The Genius of Pac-man

I believe there are only a few software games ever created having perfect and pure gameplay. Tetris and Pac Man are two examples, but Pac Man is the better example because it's a more complex game, and therefore the greater feat. Every aspect of Pac Man has gameplay repercussions and provides the player with decisions that involve trade-offs. Also, the game is extremely quick to learn, but nearly impossible to master, and has just one ultra-intuitive control, a single joystick.

Just the act of eating dots is perfectly designed, because eating them slows Pac Man down, slightly slower than the pursuing ghosts. This makes the act of eating dots a trade-off decision for the player because to eat dots – to accomplish the game's primary goal – is to put the player in greater danger. While staying in lanes where there are no dots allows the player to move slightly faster than the ghosts, but does not accomplish the game's goal. A lesser designed game would have not slowed down Pac Mac just the right amount when eating dots.

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