11/2/2022 0 Comments Vertical screen wrap platformersPac-Man’s speed matches Blinky’s, a design choice that allows Blinky to chase Pac-Man effectively and makes the tiny speed boost granted when Pac-man rounds corners more obvious. Pac-Man’s normal movement speed is also divisible by 10. The speed values for Blinky are all divisible by 10. Blinky, the red Ghost, speeds up two times in a level based on the number of Dots left in the maze. Fright times are whole numbers measured in seconds, which makes counting easier. Ghosts flash an odd number of times before becoming deadly, which helps musically-inclined players who are used to musical phrases ending on an even beat. Many variables are tuned to be easier for players to keep track of mentally. Keeping it 3 and 5 gives players who anticipate a 3 flash change to react accordingly by the 5th flash. The number of times frightened Ghosts flash before becoming deadly is either 3 or 5 It would be more difficult to determine exactly when Ghosts turn deadly if the number of flashes ranged from 1-5. Pac-Man and Ghost speed can be discerned by simply observing their sprites for a few seconds of motion. Between levels 4 and 5, the difference of Fright Pac-Man’s dot-eating speed is 4%, a change so subtle that players may not perceive it consciously, but I’m confident that players can feel the difference.Īll of the variables listed above control gameplay elements that have clear feedback. On the other hand, during this “fright” time Pac-Man’s speed is lowered while he eats Dots. In the early levels his speed increases to help players chase vulnerable Ghosts. When Pac-Man eats an Energizer Power-Pellet his speed changes. Players can better learn Pac-Man’s gameplay by progressing through the game and refining their strategies as the challenges get harder. Tweaking these variables across the 21 levels in Pac-Man gives players more comprehensive exposure to the design space. # of Flashes (the visual indication that Fright Time for Ghosts is about to expire).Fright Time (in sec.) (the time Ghosts spend in the blue vulnerable state).Fright Ghost Speed (the speed of blue vulnerable Ghosts).Fright Pac-Man Dots Speed (speed eating Dots after Pac-Man grabs a Power-Pellet).Fright Pac-Man Speed (after Pac-Man grabs a Power-Pellet).Elroy 2 Dots Left (When there are this many Dots left, Blinkies/Red Ghosts increase in speed again).Elroy 1 Dots Left (When there are this many Dots left, Blinkies/Red Ghosts increase in speed).Ghost Tunnel Speed (Ghosts slow down when traveling through the Warps on the sides).Pac-Man Dots Speed (Pac-Man slows down a bit when eating Dots).Otherwise, one of the game’s 13 gameplay variables is tweaked. Out of the 21 levels, only a few pairs of levels present an identical gameplay challenge. But when I read through Jamey Pittman’s Pac-Man Dossier, I was surprised how many variables were tweaked to give each level its unique challenge. I knew this was the case for games as old as Pac-Man. With video games it’s common for levels to increase in difficulty as the game progresses.
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