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Pacman on the Street

Posted by Zonk on from the wakka-wakka-wakka dept.

robbarrett writes "CNN reports that the Mixed Reality Lab at the National University of Singapore is "taking Pacman out of the arcade hall of fame and setting him loose on the streets." With Human Pacman, just strap on a computer and you too can eat virtual cookies while being chased by (real) ghosts."

47 comments

  1. Hmm...CNN's a bit behind... by flabbergast · · Score: 5, Insightful

    cuz it was posted on /. almost a year ago today! Human Pacman

  2. My thought by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1, Troll

    I read about this a day or two ago, and thought to myself: "Should I submit this to Slashdot". Then I thought "Nah, certainly something this stupid would never make it onto Slashdot".

    Insert obligatory: "You must be new here" reply.

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    1. Re:My thought by Luigi30 · · Score: 1

      You must be new here. Important things are always rejected, and things like this always make it on.

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    2. Re:My thought by calibanDNS · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I DID submit this to Slashdot two days ago and it DID get rejected.

    3. Re:My thought by DavidLeblond · · Score: 1

      ...and then a year later they make it on again!

  3. So expensive! try a cheaper solution! by EnronHaliburton2004 · · Score: 4, Funny

    you too can eat virtual cookies while being chased by (real) ghosts.

    A tab of acid will cost you $4 and produce the same effect...

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    94% of Repubs and 21% of Dems voted to renew the Patriot Act
    1. Re:So expensive! try a cheaper solution! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where are you scoring acid? It's been nigh impossible to get in Seattle for a few years now.

  4. Where did these games go? by Matt+Perry · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is offtopic so mod away, but the article made me wonder. Where are all the games like PacMan? I don't mean PacMan itself, but simple games like that which you can play in five or ten minutes here and there? When I had an Amiga 10-15 years ago it seemed that there was a lot more variety in the types of games available.

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    1. Re:Where did these games go? by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1

      Absolutely. I now have responsibilities, and can't afford to spend hours on end playing games. Very few things worthwhile that I can get the hang of in a short time, yet are fun enough to play mre than a few times.... Crap... I look forward to the newest Orbitz game coming out!

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    2. Re:Where did these games go? by GuyMannDude · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I think this is one of the big drivers beind the "retro-gaming" movement. It's not so much that 30-somethings are trying to recapture some lost element of their youth, it's just that many people are so drained by their jobs that they just want something simple to unwind with. But gamers who like old fashioned games are probably happy with the various emulators out there and wouldn't have much reason to purchase some newly-created simple game. So there's no market for these types of quickie games.

      Anyhow, that's my theory. I'm not a gamer either way but I admit a fondness for retro games. There's no friggin' way I could be bothered with any of the games that come out these days (even though the chicks in them look way sexier than that broad you had to save in Donkey Kong).

      GMD

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      watch this
    3. Re:Where did these games go? by Mattcelt · · Score: 3, Funny

      I have been in the same boat for several years now. I almost religiously stay away from MMORPGs precisely for this reason. I tend to only buy games which don't require a great deal of time investment. Lately I've been playing Criterion's Burnout series (2+3), which is a lot of fun and can be played for 10-30 minutes at a time for the most part. Even online, I can hop into BO3 for a game or two and hop back out.

      'Course, I often find that the clock has jumped ahead 2 hours when I've only been playing for 15 minutes... It seems that certain games often have time distortion fields surrounding them. Go figure.

    4. Re:Where did these games go? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ---BEGIN STOCK REPLY--- v1.0 copyright free

      Simple arcade-style games are all over the place. You don't hear about them so much because they're free. Try Yahoo or MSN games, or just look around on Google.
      High level programming languages and powerful computers means this stuff is easy for even novice programmers, and lots of them want to share. Some are even open source - any recent install of Linux will come with a couple of dozen arcade-style games, like Chromium, Kolf, Boules.
      Not to mention that all those arcade games that were so much better are all still available (if not always legal). Abandonware and ROMs are not hard to come by.
      So, stop complaining and start playing! And if you can't find the exact game you want, then write the damn thing yourself.

      ---END STOCK REPLY--- credit: J4M13

    5. Re:Where did these games go? by Zangief · · Score: 1, Insightful

      They are all in the same place:

      Wario Ware. By those crazy folks in Nintendo.
      --
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    6. Re:Where did these games go? by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

      They are in the places they remain profitable:

      1) Freely downloadable adware/spamware/shareware
      2) Bundled with an OS.
      3) Online (casino games, cell phone games)
      4) Arcades
      5) Standalone game-in-a-joystick devices

    7. Re:Where did these games go? by DLWormwood · · Score: 1
      Where are all the games like PacMan? I don't mean PacMan itself, but simple games like that which you can play in five or ten minutes here and there?

      Mostly to cell phones and PDAs, though you can still play them online at places like PopCap. I'll also double another poster's suggestion about the GameBoy; WarioWare is a good example of simple game play for the new millenium. Simple game design seems to have been shunted to the "puzzle" genre of gaming.

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    8. Re:Where did these games go? by Pxtl · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Cube. Quake 1. Lots of FPS games are great for hop-in-and-play, except for the new ones, where your load and download times will suck up half of your quick break. But frequently I'll have a 10 minute break and just pop open Cube, join a server, frag for 9 minutes, then politely bow out. If you play FPS games, Cube is dead simple - no complex tricks, obscure pickups, or confusing levels.

      If you're not into FPS games, there are numerous online Popcap games. If you like that sort of thing :P

    9. Re:Where did these games go? by jessecurry · · Score: 1

      Bejeweled!!! ...20 seconds of fill :)

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    10. Re:Where did these games go? by MBoffin · · Score: 1

      Where are all the games like PacMan?

      PopCap Games almost exclusively develops these types of games. While Bejewled can suck you in for hours at a time, it's a game you can play in five to ten minutes and still have fun at it.

    11. Re:Where did these games go? by minus_273 · · Score: 1

      cell phones. much like the wat gba brough back the 2d side scroller, cell phones ahev brough back the simple games :)

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  5. What about... by hatrisc · · Score: 3, Interesting

    http://www.pacmanhattan.com/

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    1. Re:What about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How was this redundant? I was actually going to make the same post before changing my view to -1 to read the rest of the comments. Good thing that I did.

      Pacmanhattan was a lower tech version of live Pacman in the streets of New York, done by students. Hell, Slashdot had an article about them 6 months ago.

  6. Dupe! by Gogo+Dodo · · Score: 1

    Game Over

  7. I'd imagine that the average slashdotter by Pugflop · · Score: 1

    is less interested in "cookies" and more interested in Ms. Pacman. :D

    1. Re:I'd imagine that the average slashdotter by glowimperial · · Score: 2, Funny

      Mrs. Pacman was hawt! I totally dig chicks wearing nothing but polka dot bows on their heads.

    2. Re:I'd imagine that the average slashdotter by Rev+Wally · · Score: 1

      And, really, were nothing but heads.

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  8. Sugar Jars. by MindStalker · · Score: 1

    So can anyone explain what is up with having to pick up real Sugar Jars? Some mention of ingredients.. to do what??

  9. Obligatory Quote by quamaretto · · Score: 2, Funny
    Computer games don't affect kids; I mean, if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.
    Scary.
    --
    *is run over by rotten tomatoes*
    1. Re:Obligatory Quote by nifboy · · Score: 1

      I think of a rave whenever I hear that quote.

    2. Re:Obligatory Quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy shit! I think that means you got the joke!

    3. Re:Obligatory Quote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      thats the point

  10. What about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the San Franscisco variant, "fudge pacman"?

  11. 'Human Pacman'? Bah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.pacmanhattan.com

    Much cooler.

  12. PopCap by photon317 · · Score: 1


    Check out PopCap games. I heard about them because one of the audio guys from the old early 90's asm demo crew Future Crew ended up working there. They make kick-ass simple games with no adware or spyware. You can play limited versions of the game in flash in your browser, or buy cheap licenses and download them for Wintel. www.popcap.com.

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    11*43+456^2
  13. pacmanhattan by ZenHarbinger · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Reminds me of http://pacmanhattan.com/about.php

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  14. What happens when ... by mynameisnotnick · · Score: 2, Funny

    the playing field of Human Pacman overlaps with the playing field of Human Grand Theft Auto?

    1. Re:What happens when ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some kid will take a hit of LSD, then try to eat his best friend, who has become a blue ghost...

  15. Pacman LARPing? by snot_rocketeer · · Score: 1

    did I really just read that? What's next, elves and orcs?

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  16. TechTV by Ryan+Stortz · · Score: 1

    Before the merger that killed everything good about TechTV; Fresh Gear covered this. Anyone want to find a link? (Is there even a link to find?)

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    Bugs are just features that have been fixed.
  17. Dangerous, innit? by MrZaius · · Score: 2, Funny

    Am I the only one that sees the corner of an automobile passing the girl in the VR suit?

    What on earth is there that keeps the people from stepping off into the road? One mistep, and poof. Pacman's back to the center, the medical center.

  18. I've always wanted to build something like this... by rubberbando · · Score: 1

    Only I would have put it inside a more controlled environment (like in a building) and made it a FPS. I also would have made the walls of the maze all solid colors and with the use of chroma keying, had changable textures overlaid on them.

    Damn I wish I had the capital to build my many many dreams. :-/

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  19. We've started playing in Vancouver... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    A group of CS students at Simon Fraser University in B.C. have started something similar to PacManhattan, though we call it PacVancouver (PacVan).

  20. The Better Drunk Way by Shadow_139 · · Score: 0

    Found this about a year or so ago. But is it less or more Nerdy?!?!?! HomePage , and Pictures h p/> or the Video <URL:http://pacmanhattan.com/videos.php/> .... --- <BR>&#147;Indeed! The toenail that is your brain is hungry.&#148; &#150;Wobbly Headed Bob

    </BR>

  21. Here's a scary idea by Steeltalon · · Score: 1

    Anyone want to put these devices on cars and trucks to try human frogger? ;)

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  22. It's Been Done, Kinda... by DLWormwood · · Score: 1
    Anyone want to put these devices on cars and trucks to try human frogger?

    As Seen On TV

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    1. Re:It's Been Done, Kinda... by Steeltalon · · Score: 1

      Wow... Maybe I should have watched that show more often.

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    2. Re:It's Been Done, Kinda... by DLWormwood · · Score: 1

      The only episode of Seinfeld I watched during it's original run was the last one where the main characters get their comeupance via a "Good Samaritan" law. The show, despite it's banalness, had moments of genius, which made it a favorite of the "water cooler" discussion set. I dislike the show even more now that it's everywhere on the dial in syndication.

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  23. ARQuake at UniSA Australia by cultyellow · · Score: 1

    http://wearables.unisa.edu.au/projects/ARQuake/www /videos/index.html check it out