2600 Pac-Man questions

[littleman jack]

I know that there has been much debate over 2600 Pac-Man in these forums. Most of the explanations for its limitations have been attributed to the 4K size that Atari granted to the programmer. And on the other side, some poeple believe the programmer intentionally made the game limited in order to stick it to Atari in anger.

 

When I was a 12 year old kid, I didn't think about any of these things. I just hoped it was like the arcade. I initially was dissapointed in the game and then rejoiced at Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man. But these days I really like all three.

 

However, I have always wondered about two things concerning Pac-Man for the 2600. Does anyone know why the programmer chose to make the color scheme and the scoring system so different from the original? It doesn't seem like these two features used up excessive space (at least not the backround). There are some small hacks out there with a black instead of blue backround.

 

Thanks for any thoughts or insights.

 

---Edited for spelling---

Edited November 25, 2008 by littleman jack

[Christophero Sly]

It's my understanding that the colors used in the game were chosen to reduce the perception of flickering sprites.

[missioncontrol]

It amazes me how much debate on how "crappy" Pac-Man is for the 2600. When I was a kid, I didn't think it was a bad game. I thought it was so "totally awesome" to get to play it at home in my bedroom any time I wanted. To my recollection, no one I knew complained about it either. As a matter of fact, owning Pac-man for the 2600 was a badge of honor, bragging rights even, to our friends who still haven't pestered their parents enough to get their own copy. Sure it wasn't the real deal like the arcade, but in my mind at age 8 and the minds of my peers, it was close enough. We can look back and pick apart every game made back then and say look how badly they are done in comparison with today's standards, or look at the code and figure out mistakes made and what they should have done, hindsight is after all 20/20. When I play them now, I don't analyze them and pick them apart, I just kick back and it's me against my high score. Sure there were some games I didn't care for as much as others, but back then Pac-Man wasn't one of the bad ones.

[tcv]

I've said it here before, I do remember feeling some disappointment but that didn't stop me from playing it. I was never very good at the original Pac Man anyway. It's probably my least favorite arcade game.

[Lord Helmet]

Whats interesting is that Tod Frye stated that the game was poor do to the 4k limitation...however, a decent pac-man has been proven to be VERY doable in 4k:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...89&hl=Debro

[+Nathan Strum]

It's my understanding that the colors used in the game were chosen to reduce the perception of flickering sprites.

I think the blue makes it worse. Nukey's hack of Pac-Man where he changes the background to black is much easier to look at.

[Impaler_26]

Whats interesting is that Tod Frye stated that the game was poor do to the 4k limitation...however, a decent pac-man has been proven to be VERY doable in 4k:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?s...89&hl=Debro

Yep, Dennis Debro's Pacman 4K is fantastic, but Ebivision proved that a better version could be done in 4K already 9 years ago:

http://www.atariage.com/software_page.html...areLabelID=1022

 

EDIT: Here's a short video of Ebivision Pac-Man in action.

Edited November 25, 2008 by Impaler_26

[Atari2008]

I'm curious, since I'm not one of the fans of 2600 Pac-Man, which is a shame since Pac-Man is one of my favorite games, but which of the hacks and homebrew versions of Pac-Man for the 2600 is people's favorite? How does the one sold in the Atari Age store - Pac-Man Arcade - hold up?

 

Thanks!

[Christophero Sly]

It's my understanding that the colors used in the game were chosen to reduce the perception of flickering sprites.

I think the blue makes it worse. Nukey's hack of Pac-Man where he changes the background to black is much easier to look at.

Yeah, I don't think the color choices were justified either. You can get a glimpse of what the black background/blue walls looks like in the original game too if, after losing, you wait about 2 mins. for the screen to color cycle in attract mode. Edited November 25, 2008 by Christophero Sly

[Godzilla]

I too didn't think anything of pacman at the time. And it was something that was 'cool' to have at the time. I was jealous of my friends who could afford a new 2600 game. I had to wait until I could find a used copy cheap or trade for it and when I got it, I thought it was awesome. I also don't think it's fair to compare 4k today to 4k when it was coded. We know a LOT more now than they did back then.

[Godzilla]

I too didn't think anything of pacman at the time. And it was something that was 'cool' to have at the time. I was jealous of my friends who could afford a new 2600 game. I had to wait until I could find a used copy cheap or trade for it and when I got it, I thought it was awesome. I also don't think it's fair to compare 4k today to 4k when it was coded. We know a LOT more now than they did back then.

[Retro Rogue]

EDIT: Here's a short video of Ebivision Pac-Man in action.

 

I'm just getting a green screen.

[Crazy Climber]

People say pac man sucks for the 2600, sure it's not the best but I liked it as a kid.

Then again I would play that annoying table top coleco pac man for hours as a kid also. I just loved, and still do love video games, even the shitty ones

[littleman jack]

Agreed. I played it a ton and enjoyed it. I just wished there were a few changes when I was a kid (black backround, tunnels on the side). But my friends and I were all happy to have it, and to play it. We just figured the differences were due to the limited power of the 2600. When we saw the 5200 version, we guessed that the 5200 must have been that much more powerful. And we went on enjoying the 2600 version. Still, 2600 Ms. Pac-Man really blew us away. And then so did Jr. Pac-Man.

 

I'm not complaining about 2600 Pac-Man. I'm just wondering in hindsight what the reasons were for some of the odd choices such as the blue backround and low scoring system. One other thread on this topic suggested that Atari wanted colored backrounds in order to show off the 2600's color capabilities. Possibly? I've also read that the original programmer's intent was making the screen like the arcade, only sideways (which explains why the ghosts come out the side of the box and the tunnels are on the top and bottom, if you lay your tv on its side and turn the joystick one quarter, you almost have an arcade screen ).

 

I have always liked that it was a unique version, and had funny sounds. But I have whined about the color and the scoring. . .

[+Nathan Strum]

I'm curious, since I'm not one of the fans of 2600 Pac-Man, which is a shame since Pac-Man is one of my favorite games, but which of the hacks and homebrew versions of Pac-Man for the 2600 is people's favorite? How does the one sold in the Atari Age store - Pac-Man Arcade - hold up?

While Pac-Man Arcade looks closer to the arcade version, I'm most impressed with Pac-Man 8K, which takes the original 2600 Pac-Man, and shows what it could have been. It feels like Pac-Man, yet it still keeps a distinct "this is a 2600 game" feel. I think if those changes had been made there wouldn't have been all of the complaints levied against it.

 

Hack 'em is a hack of the Ebivision homebrew Pesco (which used to be the Ebivision homebrew Pac-Man) that turns it back into Pac-Man. It looks a lot like the arcade game, but I think the flicker (which is slower) looks worse than the other versions, and the speed is all wrong (Pac-Man moves lightning-fast). Not sure what to call a hack based on a homebrew that was originally the homebrew the hack turned was turned back into.

[littleman jack]

Pac-Man Arcade looks and plays very nice. The only complaint you might have is that it is a bit easy. You can play for a long time if you are a decent Pac-Man player. And that's not always a bad thing.

[littleman jack]

Has Nukey's Pac-Man 8k ever been released as a cart? It does look great graphically, and very 2600ish. And it addresses the glaring backround issue. I'd love to play that one on a 2600.

[Impaler_26]

EDIT: Here's a short video of Ebivision Pac-Man in action.

 

I'm just getting a green screen.

Which player do you use? Works fine for me with the VLC-Player.

[Atari2008]

I'm curious, since I'm not one of the fans of 2600 Pac-Man, which is a shame since Pac-Man is one of my favorite games, but which of the hacks and homebrew versions of Pac-Man for the 2600 is people's favorite? How does the one sold in the Atari Age store - Pac-Man Arcade - hold up?

While Pac-Man Arcade looks closer to the arcade version, I'm most impressed with Pac-Man 8K, which takes the original 2600 Pac-Man, and shows what it could have been. It feels like Pac-Man, yet it still keeps a distinct "this is a 2600 game" feel. I think if those changes had been made there wouldn't have been all of the complaints levied against it.

 

Hack 'em is a hack of the Ebivision homebrew Pesco (which used to be the Ebivision homebrew Pac-Man) that turns it back into Pac-Man. It looks a lot like the arcade game, but I think the flicker (which is slower) looks worse than the other versions, and the speed is all wrong (Pac-Man moves lightning-fast). Not sure what to call a hack based on a homebrew that was originally the homebrew the hack turned was turned back into.

 

I've actually played Pac-Man 8K, since I discovered it in the Hacks section last week and was really impressed! I liked that it kept the look, feel, and sounds of 2600 Pac-Man yet improved on it to look more like the arcade game. I was really surprised with the intermissions, I had no idea the 2600 could handle them. It would be great if it was released on cart.

 

I'll have to check out Hack'em when I get home, since I can't install an emulator on my work comp.

[Carpenter]

I also don't think it's fair to compare 4k today to 4k when it was coded. We know a LOT more now than they did back then.

 

I couldn't agree more

[+uosipa llamxew]

Hack 'em is a hack of the Ebivision homebrew Pesco (which used to be the Ebivision homebrew Pac-Man) that turns it back into Pac-Man. It looks a lot like the arcade game, but I think the flicker (which is slower) looks worse than the other versions, and the speed is all wrong (Pac-Man moves lightning-fast).

 

I believe that you can toggle the speed with the right difficulty switch. While Nukey was actively developing Hack 'em, I (and probably others) actually requested the speed option to match a hacked version of the arcade game. Hack 'em is always on my Krokocart and is likely the game I've played most on my VCS in years.

 

Not sure what to call a hack based on a homebrew that was originally the homebrew the hack turned was turned back into. "

 

I seem to remember Thomas (or someone else?) saying once that so little of the code in Hack'em is unaltered that the game could stand on its own as a homebrew. I should look that up. In my opinion, the gameplay in Hack 'em is vastly improved over Pesco... and I would assume that it also plays better than Ebivision's version of Pac-Man.

 

//edit//

 

I got Thomas's quote mixed up with another. This is what he had to say:

 

Yup, it is a major, major hack. But AFAIK it still uses the Pesco kernel, so IMO one essential criteria for a homebrew is missing.

 

Though, since batari BASIC, this isn't really a criteria anymore.

Edited November 26, 2008 by mojofltr

[Retro Rogue]

EDIT: Here's a short video of Ebivision Pac-Man in action.

 

I'm just getting a green screen.

Which player do you use? Works fine for me with the VLC-Player.

 

VLC. I also tried it in WMplayer and Quicktime as well. Same green screen in all three.

[Impaler_26]

EDIT: Here's a short video of Ebivision Pac-Man in action.

 

I'm just getting a green screen.

Which player do you use? Works fine for me with the VLC-Player.

 

VLC. I also tried it in WMplayer and Quicktime as well. Same green screen in all three.

That's strange... I downloaded it about 30 mins. ago, worked with VLC and Media Player Classic... I have no idea what the problem could be...

[Rik]

I wasnt even disappointed at all when i bought Pac-man.The fact that i was able to play Pac-man in my room whenever i wanted overshadowed any bad reviews from myself.After Ms.Pacman came out,yeah,i started to see how much better it could have been.But,i still like Pac-man to this day.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Rik

[+uosipa llamxew]

VLC. I also tried it in WMplayer and Quicktime as well. Same green screen in all three.

 

I uploaded it to Youtube for you to see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMbkODNOu7M