Items tagged with Pac-Man
For April Fool’s Day, Google turned its popular Maps navigation program into a playable version of Ms. Pac-Man, transforming your local city streets (or any collection of streets around the globe) into a ghost-chasing playground. While that was a nice break from the norm for the traditionally staid Maps application, Microsoft is taking a completely different approach with Ms. Pac-Man. It all starts with Maluuba, which is a deep learning startup that Microsoft acquired earlier this year. Using the company’s reinforcement learning algorithms, it was able to teach AI how to thoroughly master the Atari 2600 version of Ms. Pac-Man. We’re not talking about "simply" getting a score of a few hundred...
Read more...
The gaming community has lost a legend. Masaya Nakamura, founder of Namco and pioneer of arcade hits such as Pac-Man, one of the most iconic characters in the history of gaming, passed away at the age of 91. Namco-Bandi recorded his death as having occurred on Wednesday, January 22, though decided to wait until today before issuing a press release (PDF) on its Japanese-language website.Nakamura served as an engineer in the Japanese Navy before founding Nakamura Manufacturing in 1955. He started off with two mechanical horses that he purchased for $3,000, while renting space on the roof of a department store. He serviced and ran the rides himself.As his business grew, he renamed the company Nakamura...
Read more...
Facebook Messenger is no stranger to casual gaming. Over the past year, we’ve seen mini basketball, soccer and even chess games. But now, Facebook is stepping into the [retro] big leagues by adding support for full-fledged games, including classics like Pac-Man and Space Invaders. Facebook announced this new gaming platform for Messenger today under the Instant Games initiative. Accessing these games is as simple as opening a conversation and tapping on the game controller icon that shows up in within the Messenger app. From there, you will be able to discover new games and waste time away tapping on the screen to achieve the highest score in Arkanoid or Galaga. “After you finish a round, people...
Read more...
You have our utmost respect if you've ever run into the "Map 256 Glitch" in Pac-Man. The show stopping bug thwarted even the best Pac-Man players with an impossible to beat level, and it's also the theme of Bandai Namco's newest Pac-Man title -- yes, another Pac-Man game! -- Pac-Man 256 available for iOS, Android, and Amazon devices. Let's back up a moment. Also known as the split-screen level or kill screen, the Map 256 Glitch occurred when Pac-Man players made it to level 256. At issue is the level counter being stored as an 8-bit integer, so it could only store 256 values (0-255), with the highest value possible being 255. Reaching level 256 in Pac-Man would cause an integer overflow and,...
Read more...
Pac-Man has officially been recognized as one of the most important video games of all time. Such is the insinuation from being one of only half a dozen titles inducted into The Strong's inaugural World Video Game Hall of Fame, which includes a collection of titles that span multiple decades, countries of origin, and gaming platforms.What they all have in common is that they each "significantly affected the video game industry, popular culture, and society in general." Based on those merits, it's hard to argue against the inclusion of Pac-Man, a game that debuted 35 years ago and is one of the stars in the upcoming Pixels movie starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James.The other four inductees include...
Read more...
Leave it to Google to turn something as mundane as maps into something that’s actually interesting. For a limited time, the search giant is turning some real-world locations into a prime playing grounds for a round of the 1980s game Pac-Man. You can call up Google Maps either in your computer’s web browser or by using the corresponding apps on iOS or Android to start playing Pac-Man. Although you can play the game using any address that you input into Google Maps, Google has provided a few “hints” for other locations that you can try out around the globe, such as: How well can you navigate the radiating streets of the distrito federal?Previous PAC-MAN lives don't get to rest in a white marble...
Read more...
Nintendo unveiled its second-generation Wii console today, dubbed the Wii U, but said very little about the console's specifications. The company confirmed that the new system will support HD video, but devoted its press conference to discussing the Wii U's controller. Rumors that Nintendo would incorporate a touchscreen proved accurate, but the controller is more tablet-based than we expected it to be. The display is 6.2" wide and features dual analog controllers, two shoulder buttons, and a standard four-button layout to the right. One of the intriguing features of the Wii U is that titles can be transferred from the TV to the controller's display without needing to restart the game. This frees...
Read more...
