DOUGLAS QUAN, REPORTER
WITH PAUL DEAN, SPY HUNTER CHAMPION
Link
A day to remember Billy Mitchell's,
Perfect Pacman's, favorite 1980
video game, Pac-Man
The story of Pac-Man and Billy Mitchell, Perfect Pacman.
Billy Mitchell, Perfect Pacman, July 3, 1999, High Score: 3,333,360
Sporting a Blue Polo Shirt from: North American Amusement Auctions
Complete pacman theory: link
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The Press Enterprise
Breaking News: Press Enterprise - Riverside, California June 20, 2005
circulation of 190,000, Section: Showtime, C13, Monday June 20, 2005
Pac-Man video game turns 25
19:54 AEST Fri Jun 17 2005 Link
Pac-Age of the 1980's Remembered
Pac-age
For a video game, Pac-Man is getting downright old. The ghost-wary hero with an
insatiable appetite for dots turns 25 this month.
Pac Man has made more than $100 million dollars one quarter at a time.
From the early 1980s "Pac-Mania" to today's endless sequels and rip-offs, the
original master of maze management remains a bright yellow circle on the cultural
radar.
June 20, 2005
By MATT SLAGLE, Associated Press / The Press-Enterprise
Pac-age
At 25, the yellow circle that eats dots remains popular
PRESS ENTERPRISE REPRINT FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS- 10:22 PM PDT on Sunday, June 19, 2005
By MATT SLAGLE / The Associated Press
Online Link
For a video game, Pac-Man is getting downright old. The ghost-wary hero with an
insatiable appetite for dots turns 25 this month.
From the early 1980s "Pac-Mania" to today's endless sequels and rip-offs, the
original master of maze management remains a bright yellow circle on the cultural
radar.
Pac-Man lunch boxes from 1980 and 1982
Pop Cultural pac-man trading cards, lunch boxes, board games and breakfast cereals
have been the inspiration of pacman even with a Top 40 hit (Buckner & Garcia's
"Pac Man Fever" hit number 9 on Billboard's charts in 1982).
But there was more to Pac-Man's broad appeal than eating dots and dodging on-screen
archrivals Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde.
"This was the first time a player took on a persona in the game. Instead of controlling
inanimate objects like tanks, paddles and missile bases, players now controlled a
'living' creature," says Leonard Herman, author of "Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of
Videogames." "It was something that people could identify, like a hero."
It all began in Japan, when Toru Iwatani, a young designer at Namco, who also created
Galaxian, caught inspiration from a pizza that was missing a slice. Puck-Man, as it
was first called, was born. Because of obvious similarities to a certain four-letter
profanity, "Puck" became "Pac" when it debuted in the United States in 1980. Those
in the know call Pac-Man, "PC", an unending franchise.
Its success spawned a romantic interest (Ms. Pac-Man), a child (Junior Pac-Man),
a cartoon show and hundreds of licensed products. The phenomenon even reached the
pop music charts when "Pac-Man Fever" by Buckner & Garcia drove everyone crazy in 1982.
Billy Mitchell is the (first) person known to play a perfect game of Pac-Man. Game experts
call it a 1-in-10 billion phenomenon.
Billy Mitchell, the only person known to play a perfect game of Pac-Man (he racked
up a score of 3,333,360 after clearing all 256 levels in about six hours in 1999,
according to video game record keepers Twin Galaxies) says Pac's popularity was in
its simplicity.
After six hours of playing to level 256 the game stops at the kill screen:
The pac-man Scrambled Split Screen at level 256 has never been passed.
There are 244 dots on each level -- and if you're lucky enough to get beyond the
22nd level, the ghosts no longer turn blue if you eat a power pellet. It took a
team of eight people 15 months to make the game.
"The fact that it's cute, it's almost like a hero running around the board from bad
guys. It's not an appeal based on violence," the 39-year-old from Hollywood, Fla.,
said. "Whether it was an 80-year-old lady or a kid, everyone could adapt to the
Pac-Man world."
Billions of quarters later, Pac-Man's influence continues.
As part of a final project for a class in New York University's Interactive
Telecommunications graduate program last year, students with cell phones and Wi-Fi
Internet connections mimicked the game, tracking their movements on a grid spanning
several city blocks.
They called this analog re-enactment, where four people dressed as ghosts searched
for Pac-Man on the streets around New York's Washington Square Park, Pac-Manhattan.
"We never had anyone clear the entire board," said Frank Lantz, a game designer who
taught the course.
Namco, which can't offer an exact date for Pac-Man's birth, sold 293,822 of the
arcade machines between 1980 and '87. It shows no signs of giving up on the franchise.
The company has several new games this year, including "Pac-Mania 3D," "Pac-Man
World 3," Pac-Pix" and "Pac-Man Pinball." It even began making a special 25th
anniversary edition of the old arcade machine.
"People say, 'Who buys Pac-Man?' It's one of the few games where the answer is,
'Everyone,' " said Scott Rubin, general manager of Namco America.
Herman said Pac-Man's place in video game history is forever secure. "It was a
milestone of video game history."
Twin Galaxies Scoreboard
Pac-Man
Four Way Pac-Man Tie Deemed by Twin Galaxies: Link
Billy Mitchell
1 100.00 % 3,333,360 Billy L Mitchell aka perfect_pacman
Video, July 3, 1999,
From: Fort Lauderdale, FL, Video
Billy Mitchell, July 3, 1999
Billy Mitchell - Player of the Century
Perfect Pacman
Rick Fothergil
1 100.00 % 3,333,360 Rick D Fothergill aka captain canada July 31, 1999,
From: Toronto, Canada, Video
Rick Fothergil
Rick Fothergil - Perfect Pacman
Chris Ayra
1 100.00 % 3,333,360 Chris Ayra February 16, 2000, aka perfect pacman,
From: Miami, FL. United States, Video
Chris Ayra
Chris Ayra - Perfect Pacman
Tim Balderramos
Tim Balderramos - Perfect Pacman
Tim Balderramos
1 100.00 % 3,333,360 Tim Balderramos August 8, 2004
From: West Saint Paul, MN. Referee
Billy Mitchell Statistics:
First to get Perfect Pacman, July 3, 1999, missing
no dots and getting to the split screen and
final level 256 in six hours.
Billy Mitchell in a First Place Tie with Rick Fothergill, Chris Ayra and Tim Balderramos.
Score 3,333,360
Player Billy Mitchell
Fort Lauderdale, FL
United States
Date Achieved Saturday, July 03, 1999
United States Pac-Man Team
US National Video Game Seal of Approval
Billy Mitchell was a founding member of Twin Galaxies' US National Video Game
Team in 1983 and appeared in the 1984 Guinness Book of World Records with five
world record listings: Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Burgertime, Centipede, Donkey Kong
and Donkey Kong, Jr.
Pac-Man
Pacman
Upright Coin Operated Video Game, 1980
Pac-Man
Manufacturer: Midway
Year: 1980
Class: Wide Release
Genre: Labyrinth/Maze
Type: Videogame
Description
A yellow, pie-shaped character named Pac-Man runs along inside a maze, eating dots
as it avoids four ghosts. Each ghost has its own unique personality and gobbling
one of the four super dots makes Pac-Man invincible to the ghosts for a given period
of time. Each maze has its own unique bonus fruit or object with bonus points increasing
as the game progresses.
Cabinet Information
These cabinets will sometimes be "speckled" with pink or blue paint on top of the
yellow coat. Also because of its high popularity, most cabinets tend to have wear
marks where players would rest the hand they were not using to control the game.
The plastic edging on the cabinets was originally orange. The sides show Pac-Man
trying to run away from a ghost with his mouth wide open. The kick-panel displays
the same artwork.
Cheats, Tricks and Bugs
It is possible to follow a pattern on each maze that will always clear the screen
without being caught by the ghosts.
It is possible to hide forever in one place on the screen. Here is how: where
Pac-Man starts there is a "T"-like wall above him. If you go up to the right-most
part of the "T" from the bottom without any ghosts seeing you go in, they will
never enter that spot. Also, do not move; stay still, facing up.
Conversion
This can be converted to Pac-Man Plus, Ms. Pac-Man, or Jr. Pac-Man by switching
the marquee, control panel overlay, monitor bezel, kick-panel art (if necessary),
and PCB.
Game Introduction
The four ghosts, which your character must avoid, each have a different color, name,
nickname and personality. The pink ghost is Speedy, nicknamed "Pinky"; he's fast.
The red ghost is Shadow, nicknamed "Blinky"; he's always behind you and it's hard
to shake him. The light blue ghost is Bashful, nicknamed "Inky"; he's terribly shy
and will actually run away from you. And the orange ghost is Pokey, nicknamed "Clyde";
he will try his best to get you, but he is slow.
Game Play
Pac-Man must clear the maze of all 240 dots and all four energizers to proceed to
the next level of difficulty. As Pac-Man eats the dots, the ghosts chase him around
the maze and if Pac-Man collides with one of the ghosts, he is a goner. He can eat
one of the energizers to turn the ghosts dark blue, which make them edible for him.
But after Pac-Man has eaten any of the ghosts, their eyes will return to the pen in
the middle of the maze where they will each regenerate into their former selves and
return to chase him again.
Occasionally, a bonus fruit or prize will temporarily appear in the middle of the
maze below the ghosts' pen. Pac-Man can eat those bonus items to receive extra
points. Also, there is an escape tunnel in the sides of the maze which Pac-Man
can use to get away from any of the ghosts that may be pursuing him.
After the maze has been cleared of all 240 dots and all four energizers, the entire
sequence will begin again with increased difficulty. Between every two, three, or
four completions, there are musical, animated intermissions to amuse the player while
he or she waits for the next challenge to begin. However, these intermissions are
not seen anymore once the 18th board (6th key) is reached.
Everything Pac-Man eats has different point values. The dots are 10 points each,
the energizers are 50 points each. The dark blue ghosts are respectively 200, 400,
800 and 1600 points. There are different point values for every bonus fruit or
prize that is eaten: cherries, 100 points; strawberry, 300 points; peach, 500
points; apple, 700 points; grapes, 1000 points; Galaxian, 2000 points; bell, 3000
points; and key, 5000 points. You will also get a bonus Pac-Man at 10,000 points
(switch selectable...can also be 15,000 points, 20,000 points, or no bonus).
Hacks
Brakman - Replaces the ghosts with Braks and changes the maze. It also changes
the ready text to "YOWZA!"
Clyde's Revenge - Lets you play as a ghost.
DizzyGhost - Lets you play as a ghost. It also changes the maze.
I'm Going Berzerk - Chicken! Eat all the dots like a robot!
Mr. Pac Man - Uses the original Pac Man character while playing Ms. Pac Man.
Pac-Kong - Uses the original Pac-Man graphics in a Donkey Kong game.
Pac-Man 2600 - Changes the maze and graphics to make them look more like those
from the Atari 2600.
Pop-Man - A six IC update that changed the main character to Popeye's head.
Featured a disappearing maze and six warp tunnels. This hack could also be
used in Pac-Man Plus.
Puckman Renaissance - Changes the graphics to make them look better.
Snowy Day Pac-Man - Has a Christmas theme.
Pika-Man - Changes Pac-Man to Pikachu's head, changes the maze, and changes the
ghosts to Haunter. It also changes the "Ready" message to "PIKACHU!"
Miscellaneous
LICENSOR: Namco
SPINOFF: Kick Man (Pac-Man and the ghosts appear in this game)
Trivia
The single most popular game of all time. The game spawned several lines of merchandise
and a Saturday morning animated series on ABC that lasted two seasons (from 1982 to
1984). There was even a prime-time animated Christmas special called Christmas Comes
To Pac-Land which was first broadcasted on ABC sometime in December 1982. Actor Marty
Ingels supplied the voice for the main character in both of these animated shows and
he was even given a genuine Pac-Man arcade game by the people who hired him.
Toru Iwatani, Pacman Designer/Inventor
The game's hero was born from a pan of pizza with one slice missing, as
Toru Iwatani (Namco), was born on January 25, 1955 and it was his goal in 1979
to think of a character for his new game. He gazed down at the pizza, then it
dawned on him ... a circle with a wedge missing for a mouth ...
and so, Pac-Man was born.
He completed Pac Man with the help of four others, after working on it for a year
and five months, taking it from concept to finished product. The game was first
introduced in Japan, where it was very successful. When the games was exported,
Pac Man captured the imaginations of Americans and Europeans as well.
The game was, at first, called Puckman. It was later changed due to the fact that
the middle section of the 'P' could be scratched away making the name offensive
to people.
The American rights were to go to Atari originally, but they turned them down,
saying the game was too easy.
A game called "Pac-Man World: 20th Anniversary" was released for the PlayStation
Game Console in late 1999. In this 3-D game, Pac-Man has to save his friends and
family from Toc-Man (a robotic Pac-Man from Ghost Island, whose name is Namco's
original name, Namcot, spelled backwards). The friends and family are here as
follows: Pooka (from Dig Dug), Chomp-Chomp the Dog (from Pac-Land), Professor
Pac (from Professor Pac-Man), Baby Pac (from Baby Pac-Man and Pac-Land), Junior Pac
(from Jr. Pac-Man and Pac-Land), and Ms. Pac-Man (from Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Land).
Pac-Man has learned some new moves to save his family like swimming, revving and
more. This release also contains the original Pac-Man game.
Legacy
Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man
Super Pac-Man
Pac-Man Plus
Baby Pac-Man
Jr. Pac-Man
Pac & Pal
Pac-Land
Pac-Mania
Namco:
"Pac-Man World" and 2002's "Pac-Man World 2", and 2005's "Pac-Man World 3"
Pac Man World
Enter Pac-Man World Link
Pac-Man World Goodies Link
Play Pac-Man World Intro Game Link
Bozeman Montana Think Tank
The first Ms. Pacman Masters to put their minds together in 1983
to master a game, and are now in 2005 still remembered
as the Bozeman Montana Think Tank.
They were the first to acquire the grouping skills on all
boards to acquire an incredible amount of points on Ms. Pacman.
Link
Pac Man turns 25 the Story Link
A pizza dinner yields a cultural phenomenon - and millions of dollars in quarters.
Billy Mitchell, Perfect Pacman
Billy Mitchell was proclaimed the “Player of the Century” during a 1999 Tokyo Game Show
for being the first person to accomplish a "perfect" game on Pac-Man. Not one life
lost, not one ghost or dot missed, until the famous kill screen where the game
scrambles and can no longer be played.
What do Billy Mitchell's family think about his Perfect Pacman performance?
Evelyn Mitchell, Billy Mitchell's wife is a teacher working on her PHD in Education
and is very proud of her husbands achievements however she has not seen him play in
competitions. Only one of Billy Mitchell's three children has picked up up his
love for video games. The two girls and wife do not care for the classic games,
but his boy, Billy Jr. called Little Billy, loves the classics and especially
Donkey Kong and has showed prodigy like advances of completing many screens at only
the age of seven with a sense of control which only the masters show.
Billy Mitchell, the South Florida native and "Player of the Century" has a successful
million dollar a year hot sauce company called Ricky's World Famous Sauce which he
started in 1987 in Louisiana. He also owns Ricky's, the family business/restaurant
which is a Hollywood, Florida Landmark, at which he took over from his father in
the mid-1980s. His father, "Billy Mitchell, Sr." was concerned that Billy Mitchell
was playing to many video games with at least 40 hours a week logged in at the
arcade since the age of 16, but since Billy Mitchell's grades were up and he never
missed a day of work, it was decided that it was o.k. to spend so much time on
the games. Billy Mitchell still plays video games but doesn't have to much time
with family and business pressing in however if he can he will play a couple
of games of Ms. pacman in his gameroom at the back of his restaurant where there
is a Sega Daytona Racing, Golden Tee 2005 and Ms. Pac-Man, but missing the famous
Pac-Man Game. Link
Visit Rickey's Restaurant and Lounge at 4799 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, Florida for
the best Hot Wings! Link
Rickey’s World Famous Louisiana Sauce Link
Tony Temple's Hot Sauce Challenge Link
Ricky's Hot Sauce Link
There is also the new Mame and Xbox 360 and Classic CoinOp Pacman Perfect Player,
who has stated the following about hard hard grouping is in Pacman:
Amazing that Pac-man still gets attention after so many years.
In 1983, I became the World Champion with 3,197,360. At the time, I thought
that was at least close to the high-end that you could get - color me wrong
I guess! I only wished that the fraudulent scores of the day (some guy claimed
12 million once - and it made USA Today!) hadn't soured the milk of success
for me. I guess I can only say that at least my place in history was finally
secured with the TG Book of Records (thanks, TG!).
You'll need at least 5-6 patterns to reach the kill screen consistently. One
for the Cherry, one for Strawberry to Apple, one for Apple to 3rd Key, one
for 3rd Key to 7th Key (some Apple patterns work here too), one for 7th and
8th Key, and one for 9th Key on (assuming slow board - pacman gets eaten just
above the lower-left energizer in the demo).
The "split-second boards" (1st Galaxian, 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 6th Keys) are
indeed tough. Have you ever heard of the grouping strategy in Ms. Pacman -
where you can crowd the ghosts on top of one another? This is what you have
to do in Pac-Man. Get them on top of one another and then lure them to an
energizer - it becomes as if you are contending with one ghost instead of
four. I do have a pattern that can "almost" get one 1600 on these boards,
but I get eaten by the fourth ghost just before I reach him as he turns
back to his dangerous color about 95% of the time.
Check out the "How to win at Video Games" book. It lists patterns that are
similair to each other and should be easiest to learn. Its 18 years old,
so it may be tough to find. I have a copy that I could send the snapshots
to if you need it....
-- Tim Balderramos (pacmantab) October 05, 2000. Link
Twin Galaxies Golden age is Reborn Link