PacManhattan Relocates Classic Game To New York Streets

Matt Slaybaugh writes "Some classmates of mine have developed a 'large-scale urban game that utilizes the New York City grid to recreate the 1980's video game sensation Pac-Man.' One player dresses up as Pac-Man and tries to cover the full Greenwich Village grid, while 4 others dressed as Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde try to catch him. Everyone reports their positions to their respective generals, who monitor progress on a central control board. I can't wait for the real-world implementation of Donkey Kong."

Comments

For a small price...

[Exiler]

I'll gladly hurl barrels at the submitter... or anyone, really.

Or Frogger on 5th Avenue!

[Madwand]

Just imagine dodging taxis...

so sad...

[Roger Keith Barrett]

even more guys who will never, ever get laid...

Fruit

[Decameron81]

But if you find a rotten apple lying in the middle of the street are you supposed to eat it?

Diego

hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder if we can ever simulate this on a computer. That would save a lot of time, money and effort.

Re:hmmm

[xintegerx]

I wonder if we can ever simulate this on a computer. That would save a lot of time, money and effort.

1) In theory, it sounds feasible, but I don't see how it can be done practically. For one, I've dabbled in computer programming, and the most popular game libraries, Direct3D and OpenGL, are 3D libraries, I think.

2) Two, maybe I don't know about games too much, but in my experience, all controllable object models must be able to launch particles, and have multiple weapons. Again, I am not an expert, but that is from my experience ( I am 14 years old.) But I think there is some limitation like that Microsoft's Denomination Library Network explains. All games controlled by keyboard and rendered and sample game source code projects have a shooting mode, ALWAYS. So you can see that I am not stupid.

3) Without 3D models and 3D collisions, how could you know when you hit a wall?

This game is not feasible with current technology.

I am an expert in this field,

Sincerely,

Integer
President, "Slashdot Users Giving Short-Sighted Opinions", founded in 1969.

~ Integer: Killing good jokes since 1969. (There I just killed some 69 joke going on right now somewhere on the Internet.)

Re:Power Pellets

[jelevy01]

who needs dark alleys? It's Washington Square park, just got to D2 by the chess boards..

Re:holy cow

[andy_shepard]

...and he loses a life.

I'd bet he didn't have one in the first place.

George Costanza has already done it in Seinfeld!

[antdude]

From episode 174. It was a pretty funny episode. :)

I even found two video clips: #1 and #2. Here are two screen captures: #1 and #2. Thanks to Google for finding these. ;)

This is a creative project, but...

[MisterLawyer]

The rules are missing a few details.

From the rules:
"At the start of the game, Pac-Man runs along the streets, staying outdoors, within the designated playing area at all times. The ghosts may begin to chase Pac-Man. Pac-Man continues to run the board until all of the dots are "eaten" or one of the ghosts eats Pac-Man."

What does it mean for a ghost to "eat" Pac-Man?
Does a ghost have to be within a certain distance from Pac-Man?
Does a ghost have to "tag" (physically touch) Pac-Man?
Does a ghost have to restrain Pac-Man?

What happens if a random pedestrian interferes with the game?
These are not empty streets where pan-man and the ghosts can run around freely. There is a lot of obstacles and pedestrian and automotive traffic getting in the way of things.
Also, a guy dressed in yellow foam being vigorously chased by other guys dressed in foam is likely to attract attention, probably by the police.

Wouldn't the fastest runner have a distinct advantage over the other players?
In other words, if Pac-Man had the evasive maneuvers of a pro football running back, wouldn't the game kind of be over before it started?

I applaude the creative ressurrection of a childhood pastime, but I am skeptical of the game being much more than an elaborate "tag, you're it" with costumes.

Re:This is a creative project, but...

[Meneudo]

What does it mean for a ghost to "eat" Pac-Man?

Kick him in the balls.

What happens if a random pedestrian interferes with the game?

See above.

Wouldn't the fastest runner have a distinct advantage over the other players?

Get a spedometer and a taser and wire it to shock you if you go too fast.

Kristian Wilson, CEO, Nintendo Gaming Corporation

[Denyer]

...speaking in 1989...

"Computer games don't affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids, we'd all run around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music..."

...and I bet he never forsaw the live-action roleplay version either!

Re:This is why geeks will always be better than yo

[pubudu]

You see, we don't waste every waking moment of our lives thinking about getting laid. We actually do things we find interesting.

When I see someone like you post something like your post, I already know that I have more of a life than that person. There are more, and better, things than sex.

Unlike you, I actually spend my life doing things that I enjoy--I don't focus on fulfilling animalistic urges and belittling anyone who actually has a real hobby.

Ah yes, so many things in life seem more worthwhile than having sex when there isn't any sex to be had. Oddly enough, the availability of sex does tend to change ones priorities. Hobbies seem boring, reading a waste of time, and thinking itself an unbearable burden. The smell of one's aftershave takes on an increasing importance. One becomes concerned with the threadcount of one's sheets. Insipid banter becomes engaging.

That having been said, I find myself agreeing with you more than I would like these days. Yes, yes, there really is nothing like a good book on quantum mechanics and reading every post to /.