Ms. Pac-Man
Developer	Midway Games
Publisher	Midway Games
Release date	1981
Genre	Maze
Modes	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Cabinet	Standard and sit-down
Arcade system	Main CPU: Z80 (@ 3.072 Mhz) Sound Chips: Namco 3-channel WSG (@ 96 Khz)
Monitor	19 inch Raster resolution 224 x 288 (Vertical) Palette Colors 16
Input	Joystick

Ms. Pac-Man is a popular arcade game released by Midway Games in 1981. The sequel to Pac-Man, it is considered by many fans to be superior to its predecessor. It was also one of the more successful of early arcade games as its sales record is still unmatched. A screenshot (from MacMAME) of the opening board of Ms. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video or computer games. ... Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) is a video game publisher known for such game series as Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Spy Hunter. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) is a video game publisher known for such game series as Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Spy Hunter. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is listing of computer and video game genres with a brief description and examples from each genre. ... This is listing of computer and video game genres with a brief description and examples from each genre. ... This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ... An arcade system board is a standardized printed circuit board or group of printed circuit boards that are used as the basis for multiple arcade games with very similar hardware requirements. ... The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Zilog from 1976 onwards. ... Nineteen inch (48 cm) CRT computer monitor A computer display, monitor or screen is a computer peripheral device capable of showing still or moving images generated by a computer and processed by a graphics card. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... Joystick elements: 1. ... Centipede by Atari is a typical example of a 1980s era arcade game. ... Midway Games (NYSE: MWY) is a video game publisher known for such game series as Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, and Spy Hunter. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pac-Man is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution by Midway Games in 1979. ...

Gameplay

The gameplay of Ms. Pac-Man is largely identical to that of Pac-Man, with a few differences.

• There are now four different mazes, with different colors and "filled-in" walls (compared with the original Pac-Man's hollow walls). Each maze has two pairs of "warp tunnels" connecting the right and left sides of the maze. The maze is changed after each of the first three intermissions.
• The ghosts have pseudo-random movement, which precludes the use of patterns to beat each board.
• The two "fruits" on each level now enter through one of the escape tubes, wander around the maze for a while, then (if not eaten) eventually leave through a warp tunnel.

There are also a few cosmetic differences. The character controlled by the player is now Ms. Pac-Man, resembling Pac-Man with eyeliner, lipstick, a bow, and a dimple. There are new sound effects including new music at game start and a new "death" sound.

There are three new intermissions:

1. "Act 1 - They Meet": Pac-Man is chased by Inky, Ms. Pac-Man is chased by Pinky; the monsters bonk heads, the Pac-Men escape, and a heart appears between them.
2. "Act 2 - The Chase": Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man chase each other quickly across the screen five times, with more speed each time.
3. "Act 3 - Junior": A stork drops off a bundle containing a tiny Pac-Man.

Like Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man has precisely 255 playable boards. On the 256th board, the maze and all of the dots will disappear, leaving Ms. Pac-Man and the ghosts to freely wander the screen. The board cannot be completed; without any dots to eat, Ms. Pac-Man can only wander the blank screen and avoid the ghosts. Though a "rack test" cheat available as a DIP switch (usable through MAME or other arcade emulator) will automatically clear the board and progress the game to the next level, clearing the 256th board will result in an irreparable glitch, and the game must be reset. 255 (two hundred [and] fifty-five, CCLV) is the natural number following 254 and preceding 256. ... 256 (two hundred [and] fifty-six, CCLVI) is the natural number following 255 and preceding 257. ... attention A DIP switch is an electric switch that is packaged in a standard Dual-Inline Package or DIP. Because of the DIP form factor, arrays of multiple switches can easily be incorporated into the same package. ... MAME is a computer software program for personal computers. ...

History

Ms. Pac-Man was originally conceived as a hack of Pac-Man called Crazy Otto, created by programmers under employ at the General Computer Corporation (GCC). A hack in progress in Lobby 7 at MIT. Hack is a term in the slang of the technology culture which has come into existence over the past few decades. ... The General Computer Corporation was an early video game company. ...

The programmers, surprised at the quality of the game they had created, showed it to Midway, Namco's American distributor of the original game. Midway had become impatient in waiting for Namco to release their next Pac-Man game (which would be Super Pac-Man), and were enthusiastic that such a game had come to their attention. They bought the rights to Crazy Otto, changed the sprites to fit the Pac-Man "universe," renamed the game Ms. Pac Man and released it into arcades. Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... Super Pac-Man, released in 1982, is the third (second if you count official games) in the Pac-Man series of games. ...

After the game became wildly popular, Midway and GCC undertook a brief legal battle concerning royalties, but because the game was accomplished without Namco's consent, both companies eventually turned over the rights of Ms. Pac-Man to the parent company, fearing a lawsuit.

Ms. Pac-Man was later released on the third Namco Museum game. Namco Museum refers to the series of compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. ...

Home versions

Like many other games of its era, Ms. Pac-Man was ported to many home computer and gaming systems. It has also been included in Namco's, Microsoft's and Atari's late 1990s series of classic game anthologies. Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT) headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA, was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. ... Anthology may also mean a Alien Ant Farm album ANThology, see Anthology (AAF Album) An anthology is a collection of literary works, originally of poems, but in recent years its usage has broadened to be applied to collections of short stories and comic strips. ...

The Sega Genesis and NES versions, by Tengen, and the Super NES version, by Williams Electronics, took a few liberties. They featured 4 different maze-sets: the original arcade mazes, bigger mazes, smaller mazes, and "strange" mazes. There was also a "Pac-Booster" option which lets players make Ms. Pac Man go much faster, making the game much easier. All of these versions also allow 2 people to play simultaneously, with Player 2 as Pac Man, either cooperatively or competitively. Sega Genesis 2 The Sega Genesis is a 16-bit video game console released by Sega in North America in 1989. ... Nes is: A municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway, see Nes, Akershus. ... Tengen was a video game publisher and developer that was created after the video game crash of 1983-1984 by Atari Games. ... The European SNES design is identical to the Super Famicom. ... Williams is a long-standing electronic gaming and amusement company based in Chicago, Illinois. ...

Atari 2600 screenshot Atari 2600 Ms. ... Atari 2600 (four-switch version). ...	Atari 7800 screenshot Atari 7800 Ms_Pac-Man by me This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... Atari 7800 System The Atari 7800 is a video game console released by Atari. ...	Commodore 64 screenshot Atari Lynx Ms. ... The Commodore 64 (C64, CBM 64) was a popular home computer of the 1980s. ...	Atari Lynx screenshot C64 Ms. ... Atari Lynx The Atari Lynx is Ataris only handheld game console, and the first such machine with a color display. ...
Sega Master System Image File history File links Screenshot Sega Master System Ms Pac-Man, made myself This is a screenshot of a copyrighted computer game or video game. ... Sega Master System The Sega Master System (SMS for short) (Japanese: マスターシステム), is an 8-bit cartridge-based gaming console manufactured by Sega. ...

External link

• ClassicGaming.com entry on Ms. Pac-Man
• Ms. Pac-Man entry at KLOV.com