In defense of Pac-Man...

[cybercylon]

Are we ready to start another thread for VCS Donkey Kong?

 

I didn't think that port was that bad either considering the hardware limitations. I guess since then, the other two screen have been added.

 

Here is a comparison of some different versions

 

 

One for Pac Man to keep on topic...

 

[BIGHMW]

I also know it gets A LOT of bad rap, but, since I also own an Atari 2600 Jr. (to go with my a/v-modded 5200 with an Atarimax SD multicart with TONS of games on her, don't ask how I got them) as well as a Harmony Encore SD multicart also loaded with tons of games thanks to good-old AtariAge, including from the Flashback portable downloads forum, I also got the chance to really appreciate the original Pac-Man cart, and, it's not so bad, as (yes) it WAS rushed into the market, in fact the heads that be at Atari demanded it be done in short order, they themselves sinking their own ship in the process, otherwise who knew back in 1982 (1981 was its production/copyright year) that more than 35 years later (1999) that someone later would create a brilliant masterpiece called Pac-Man 4K which tapped into ALL 4K of onboard ROM and EVERY LAST BIT (all 128 bits of it) of RAM to make it what Atari SHOULD'VE put out in the first place, despite all the flickering (it's been long known that the 2600 cannot display any more than 4 simultaneously moving objects without flickering) and I can deal with it, it was INDEED like I said, a masterpiece!!! In fact all of us on this board would've done our absolute best to make sure the original videogame crash of 1983 would never have happened had Pac-Man 4K come out in 1982 instead of 1999!!!

 

But now to my review comments I made on YouTube while displaying the original release itself in a commercial for it back in 1982-83:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P0BA7ae-Xk

 

"I'll admit, even though the graphics make you want to run and hide, and it was rushed into the market, it was the only way to play Pac-Man at home, that is until the 400/800/XL and 5200 versions came out.

 

Controllability was a bit suspect on this game, so you had to really be SPOT-ON and really focused (and a bit patient as you might not be able to go the direction you want) when attempting to change directions on this game. The stock (non-modded, more on that later) CX40 sticks were bad, but the CX24 sticks were an improvement but not much to write home about. Also, I highly recommend using a third-party controller and the best ones came from Wico, from their "Command Control" series, with their leaf-switch design similar to what Wico already uses in the arcade, control is far better than that bubble-contact circuitry that both of Atari's 2600 (VCS) joystick offerings (both the CX40 and also the CX24 "Pro Line" joystick) could ever offer. But for those who like the feel of an Atari controller but want it to be better, I highly recommend you send those CX40 and CX24 sticks (the same for all of you, my fellow Atari 5200 users, with your CX52 controllers) to Best Electronics (look them up in Google using the words "Atari" and "Best Electronics" to find out more), where they will sell you a totally rebuilt stick (for a little money and your old stick as a "core") with larger, more-responsive bubble contacts with gold contacts, and for you 5200 users they remake the CX52 sticks with gold-plated buttons and flex circuits and believe me they make a HUGE difference. PLAY ON!!! .....even if you're 52 years old like me, I will NEVER give up on my Atari 2600 and 5200 units!!!

 

But for those who enjoy the 2600 for the way it is, and who want a much better port for the 2600, introducing the eye-dropping Pac-Man 4K!!!"

 

 

You can buy it from AtariAge right here!!! https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1010

 

Edited March 22, 2018 by BIGHMW

[redsteakraw]

Pacman simply was rushed, if they spent the time and released Ms. Pacman's codebase as Pacman the reception would have been better. Pacman is playable but it simply cut too many corners and was too off-putting.

[accousticguitar]

 

I also got the chance to really appreciate the original Pac-Man cart, and, it's not so bad, as (yes) it WAS rushed into the market, in fact the heads that be at Atari demanded it be done in short order

 

 

"I'll admit, even though the graphics make you want to run and hide, and it was rushed into the market, it was the only way to play Pac-Man at home, that is until the 400/800/XL and 5200 versions came out.

 

 

 

 

Pac-Man was NOT rushed into the market.

[BIGHMW]

bah-dae-dah-dee! bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk-bonk-bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk. boooooooop. bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk-bonk-bonk......... I just enjoy that sound whenever Pac-Man eats a dot (lol)..... oooops, I meant when he eats a dash, and also the booooooooop sound he makes when he eats either a power pill or a bonus pill where the fruit should be at.

[BIGHMW]

I don't necessarily dig the newer consoles like PS4, Xbox or Wii because the games on them are too difficult for developmentally and psychiatrically disabled/delayed people like myself and most of all they are too violent, anytime you start getting rewarded points or bonus lives for raping or beating women or killing cops it gets kind of disgusting to me. I'm sure all of you my age (52 as I post this) will agree with me that I'd rather (or have my kid rather if I had one) shoot down space aliens or UFOs like on Space Invaders or Defender or kill robots on Berzerk, or eat dots, power pills or ghosts on Pac-Man rather than murdering police officers or committing acts of violence against women on games like the Grand Theft Auto series of games thank you!!! LONG LIVE ATARI!!! I am A DAMN PROUD ATARIAN and have played my 2600 and 5200 units and my lineup of titles for them (albeit now on SD cards for both my Atarimax Ultimate SD multicart on the 5200 and also on my AtariAge Harmony Encore SD multicart) since 1983 and I am damn proud of it!!!

[+Spriggy]

I was 10/11 years old. Atari Pac-Man was Pac-Man! I moved around a maze .. ate pellets .. ran from and munched ghosts .. finished the maze .. started another. It was Pac-Man at home. No regrets!

Edited March 22, 2018 by spriggamortis

[zzip]

Pac-Man was NOT rushed into the market.

Didn't they simply ship Todd Frye's prototype? I thought he was planning to refine it further.

[accousticguitar]

I'm pretty sure they shipped the finished game without checking to see if it was any good or not.

[+Random Terrain]

People who were disappointed with Atari 2600 Pac-Man are like those nuts who think there is a difference between Star Trek and Star Wars. They both happen in space, stars zip by, and there's a bunch of drama. Same thing. I've only seen clips of both because they were before my time, but I know enough to get the gist. Mix them together and most people wouldn't even know the difference. Change it so Luke SkyData must save Princess Yar from the Imperial Oil monster or something. The most important thing is that they're in space and stars are zipping by. The rest of the details don't matter for normal people who aren't obsessive control freaks. Get over yourselves already. Smoke some pot and relax. Nothing really matters. Job or no job. Sex or virginity. Nice house or cardboard box under a bridge. It's all the same, man. Here, take this pill and you won't care what is up, down, left, right, cold, hot, dead or alive. There, now you're like the average Atari 2600 Pac-Man lover. Isn't that better?

[ubersaurus]

Didn't they simply ship Todd Frye's prototype? I thought he was planning to refine it further.

Nope. It was done. He's said as much in interviews that he hadn't any further refinements planned. Nor does it seem to have been a rush job; he got the job in May and it was due in September - game development was pretty quick in that era, so like 4-5 months isn't unheard of.

 

I mean, it was an era and a console where arcade ports were approximations more than accurate programs. Frye had 4k to work with for that cart, and without modern development tools and a desire to make sure 2 player modes were supported, did as well as he expected he could have in that space.

[Flojomojo]

Random Terrain, did you write the legal decision that made it possible for Atari to block Magnavox from selling K.C. Munchkin?

[pacman000]

As I understand it the Magnavox/Atari decision was something like this:

 

"Clearly both companies can make a dot-gathering maze game without infringing on each other, & Magnavox's game clearly plays differently than Atari's, but COME ON! Magnavox's characters are just Atari's characters with antennas. That's too close."

[+darryl1970]

 

I love how the manual retconned the line shaped dots and rectangular bonus items to be "video wafers" and "Vitamins", and how it paints a picture of you showing up at your arcade like a rockstar blowing everyone away with your skills, thanks to your newfound secret ability to practice at home.

 

 

Atari changed EVERYTHING about the game, in order to explain the home version shortcomings:

 

Arcade ---- Atari

Dot = Video Wafer

Energizer = Power Pill

Monster = Ghosts

Extra Points = Vitamins (Obviously these were not vitamins)

 

I still got enjoyment out of the 2600, despite my disappointment. It was very disappointing, on many levels (Sound, animation, graphics, collision detection, colors, etc). It's missing almost everything that made Pac-Man such an addiction. However, it holds great memories of my childhood. I actually enjoy remembering back, wishing I could own the arcade at home. Wanting and dreaming made for great memories, since having the arcade at home was unattainable at the time. It also forced me to use my imagination. I remember turning the sound down, so I could listen to Pac-Man Fever on repeat, while playing. I just wish Atari hadn't skewed the purity of Pac-Man's history, by changing the terminology in their manuals! It is what it is.

 

[G-type]

Changing "monsters" to "ghosts" was an improvement.

[Recycled]

I spent $30 for Pac-Man, and that was a lot of hard earned money for a kid in the 80s. I was so disappointed with the game (mostly due to wasting $30) that I never bought another new game from Atari. In fact, I tried to sell the 2600 and when I couldn't find a buyer I gave it to my nephew. Looking back on it I suppose I over reacted, but that is what happened. I was out of the Atari picture for almost 20 years after that, though I did buy a PS1 and played that for a while. I also purchased a used Intellivision and had a lot of fun with that. Eventually I found my way to AtariAge and got back into the 2600. If I had not wasted the $30 and had borrowed the game from a friend instead I'm sure things would have gone differently. I'm not sure how many people reacted like me but judging from how the industry crashed around that time it could have been quite a few.

 

Late on this....but very interesting. I believe Pac-Man was the last cent I ever gave to Atari as well. Lost total interest in the system after I ponied up the $30 for it. I got back into the 2600 after I bought the Activision comp for my PS2 back around 2005 and then bought a light sixer that my coworker had in her basement and played the tons of great games I missed.

[BIGHMW]

"bah-dee-dah-dee! bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk-bonk-bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk. boooooooop. bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk-bonk-bonk........."

 

I can go on forever with that shit, and be laughing my ass off along the way, the sound is almost unmistakable that you were indeed playing the original Atari 2600 Pac-Man from 1982.

[BIGHMW]

"bah-dee-dah-dee! bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk-bonk-bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk. boooooooop. bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk. bonk-bonk-bonk........."

 

I can go on forever with that shit, and be laughing my ass off along the way, the sound is almost unmistakable that you were indeed playing the original Atari 2600 Pac-Man from 1982.

 

Would be a perfect ringtone for your smartphone, just you try to answer the phone call without laughing first!!! I should play my 2600 Pac-Man and record the audio onto a MiniDisc (yes I STILL use them as I have hundreds of them mostly for mixes and homemade compilations) and burn a CD of it and play that in my car on my way to work someday, with all the corporate crap fake auto-tuned so-called music they play on the radio nowadays this would almost be a #1 hit on an 80s station like JACK-FM is here in Seattle.

Edited March 23, 2018 by BIGHMW

[BIGHMW]

 

I also know it gets A LOT of bad rap, but, since I also own an Atari 2600 Jr. (to go with my a/v-modded 5200 with an Atarimax SD multicart with TONS of games on her, don't ask how I got them) as well as a Harmony Encore SD multicart also loaded with tons of games thanks to good-old AtariAge, including from the Flashback portable downloads forum, I also got the chance to really appreciate the original Pac-Man cart, and, it's not so bad, as (yes) it WAS rushed into the market, in fact the heads that be at Atari demanded it be done in short order, they themselves sinking their own ship in the process, otherwise who knew back in 1982 (1981 was its production/copyright year) that more than 35 years later (1999) that someone later would create a brilliant masterpiece called Pac-Man 4K which tapped into ALL 4K of onboard ROM and EVERY LAST BIT (all 128 bits of it) of RAM to make it what Atari SHOULD'VE put out in the first place, despite all the flickering (it's been long known that the 2600 cannot display any more than 4 simultaneously moving objects without flickering) and I can deal with it, it was INDEED like I said, a masterpiece!!! In fact all of us on this board would've done our absolute best to make sure the original videogame crash of 1983 would never have happened had Pac-Man 4K come out in 1982 instead of 1999!!!

 

But now to my review comments I made on YouTube while displaying the original release itself in a commercial for it back in 1982-83:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P0BA7ae-Xk

 

"I'll admit, even though the graphics make you want to run and hide, and it was rushed into the market, it was the only way to play Pac-Man at home, that is until the 400/800/XL and 5200 versions came out.

 

Controllability was a bit suspect on this game, so you had to really be SPOT-ON and really focused (and a bit patient as you might not be able to go the direction you want) when attempting to change directions on this game. The stock (non-modded, more on that later) CX40 sticks were bad, but the CX24 sticks were an improvement but not much to write home about. Also, I highly recommend using a third-party controller and the best ones came from Wico, from their "Command Control" series, with their leaf-switch design similar to what Wico already uses in the arcade, control is far better than that bubble-contact circuitry that both of Atari's 2600 (VCS) joystick offerings (both the CX40 and also the CX24 "Pro Line" joystick) could ever offer. But for those who like the feel of an Atari controller but want it to be better, I highly recommend you send those CX40 and CX24 sticks (the same for all of you, my fellow Atari 5200 users, with your CX52 controllers) to Best Electronics (look them up in Google using the words "Atari" and "Best Electronics" to find out more), where they will sell you a totally rebuilt stick (for a little money and your old stick as a "core") with larger, more-responsive bubble contacts with gold contacts, and for you 5200 users they remake the CX52 sticks with gold-plated buttons and flex circuits and believe me they make a HUGE difference. PLAY ON!!! .....even if you're 52 years old like me, I will NEVER give up on my Atari 2600 and 5200 units!!!

 

But for those who enjoy the 2600 for the way it is, and who want a much better port for the 2600, introducing the eye-dropping Pac-Man 4K!!!"

 

 

You can buy it from AtariAge right here!!! https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1010

 

Todd Frye, I'd like you to meet Dennis Debro,

Dennis Debro, Todd Frye,

Todd, Dennis,

Dennis, Todd.

 

Boy if only Dennis Debro was the one at Atari back in 1982, if HIS version of Pac-Man (4K) had been the one that eventually gotten released instead of Todd Frye's version that did, would the home videogaming crash of 1983 have ever taken place??? And, would Atari come out of it pretty much unscaved???

 

 

[BIGHMW]

 

 

I also know it gets A LOT of bad rap, but, since I also own an Atari 2600 Jr. (to go with my a/v-modded 5200 with an Atarimax SD multicart with TONS of games on her, don't ask how I got them) as well as a Harmony Encore SD multicart also loaded with tons of games thanks to good-old AtariAge, including from the Flashback portable downloads forum, I also got the chance to really appreciate the original Pac-Man cart, and, it's not so bad, as (yes) it WAS rushed into the market, in fact the heads that be at Atari demanded it be done in short order, they themselves sinking their own ship in the process, otherwise who knew back in 1982 (1981 was its production/copyright year) that more than 35 years later (1999) that someone later would create a brilliant masterpiece called Pac-Man 4K which tapped into ALL 4K of onboard ROM and EVERY LAST BIT (all 128 bits of it) of RAM to make it what Atari SHOULD'VE put out in the first place, despite all the flickering (it's been long known that the 2600 cannot display any more than 4 simultaneously moving objects without flickering) and I can deal with it, it was INDEED like I said, a masterpiece!!! In fact all of us on this board would've done our absolute best to make sure the original videogame crash of 1983 would never have happened had Pac-Man 4K come out in 1982 instead of 1999!!!

 

But now to my review comments I made on YouTube while displaying the original release itself in a commercial for it back in 1982-83:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P0BA7ae-Xk

 

"I'll admit, even though the graphics make you want to run and hide, and it was rushed into the market, it was the only way to play Pac-Man at home, that is until the 400/800/XL and 5200 versions came out.

 

Controllability was a bit suspect on this game, so you had to really be SPOT-ON and really focused (and a bit patient as you might not be able to go the direction you want) when attempting to change directions on this game. The stock (non-modded, more on that later) CX40 sticks were bad, but the CX24 sticks were an improvement but not much to write home about. Also, I highly recommend using a third-party controller and the best ones came from Wico, from their "Command Control" series, with their leaf-switch design similar to what Wico already uses in the arcade, control is far better than that bubble-contact circuitry that both of Atari's 2600 (VCS) joystick offerings (both the CX40 and also the CX24 "Pro Line" joystick) could ever offer. But for those who like the feel of an Atari controller but want it to be better, I highly recommend you send those CX40 and CX24 sticks (the same for all of you, my fellow Atari 5200 users, with your CX52 controllers) to Best Electronics (look them up in Google using the words "Atari" and "Best Electronics" to find out more), where they will sell you a totally rebuilt stick (for a little money and your old stick as a "core") with larger, more-responsive bubble contacts with gold contacts, and for you 5200 users they remake the CX52 sticks with gold-plated buttons and flex circuits and believe me they make a HUGE difference. PLAY ON!!! .....even if you're 52 years old like me, I will NEVER give up on my Atari 2600 and 5200 units!!!

 

But for those who enjoy the 2600 for the way it is, and who want a much better port for the 2600, introducing the eye-dropping Pac-Man 4K!!!"

 

 

You can buy it from AtariAge right here!!! https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1010

Todd Frye, I'd like you to meet Dennis Debro,

Dennis Debro, Todd Frye,

Todd, Dennis,

Dennis, Todd.

Boy if only Dennis Debro was the one at Atari back in 1982, if HIS version of Pac-Man (4K) had been the one that eventually gotten released instead of Todd Frye's version that did, would the home videogaming crash of 1983 have ever taken place??? And, would Atari come out of it pretty much unscaved???

[mbd30]

Nope. It was done. He's said as much in interviews that he hadn't any further refinements planned. Nor does it seem to have been a rush job; he got the job in May and it was due in September - game development was pretty quick in that era, so like 4-5 months isn't unheard of.

 

I mean, it was an era and a console where arcade ports were approximations more than accurate programs. Frye had 4k to work with for that cart, and without modern development tools and a desire to make sure 2 player modes were supported, did as well as he expected he could have in that space.

 

Atari 2600 Ms. Pac-Man demonstrates that a better Pac-Man was possible even at the time.

[jaybird3rd]

Atari 2600 Ms. Pac-Man demonstrates that a better Pac-Man was possible even at the time.

Remember, though, that Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1982 instead of 1981, and is an 8K game rather than 4K. It also lacks a two-player mode.

[+Random Terrain]

Remember, though, that Ms. Pac-Man was released in 1982 instead of 1981, and is an 8K game rather than 4K. It also lacks a two-player mode.

Pac-Man was released in March/April of 1982 and Ms. Pac-Man was released in February of 1983.

[jaybird3rd]

Pac-Man was released in March/April of 1982 and Ms. Pac-Man was released in February of 1983.

Ah, thank you. I was going by the copyright dates on the cartridge labels. Suffice it to say, Ms. Pac-Man came nearly a year after Pac-Man, so one has to factor that in when comparing the two.

[+Random Terrain]

Ah, thank you. I was going by the copyright dates on the cartridge labels. Suffice it to say, Ms. Pac-Man came nearly a year after Pac-Man, so one has to factor that in when comparing the two.

In case it might be helpful in the future, I made an index for my history pages so we can quickly find the actual release month/year or best guess month/year for just about every Atari 2600 NTSC game that was released in North America between 1977 and 1992:

 

randomterrain.com/rt-atari-2600-game-index.html

 

I got behind when I was moving and getting my gallbladder operation, so not all games have links and links for games from 1987 to 1992 don't go anywhere yet, but I'm trying to finish the rest of the pages as fast as I can.