-polygon-draws/|archive-date=5 September 2021|access-date=20 September 2025}}</ref>

A [[Google Doodle]] is a temporary altercation of the [[Google]] website’s logo in celebration of special events like holidays and anniversaries. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the release of the first ”Pac-Man” title in 2010, a Google Doodle of a playable version of ”Pac-Man” was released.<ref name=”gear”/> Sometimes referred to with title names like “”Pac-Man Doodle””,<ref>{{cite web|last=Rizwan|first=Amaan|date=16 January 2023|title=20 Best Google Doodle Games You Should Play Right Now|work=Techworm|url=https://www.techworm.net/2023/01/best-google-doodle-games.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110193531/https://www.techworm.net/2023/01/best-google-doodle-games.html|archive-date=10 January 2023|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref> or “”Pac-Man Google Doodle””, the Google Doodle version of ”Pac-Man” plays like the original version in that the player operates Pac-Man to consume all dots in a maze at a given level while avoiding the four ghosts.<ref>{{cite web|last=Beaumont|first=Claudine|date=25 May 2010|title=Google Pac-Man doodle ‘cost economy $120 million’|work=Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7764218/Google-Pac-Man-doodle-cost-economy-120-million.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023041550/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7764218/Google-Pac-Man-doodle-cost-economy-120-million.html|archive-date=23 October 2010|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref> It features the same visual style, sound effects, and music, with Ms. Pac-Man having distinct sounds from Pac-Man.<ref>{{cite web|date=22 May 2010|title=First playable Google doodle marks 30 years of Pac-Man|work=Agence France Presse|url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/first-playable-google-doodle-marks-30-years-of-pac-man-418680|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107104511/https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/first-playable-google-doodle-marks-30-years-of-pac-man-418680|archive-date=7 November 2015|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Soon|first=Alvin|date=20 May 2010|title=Google celebrates Pac-Man’s 30th Anniversary with first-ever interactive doodle|work=HardwareZone|url=https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/lifestyle/tech-news-google-celebrates-pac-mans-30th-anniversary-first-ever-interactive-doodle?ref=exploremore|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251020065803/https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/lifestyle/tech-news-google-celebrates-pac-mans-30th-anniversary-first-ever-interactive-doodle|archive-date=20 October 2025|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref> The main difference separating the 2010 game with its earlier counterparts is the layout of the maze – it is shaped around the letters spelling “Google” as in tradition for the temporary Google logo replacement.<ref>{{cite web|date=25 May 2010|title=Google Pac-Man eats up work time|work=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/10153286|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406052315/https://www.bbc.com/news/10153286|archive-date=6 April 2015|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref> At the game’s initial release, the player started the game by clicking the button that read, “Insert Coin,” which replaced the “[[I’m Feeling Lucky]]” search feature. Alternatively, they were able to wait ten seconds for the game to automatically start. Pressing the “Insert Coin” button a second time spawned in a Ms. Pac-Man for the second player in the maze along with Pac-Man for the first.<ref name=”insert”/><ref>{{cite web|last=Schofield|first=Jack|date=21 May 2010|title=Pac-Man 30th anniversary Google doodle turns homepage into game|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2010/may/21/pac-man-30th-anniversary-google-doodle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828192439/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2010/may/21/pac-man-30th-anniversary-google-doodle|archive-date=28 August 2019|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref> In the computer version, Pac-Man is controlled using the arrow keys while Ms. Pac-Man is operated with the WASD keys.<ref name=”maps”/> On the mobile version, the player controls Pac-Man by swiping the screen to the direction that they want Pac-Man to go.<ref name=”logo”>{{cite web|last=Sullivan|first=Danny|date=21 May 2010|title=Insert Coin, Play Pac-Man — In The Google Logo! A 30th Anniversary Tribute|work=Search Engine Land|url=https://searchengineland.com/insert-coin-play-pacman-in-the-google-logo-2-42558|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522014524/https://searchengineland.com/insert-coin-play-pacman-in-the-google-logo-2-42558|archive-date=22 May 2010|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref>

The Google Doodle also borrows several level features from the original game. For instance, between some levels are intermissions called “coffee breaks”, which play brief animations to allow for the player to take quick breaks before they resume the game. Upon reaching the 256th level, the Google Doodle will hit a kill screen like the original game, meaning that it will severely glitch out to the point of half the game’s screen being visually hindered and thus make it impossible to further progress through.<ref name=”honor”>{{cite web|last=Berkow|first=Jameson|date=21 May 2010|title=FP Tech Desk: Google honours 30th anniversary of Pac-Man with first-ever interactive doodle|work=Financial Post|url=https://financialpost.com/technology/fp-tech-desk-google-unveils-first-ever-interactive-doodle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251020071039/https://financialpost.com/technology/fp-tech-desk-google-unveils-first-ever-interactive-doodle|archive-date=20 October 2025|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref><ref name=”development”>{{cite web|last=Terdiman|first=Daniel|date=21 May 2010|title=Google gets Pac-Man fever|work=CNET News|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20005528-52.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522013155/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20005528-52.html|archive-date=22 May 2010|access-date=20 October 2025|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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In the Google Doodle blog and a ”[[CNET|CNET News]]” article, Wichary said that he always had interest in arcade video games since his childhood in Poland. His interest was in large part from his father, who was an arcade game and pinball technician who took him to arcades in various coastal cities of Poland and allowed him to explore the engineering and programming of the games. Hence, one of Wichary’s main reasons for his involvement in the 2010 project was to allow others to relive their childhoods. Such passions, he revealed, caused his “commitment to authenticity” in the development of the ”Pac-Man” anniversary game up to its “little quirks”. The “Insert Coin” button served as a reminder of the older times of when people inserted many quarters in arcade machines to play games like ”Pac-Man”; the feature of having to press the button twice for the two player option was a nod to arcade players inserting two coins for a multiplayer option in other arcade games. He wrote that ”Pac-Man” “seems like a natural fit for the Google homepage” due to the “deceptive straightforward” natures of both that were “carefully hiding their complexity under the hood” and the “light-hearted, human touch” of both.<ref name=”development”/><ref name=”blog”/> A Google spokesman gave credit to both Wichary and Germick for their passionate work in making the 2010 ”Pac-Man” game faithful to the original from 1980.<ref name=”marked”/>

The ”Pac-Man” Google Doodle was released on May 21 at 11:00 AM EST, replacing the Google logo as part of Google Doodles for 48 hours up to May 23.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bosker|first=Bianca|date=25 May 2010|title=Google’s Pacman Doodle Devoured 4.8 Million Hours Of Our Time: REPORT|work=HuffPost|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/google-pacman-doodle-devo_n_588605|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208104315/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/google-pacman-doodle-devo_n_588605|archive-date=8 December 2021|access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref><ref name=”honor”/> In a Google blog post, Google user experience vice president “Marissa Mayer” stated that by popular demand from the “overwhelming” success of the Doodle, the game would be made permanently available even after it no longer replaces the Google logo.<ref>{{cite web|date=25 May 2010|title=Google Pac-Man game eats up millions of work hours|work=Press Trust of India|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/Google-Pac-Man-game-eats-up-millions-of-work-hours/article16303397.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922041829/https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/Google-Pac-Man-game-eats-up-millions-of-work-hours/article16303397.ece|archive-date=22 September 2020|access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref> The Google version of ”Pac-Man” can be found in the Doodles Archive for users to play on.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rowlands|first=Chris|date=30 August 2023|title=The Google Doodle turns 25 – here are the best ones ever, ranked|work=TechRadar|url=https://www.techradar.com/computing/search-engines/ranked-the-best-google-doodles-of-the-past-25-years|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830063905/https://www.techradar.com/computing/search-engines/ranked-the-best-google-doodles-of-the-past-25-years|archive-date=30 August 2023|access-date=21 October 2025}}</ref>

== Reception and impact ==

The original 1980 layout of *Pac-Man*. In comparison, the Google Doodle version’s layout is horizontal, accompanying the name “Google“.

Pac-Man is a maze video game produced by the game designer Tōru Iwatani under the video game company Namco (now merged under Bandai Namco) that was first released in Japan on May 22 of 1980. In Pac-Man, the player operates a yellow figure named Pac-Man, who eats dots in a maze and is pursued by multiple ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde). The game was later released in October of the same year in the United States, selling successfully in markets and becoming a cultural icon. Originally created to appeal to both gender demographics, Pac-Man has been praised for its addictive gameplay and spawned various forms of media as a franchise in addition to appearing in other video games.^[1]^[2]^[3] Other games have been created within the Pac-Man franchise like Ms. Pac-Man (playable as the namesake character) in 1982, although it was created under a separate game company called General Computer Corporation and published by another named Midway Games.^[4]^[5]

A Google Doodle is a temporary altercation of the Google website’s logo in celebration of special events like holidays and anniversaries. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the release of the first Pac-Man title in 2010, a Google Doodle of a playable version of Pac-Man was released.^[3] Sometimes referred to with title names like “Pac-Man Doodle“,^[6] or “Pac-Man Google Doodle“, the Google Doodle version of Pac-Man plays like the original version in that the player operates Pac-Man to consume all dots in a maze at a given level while avoiding the four ghosts.^[7] It features the same visual style, sound effects, and music, with Ms. Pac-Man having distinct sounds from Pac-Man.^[8]^[9] The main difference separating the 2010 game with its earlier counterparts is the layout of the maze – it is shaped around the letters spelling “Google” as in tradition for the temporary Google logo replacement.^[10] At the game’s initial release, the player started the game by clicking the button that read, “Insert Coin,” which replaced the “I’m Feeling Lucky” search feature. Alternatively, they were able to wait ten seconds for the game to automatically start. Pressing the “Insert Coin” button a second time spawned in a Ms. Pac-Man for the second player in the maze along with Pac-Man for the first.^[2]^[11] In the computer version, Pac-Man is controlled using the arrow keys while Ms. Pac-Man is operated with the WASD keys.^[4] On the mobile version, the player controls Pac-Man by swiping the screen to the direction that they want Pac-Man to go.^[12]

A few months prior to the game’s release, the Google Doodle team found out that May 22 of 2010 would mark the 30th anniversary of the release of Pac-Man. Like they had with various other holidays and anniversaries, they decided that they would create a Google Doodle celebrating the upcoming Pac-Man anniversary. Ryan Germick, a member of Google Doodle, said that he and his team thought that “it would be awesome to create not only something that references Pac-Man on the home page, but also something playable.” While Google Doodle had before achieved the creation of animated Google Doodle logos like for Isaac Newton‘s birthday featuring apples falling down, the Pac-Man Doodle was intended to be “extra special”. The Google Doodles team, consisting of Ryan Germick, senior user experience designer and programmer Marcin Wichary, and other staff members, partnered with Namco Bandai to build the game from scratch, using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS for game development and recreating sounds and graphics from the original game. The decision to rebuild the Pac-Man game from scratch rather than from getting code from Namco Bandai was deliberate on the part of the Google Doodle team, as Wichary wanted to be consistent in using web development for the Pac-Man Google project like with prior Google Doodles.^[14]^[12] The team made sure that the individual ghosts had different personalities (more specifically individual tactics for pursuing Pac-Man) and that glitches from the original game were also imported into the Doodle version. Ms. Pac-Man, Marcin Wichary wrote in the Google Doodle blog, was added to the Doodle as an Easter egg.^[15] Germick said that Wichary managed to create the “picture-perfect” version of Pac-Man, but the team had to design the layout of the game’s maze to be centered around the Google logo.^[14]

In the Google Doodle blog and a CNET News article, Wichary said that he always had interest in arcade video games since his childhood in Poland. His interest was in large part from his father, who was an arcade game and pinball technician who took him to arcades in various coastal cities of Poland and allowed him to explore the engineering and programming of the games. Hence, one of Wichary’s main reasons for his involvement in the 2010 project was to allow others to relive their childhoods. Such passions, he revealed, caused his “commitment to authenticity” in the development of the Pac-Man anniversary game up to its “little quirks”. The “Insert Coin” button served as a reminder of the older times of when people inserted many quarters in arcade machines to play games like Pac-Man; the feature of having to press the button twice for the two player option was a nod to arcade players inserting two coins for a multiplayer option in other arcade games. He wrote that Pac-Man “seems like a natural fit for the Google homepage” due to the “deceptive straightforward” natures of both that were “carefully hiding their complexity under the hood” and the “light-hearted, human touch” of both.^[14]^[15] A Google spokesman gave credit to both Wichary and Germick for their passionate work in making the 2010 Pac-Man game faithful to the original from 1980.^[1]

The Pac-Man Google Doodle was released on May 21 at 11:00 AM EST, replacing the Google logo as part of Google Doodles for 48 hours up to May 23 in honor of the original game’s 30th anniversary since its release on May 22, 1980.^[16]^[13] It is the first interactive Google Doodle to have been ever released.^[7] In a Google blog post, Google user experience vice president “Marissa Mayer” stated that by popular demand from the “overwhelming” success of the Doodle, the game would be made permanently available even after it no longer replaces the Google logo.^[17] The Google version of Pac-Man can be found in the Doodles Archive for users to play on.^[18]

Reception and impact

[edit]

^ ^a ^b Beaumont, Claudine (21 May 2010). “Pac-Man 30th anniversary marked by Google Doodle”. Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
^ ^a ^b Heussner, Ki Mae (21 May 2010). “‘Insert Coin’: Google Doodle Celebrates Pac-Man’s 30th Anniversary”. ABC. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
^ ^a ^b Hutchinson, Roland (24 May 2010). “Google Celebrates Pac-Man’s 30th Birthday With Playable Google Doodle”. Geeky Gadgets. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
^ ^a ^b King, Channing (31 March 2017). “Play ‘Ms. Pac-Man’ on Google Maps”. IndyStar. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
^ “The Polygon staff tries to draw Ms. Pac-Man from memory”. Polygon. 5 September 2021. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
^ Rizwan, Amaan (16 January 2023). “20 Best Google Doodle Games You Should Play Right Now”. Techworm. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ ^a ^b Beaumont, Claudine (25 May 2010). “Google Pac-Man doodle ‘cost economy $120 million’“. Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ “First playable Google doodle marks 30 years of Pac-Man”. Agence France Presse. 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ Soon, Alvin (20 May 2010). “Google celebrates Pac-Man’s 30th Anniversary with first-ever interactive doodle”. HardwareZone. Archived from the original on 20 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ “Google Pac-Man eats up work time”. BBC. 25 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ Schofield, Jack (21 May 2010). “Pac-Man 30th anniversary Google doodle turns homepage into game”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ ^a ^b Sullivan, Danny (21 May 2010). “Insert Coin, Play Pac-Man — In The Google Logo! A 30th Anniversary Tribute”. Search Engine Land. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ ^a ^b Berkow, Jameson (21 May 2010). “FP Tech Desk: Google honours 30th anniversary of Pac-Man with first-ever interactive doodle”. Financial Post. Archived from the original on 20 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Terdiman, Daniel (21 May 2010). “Google gets Pac-Man fever”. CNET News. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
^ ^a ^b Wichary, Marcin (21 May 2010). “30th Anniversary of PAC-MAN”. Google Doodle. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
^ Bosker, Bianca (25 May 2010). “Google’s Pacman Doodle Devoured 4.8 Million Hours Of Our Time: REPORT”. HuffPost. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
^ “Google Pac-Man game eats up millions of work hours”. Press Trust of India. 25 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
^ Rowlands, Chris (30 August 2023). “The Google Doodle turns 25 – here are the best ones ever, ranked”. TechRadar. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2025.

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