Pac-Man's enemies: Ghosts, Monsters, Ghost-Monsters?

[TheGameCollector]

What does the Ms. Pac-Man cabinet label call them? And the Jr. Pac-Man one?

[+darryl1970]

What does the Ms. Pac-Man cabinet label call them? And the Jr. Pac-Man one?

 

I posted the Pacman in an earlier post... Here's Jr... Super Pac-Man also uses the term "Monsters"

 

Edited July 17, 2011 by darryl1970

[AtariLeaf]

I'm guessing that the people in this thread have already put 100x more thought into the Pac-nomenclature than the original game designer ever did when he was designing the game.

 

 

Maybe but I find the little nuances of gaming history fascinating and worth looking into even if it is something as trivial as this.

[+darryl1970]

I'm guessing that the people in this thread have already put 100x more thought into the Pac-nomenclature than the original game designer ever did when he was designing the game.

 

 

Maybe but I find the little nuances of gaming history fascinating and worth looking into even if it is something as trivial as this.

 

I agree. It is fun and fascinating. This discussion also shows interesting points about how different we can be as human beings. Even though this is not in anyway important, it shows our personality types. I am kind of OCD in the way that I want to say the "right" thing, no matter how trivial. Other are stubborn and will go by what they know vs what is right (like my mother says, "Warsh" instead of "Wash"). Still others just don't care and feel it is too trivial (like those who point out that the developers probably could care less what they are called, because the game has made a fortune regardless... lol).

 

But trivial crap about old games is one of the great things about this site...

[Cynicaster]

 

I agree. It is fun and fascinating. This discussion also shows interesting points about how different we can be as human beings. Even though this is not in anyway important, it shows our personality types. I am kind of OCD in the way that I want to say the "right" thing, no matter how trivial. Other are stubborn and will go by what they know vs what is right (like my mother says, "Warsh" instead of "Wash"). Still others just don't care and feel it is too trivial (like those who point out that the developers probably could care less what they are called, because the game has made a fortune regardless... lol).

 

But trivial crap about old games is one of the great things about this site...

 

If "developers could care less", then that means they care to some degree. Presumably, your intent was to say "developers don't care", in which case the phrase you are looking for is "developers couldn't care less".

 

Not trying to be a dick, just helping to satisfy your OCD-driven desire to say things correctly.

 

Also, admittedly, misuse of this phrase is a huge pet peeve of mine.

Edited July 18, 2011 by Cynicaster

[+darryl1970]

 

I agree. It is fun and fascinating. This discussion also shows interesting points about how different we can be as human beings. Even though this is not in anyway important, it shows our personality types. I am kind of OCD in the way that I want to say the "right" thing, no matter how trivial. Other are stubborn and will go by what they know vs what is right (like my mother says, "Warsh" instead of "Wash"). Still others just don't care and feel it is too trivial (like those who point out that the developers probably could care less what they are called, because the game has made a fortune regardless... lol).

 

But trivial crap about old games is one of the great things about this site...

 

If "developers could care less", then that means they care to some degree. Presumably, your intent was to say "developers don't care", in which case the phrase you are looking for is "developers couldn't care less".

 

Not trying to be a dick, just helping to satisfy your OCD-driven desire to say things correctly.

 

Also, admittedly, misuse of this phrase is a huge pet peeve of mine.

 

You make a very good point about the cliche, and I actually appreciate your input (as I believe you handled it respectfully too). However, when I wrote that, I didn't want to assume completely that Toru Iwantani doesn't care. I was really referring to the comment from a previous thread that the developers did not care as much as anybody in this thread. So, I really meant to say that they may care less than we do (although I am not too sure that's the case...).

 

Part of me wonders if Toru Iwatani has a preference, and his art piece has been misinterpreted over the years. Although I have read interviews where he has referred to them as Pac-Man's "enemies", I seem to recall an interview where he kind of went against the grain by making each enemy a different color (I think Namco told him that would be too confusing or something like that). So, I believe it is possible that those at Namco could not care less, but I do sometimes wonder if the developer himself does have a preferred vision and just goes with the flow.

 

When I was younger it would really annoy me when people would mispronounce my name. As I have gotten older, I figure it doesn't matter and I know who people are talking about. Maybe he doesn't figure it matters anymore, but he might still care. If somebody asks, I don't offer different ways to pronounce my name; I tell them the right way to pronounce my name, and I give them other English examples of where the vowel sound comes from... lol

 

Finally, I HATE to blow a hole in MY own ship, but I have also wondered if "enemies" could be a misinterpretation of what Toru is saying. That leads to the possibility that it may have been misinterpreted when it was written on the arcade machine. Maybe he prefers "Ghosts" or "Enemies", but somebody misinterpreted it as "Monsters".

 

As trivial as this is, it would be interesting to ask him what HE prefers -- or if HE cares.

[+darryl1970]

I'm used to calling them Ghost-Monsters because of the cartoon.

 

I just thought of a related question. What do you call the things that turn the enemies blue, Power Pellets, Power Pills, or Energizers?

 

Power Pellets.

 

BTW, for everyone, I chose my answer on the ghost/monster issue because that intermission I posted from the bottom of page 1 is from the game itself - everything else like the cartoons is from a story and universe created apart from the game itself - see my thread on the invented story of Centipede where a story is invented because it was ported to home consoles and little kids need something to associate with what they're playing on screen.

 

Since pacman became a cultural phenomenon, all kinds of stories and characters were created that stand completely apart from the game itself. I vaguely remember the cartoon but really didn't watch it because to me, pacman was a game, it didn't translate well into "stories" IMO. Maybe this is why movies based on video games don't do very well - see Wing Commander, Mortal Kombat, & Mario Bros. for details

 

Actually, the arcade machines all refer to them as "Energizers." The Atari 2600 made up "Power Pellets" when they created video wafers and multi-vitamins. I believe the cartoon got their terms from the Atari game.

[+darryl1970]

I just thought of a related question. What do you call the things that turn the enemies blue, Power Pellets, Power Pills, or Energizers?

 

I've been trying to find the interview Toru Iwatani did with Namco during the 30th anniversary stuff last year, but I can't find it in English anymore. It's still there on the Japanese side of the PacMan.com site, though, and on page 2, Iwatani uses the term I was looking for, "power cookie" (English phrase transliterated into katakana, again).

 

However, of note, throughout this interview, Iwatani refers to the enemy characters as "ghosts" (once again, the English word in katakana). The word "monster" does not appear anywhere in the interview. Maybe he's changed what he calls them over the years.

 

Going back to the Japanese Wikipedia page, the term "power cookie" appears as well, but only in parentheses as an alternate for "power esa"; the latter word, pronounced like "essa," is the kanji 餌 written phonetically, and the word is a noun meaning "feed" or "bait," according to an online Japanese dictionary.

 

What to make of this? It looks like the game's original creator does not agree with the game's general audience on the terminology (assuming that the terms as used in the Wikipedia article were not written by one rogue editor whom no one bothered to correct).

 

onmode-ky

 

P.S. I have never known what the power items were supposed to be called in English. I think I have used all 3 of the terms BrianC listed, without preference.

 

This was very interesting.. Thanks for sharing.

[+darryl1970]

However, of note, throughout this interview, Iwatani refers to the enemy characters as "ghosts" (once again, the English word in katakana). The word "monster" does not appear anywhere in the interview. Maybe he's changed what he calls them over the years.

 

Yes, he's changed it then. The interview I posted before is from 1986. He refers to them consistently as "ghost shaped monsters" or just "monsters" in there.

 

Going back to the Japanese Wikipedia page, the term "power cookie" appears as well, but only in parentheses as an alternate for "power esa"; the latter word, pronounced like "essa," is the kanji 餌 written phonetically, and the word is a noun meaning "feed" or "bait," according to an online Japanese dictionary.

 

In '86 he described them as energizers with the idea that they are the "spirit (kokoro), or the energy forces of Pac Man".

 

This is also very interesting. I don't know how I missed these earlier. The interview was very insightful.

[Rex Dart]

However, of note, throughout this interview, Iwatani refers to the enemy characters as "ghosts" (once again, the English word in katakana). The word "monster" does not appear anywhere in the interview. Maybe he's changed what he calls them over the years.

 

Yes, he's changed it then. The interview I posted before is from 1986. He refers to them consistently as "ghost shaped monsters" or just "monsters" in there.

 

Actually, it's a Mr. Leach who refers to them as monsters and ghost-shaped monsters there. Iwatani doesn't speak English, at least not in that interview.

[AtariLeaf]

On a bit of a side note, I was reading the Warlords manual and it had this bit that I'd never heard of or even conceived was part of the game:

 

Also, when a warlord has been killed, his ghost will haunt the battlefield. If the ball comes near, the ghost may actually hit the ball in a new direction. If you look closely, you may even catch a glimpse of the ghost and his shield.

 

Again, like Centipede, this sounds like something made up that isn't actually in the game. Maybe I'm wrong but if the dead knights have any effect on ball movement it sounds like a programming glitch or something to explain odd behavior in the game so they make a cute little ghost story in the manual.

[Nukey Shay]

That's the programmer being thrifty...it's a "programming shortcut". No need to code a disable routine for the shields when the corresponding king is clobbered (they WILL deflect the ball...catch it and fire directly at a "dead" AI castle to see an example). The program just sets the knight and king's color to black - so they would be displayed when a background flash happens.

[AtariLeaf]

That's the programmer being thrifty...it's a "programming shortcut". No need to code a disable routine for the shields when the corresponding king is clobbered (they WILL deflect the ball...catch it and fire directly at a "dead" AI castle to see an example). The program just sets the knight and king's color to black - so they would be displayed when a background flash happens.

 

Thanks, yes it makes sense from a programming standpoint. I just find it very interesting how things like this are turned into stories in the game. I didn't look but I think its safe to say the arcade warlords cab would have no mention of ghosts of dead kings affecting gameplay?

 

EDIT - Interesting tidbit I just found on Warlords. In an interview with Carla Meninsky, she mentioned she made the 2600 version before the arcade game existed. Fascinating. Didn't know that.

Edited July 23, 2011 by AtariLeaf

[SRGilbert]

Maybe this is why movies based on video games don't do very well - see Wing Commander, Mortal Kombat, & Mario Bros. for details

 

 

I will NOT and you can't MAKE me!

 

We always called them ghosts.

[AtariLeaf]

Maybe this is why movies based on video games don't do very well - see Wing Commander, Mortal Kombat, & Mario Bros. for details

 

I will NOT and you can't MAKE me!

 

 

 

[Rex Dart]

Well damn, I guess they're goblins.

 

[Classic Pac]

They look like ghost so they are ghosts.

[+Gemintronic]

I don't play alot of Arcade games but I know who PAC-MAN-REDs enemies are:

32-bit color

Anti-aliasing

Objects over 16 pixels wide

Sprites with more than one color per scanline

 

He fights them nearly every day in this thread:

http://www.atariage....for-the-taking/

Edited August 7, 2012 by theloon

[Goochman]

I still say that the pacman intermission is the definitive answer - monsters wearing sheets to look like ghosts

 

 

Who says that is a leg................................

[scotty]

Edited August 7, 2012 by scotty