Design - Toto-RR/PACMAN GitHub Wiki

Narrative structure

It has never been revealed what the story of Pac-Man is, but the best-known theory is the story of Nikolai Peckmann.

This theory tells that in 1976, the astronaut Nikolai Peckmann was sent to the space station Mission Six to investigate the death of four crew members due to unusual levels of radiation. During his first days, he works without problem, until the Hearth connections started to fail, and not only that, he began to show signs of delirium.

In his broadcasts he talked about the existence of a paranormal phenomena that worried him, specifically, from looks that constantly chased him. He did not feel safe anywhere. He was always attentive to any change, any movement. He looked from one side to the other. Without sleep. His excessive anxiety so much that he came to think that he was transported from the spirits of the former deceased companions. Meanwhile, from Earth they watched his behaviour uneasily. They saw how the nerves took over him, how fear lurked from time to time. What led him to consume some other tranquilizer to regain calm. But his excitement didn’t stop. But quite the opposite: it increased much more. To the point that, on the fifth day, he had already consumed most of the provisions and first-aid kits stored for the trip, which further complicated his situation. It was not possible to send a rescue team before he died of starvation. So, what chances will he have left?

Overnight, the connections radically failed. And, for a long period of time, there was no image or sound from the space station. Days passed until, unexpectedly, a choppy recording arrived in which Peckmann was heard screaming. That was the last record we have of him. Then silence reigned. Subsequent investigations only found his suit abandoned in one of the cabins. No trace of him or any sign that explains what happened. This story is one of the few theories that exist around the origin of the videogame. In a way, fueled by the fact that Toru never revealed it.

Pac-Man-Is-On-Pills

Analysis of each level

The objective of all levels is take all pellets without let ghosts touch the player.

Level Picture Information
1 110px-NCV2-PM_Round_1 This level has 186 pellets (190 counting power pellets), the bonus item is a Pineapple (100 points). In this level Kinky will be melded with Pinky, then, Pinky will be like a bunny and will be able to jump to somewhere part of the map, the jump will be marked with a circle.
4 110px-NCV2-PM_Round_4 This level has 246 pellets (250 counting power pellets), the bonus item is a Peach (500 points). In this level, Kinky will be melded with Blinky, then Blinky will be like a bull and will be able to make a small dash that increases his speed to try to touch the player. This level has the added feature of dashes, when Pac-Man eats one by moving over it in the direction it points, it will charge from one side of the maze to the other. This dash gives the player invulnerability for the duration of the dash.
23 NCV2-PM_Round_23 This is the final level, this maze contains 228 pellets and has two parts. Once the Emperor Ghost has landed, it will fly to the top and release four red Kinky clones. Once the player eats 57 pellets, a pellet with the letter 'S' appears in the center of the maze, when the player eat the S-pellet, more ghosts will be added to the maze, this will also repeat when the player eats 114 and 171 pellets and when it respectives S-pellets will be eated, four copies of cyan and orange Kinky will be appear respectively. Once the last S-pellet will be eated (after eat 228 pellets) the Emperor Ghost will descend to the centre of the maze and refill it with green pellets, the player will be back at the starting position. It is also worth noting that although the Emperor Ghost does nothing to threaten the Pac-Mans in the first part of the round touching it is lethal. In the second part, the Emperor Ghost will be follow the player around the maze, as player eat pellets he shoot to Emperor Ghost and he will get redder as player eat pellets. Once 57, 114, 171 and finally 228 pellets are eaten, Clyde, Inky, Pinky and Blinky turns blue respectively, meanwhile, a powerup that resembles a Pac-Man will appear at random position in the maze. Once player eats the powerup, the Emperor Ghost shall jump up and down and explode (that give to player 100.000 points). As the four blue ghosts are thrown off it, sixteen pairs of eyes (which belonged to the Kinky clones) fly away off the top of the screen. After that, you can sit back and enjoy the ending sequence: TAKE A BOW

Gameplay

Pac-man Arrangement is a game that can be played alone or with a partner, where the objective is to make Pac-Man eat all the "Pac-Dots" that are scattered around the level without any ghost touching him. Once the player has eaten all the Pac-Dots, he can advance to the next level. The levels are labyrinths in which both the player and the ghosts can move freely. Within this maze, Pac-Dots and Super Pac-Dots are distributed, which give a bonus that allows Pac-Man to eat the ghosts. If ghosts are eated, they will go to the regenerator, from where they could re-enter the labyrinth. If the ghosts touch Pac-Man, he will lose a life, when he loses all lives, the game is over (the player has a total of 3 lives per game). This game is divided into 6 worlds (World 0 - World 5) and finally the final Boss room.

Characters

Player Characters

Pac-Man NCV2-PM_Pac-Man_(1P) - NCV2-PM_Pac-Man_(2P)

For starters we have Pac-Man. This character does not need any introduction, but it should be noted that in the case of playing with a partner, player 1 will handle the classic Pac-Man (in yellow) while player 2 will handle Pac-Man but it will be green.

Non-Player Characters

Blinky NCV2-PM_Blinky

Blinky is the red ghost. When Kinky melds with him, he will take on the appearance of an enraged bull and will be able to charge horizontally towards the Pac-Mans if he is in the same aisle as one of them. NCV2-PM_Blinky_(Super)

Pinky NCV2-PM_Pinky

Pinky is the pink ghost. When Kinky melds with him, he will take on the appearance of a rabbit and be able to jump directly from his current position to any of the Pac-Man (indicated by glowing circles); however, the only way he can kill a Pac-Man is by doing so is if they can't move from their landing spot in time, or if he catches them. NCV2-PM_Pinky_(Super)

Inky NCV2-PM_Inky

Inky is the light blue ghost. Inky shall gain a pair of dark glasses after Kinky melds with him, and be able to spawn a transparent copy of himself on the other side of the maze (which will disappear when a power pellet is eaten). NCV2-PM_Inky_(Super)

Clyde NCV2-PM_Clyde

Clyde is the orange ghost. He will become obese after Kinky merges with him and will try to slow down the Pac-Mans by spitting out bigger 20-point pellets; this means that if Kinky manages to fuse with him in a round where she goes for him, she can prolong the Pac-Mans' stay in her. NCV2-PM_Clyde_(Super)

Kinky NCV2-PM_Kinky

Kinky is the new blue ghost. If any of the Pac-Man eats it, it will act as an energy pill and make the four remaining ghosts vulnerable (and they're worth 200, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200 when eaten, but if Pac-Man eats an energy pill first and then eat Kinky before it disappears, its point value won't reset, so each ghost eaten after the fifth is worth 7650 points). Also, when a "super" ghost is eaten, it is worth twice its usual point value, and Kinky initially only gets two chances to fuse with one ghost, but starting on the seventh round, he will have three chances to fuse with two ( and since the eleventh round, four opportunities to merge with three). Starting with the fifteenth round, he will have five chances to merge with the four ghosts, and starting with the nineteenth round, he will have six chances to do the same.

Room Objects

Walls

The walls of the levels vary according to the setting of the level, but all fulfill the function of not letting the player or the ghosts pass.

Dash Arrows NCV2-PM_Dash_Arrow

This new bonus item appears on the fourth level, (initially has "DASH" above it). If Pac-Man eats one by moving on it in the direction it's pointing, it will charge from one side of the maze to the other (and temporarily spin any inedible ghosts it passes by). However, if the four returning ghosts are edible, they will be eaten when a Pac-Man eats a Dash Arrow by moving over it in the direction he is pointing and passing them.

Scoring Objects

Regular bonus items

Round 1 4 23
Item NCV2-PM_Pineapple NCV2-PM_Peach Level 23 has no bonus item
Points 100 500 ------------------------------

Special bonus items

  • NCV2-PM_Red_Capsule Red Capsule: Increase Pac-Man speed.

  • NCV2-PM_Pink_Capsule NCV2-PM_Brown_Sack Pink Capsule and Brown Stack: These two will cause all five ghosts to fly into a huge sack in their regenerator for a few seconds.

  • NCV2-PM_Blue_Capsule Blue Capsule: This one shall spawn a transparent copy of the Pac-Man who eats it upon the other side of the maze, for a short period of time.

  • NCV2-PM_Orange_Capsule Orange Capsule: This will increase the digestion speed of the Pac-Man pellets, as some are larger.

  • NCV2-PM_Gold_Capsule Gold Capsule: This will give Pac-Man an extra 100 points (and make him laugh like Inky does when he spawns his copy).

  • NCV2-PM_Magic_Wand Magic Wand: This will transform all five ghosts into gift boxes which are worth 1000 points when eaten, for a short period of time.

  • NCV2-PM_Extra_Life Extra life: This one resembles the original Pac-Man and will give an extra life.

Controls

  • Joystick: Use the 4-way joystick to direct your Pac-Man around each of the game's twenty-three mazes.
  • Button: The button on that Namco Classics Collection Vol. 2 control panel has no function here.
  • 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin the game as player 1 or player 2.