Music…

Pac-Man Fever

Pac-Man Fever

Buckner & Garcia

and Words

I got a pocket full of quarters, and I’m headed to the arcade.
I don’t have a lot of money, but I’m bringing ev’rything I made.
I’ve got a callus on my finger, and my shoulder’s hurting too.
I’m gonna eat them all up, just as soon as they turn blue.

‘Cause I’ve got Pac-Man fever;
Pac-Man fever.
It’s driving me crazy.
Driving me crazy.

Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.

This was me circa 1983; I won’t deny it.  I lived near the Grand Prix Race-O-Rama; they claimed that they were the World’s Largest Arcade.  I spent more hours at Grand Prix that I care to admit; it embarrasses me to this day.  I wasn’t able to drive then, so I either got a ride from my sister or rode my bicycle there.  When I did the latter, it took me the better part of an hour but did it happily.

Once there, it was my refuge; it was this fifteen-year-old’s Nirvana.  It housed multiple gigantic rooms with stand-up arcade games that lined the walls packed tightly, separated by only inches.  The centers of each room were outfitted with row upon row of cocktail table versions of the same arcade games.  The rooms were illuminated by the glow from each screen as each game was played or they continued in ‘point of sale’ mode.  The sound on each arcade game was configured so that you could near it, but it didn’t overwhelm anyone else’s playing.  The effect was that the entire room was bathed in kaleidoscope of lights from these screens and their sound effects.  Their combination was both never precisely the same, but it was always there and always consistent.  It became the soundtrack to my teenage years in a twisted way.

Grand Prix had an elaborate go-cart track and I had driven it a few times, but I came for the video games.  Why spend my modest dollars around a track when I could spend it in a video game?  I did, however, spend my own money on this album.  It was a collection of songs each dedicated to an arcade game.  I stood one day at the store debating between this cassette and Journey’s Departure.  This one won; though truthfully, this was the only song from this tape that I listened to.

I know that this song was written a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it’s totally true.  It speaks about an era, both culturally and in my life.  Video games became a cultural phenomenon.  As much as I enjoyed home game systems, like my Atari 2600, they did not compare with even the 8-bit arcade games that were available.  So we collectively continued to feed these machines money for our interactive amusement in 25¢ increments.  In some ways, it was one of the most honest transactions.  We rationalized that the more adept we became at said game, the longer we would continue to play.

Pac-Man was definitely my game.  I certainly played other games, but not like I played Pac-Man.  I spent hours plopped at a cocktail table version of this game for only about $3.  In retrospect, I could’ve done something much more productive with that time and energy, but this fed my soul.

So just how much time did I spend on this game?

I read through multiple books on strategy at home.  They gave me a good foundation to learn the game; they enriched me with mental notes that I would later verify while playing live.

I studied the monsters.  Each had their own corners.  They ran in synchronicity in an elaborate timing pattern and only upon reaching that timeout would they reverse course and return to their corners.  And if you’re curious, they would still reverse course even when in hot pursuit.  One was faster than the others, and one was ‘smarter’ (followed you more effectively).  They all avoid running through portions of the maze in a certain direction; this was often a good way to escape pursuit.  Upon turning vulnerable, the ghosts flashed precisely four times before turning back; time them carefully.

I studied the maze.  The maze itself is symmetrical, but the monster corner assignments and their movement patterns made traversing it asymmetrical.  The lower corners are more dangerous than the remainder of the maze because they have fewer ways to escape pursuit.  The side tunnels that wrap from one side to the other, are a convenient way to outrun the monsters, but it’s a long passage.  Caveat Emptor.

I studied the movement.  Pac-Man moves faster through the maze when he’s not consuming pellets.  If he’s unhindered he is faster than the monsters.  Pac-Man also rounds corners faster; one way to outrun your adversaries is to maneuver through the maze along a lot of turns.  There absolutely is a safe spot on the maze, but you need to enter it when none of the monsters see you; that’s easier said than done.  And as mentioned before, there are portions of the maze where they won’t traverse from a particular direction.

I memorized patterns.  They’ll work on their respective levels, but your timing has to be flawless.  Additionally, every once in a while, the monsters will veer off course; in those instances, you’ll have to make adjustments.  How good was I at Pac-Man?  While I never got to the infamous split screen, I could consistently make it into the keys; this includes the ninth key, where the game does not get any more difficult.

I spent entirely too much brain power on this game.  Though I’m grateful that I didn’t spend it in a gang or doing recreational drugs.