Ms. Pac-Man (character)

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Ms. Pac-Man
Pac-Man character
Mspac-mancharacter.png
Art of Ms. Pac-Man
First appearance Ms. Pac-Man (1982)

Ms. Pac-Man is a character in the 1982 video game of the same name, though she was originally a character called Anna in a planned video game Crazy Otto, which became Ms. Pac-Man after Pac-Man distributor Midway Games acquired the rights to it. This character, also remade into Ms. Pac-Man, was suggested to be the star by a Midway representative. She was originally called Miss Pac-Man, though this was changed to avoid implying that she had her son out of wedlock.

Contents

While she has appeared in a number of games over the years, she stopped appearing in Pac-Man games following a re-release in the 2014 Pac-Man Museum due to what is believed to be a legal dispute between the owner of the royalty rights, AtGames, and Pac-Man creator Bandai Namco. In a remake of Pac-Man World , she was replaced with a character called Pac-Mom, which has been criticized by some critics, who believed it was an erasure of gaming history. She has been viewed as one of the first and most iconic female characters in gaming history, though she has been criticized for her design, with it being suggested that the tendency to depict female characters as derivative of a male character was reductive.

Concept and creation

Ms. Pac-Man originated in the 1982 video game of the same name, which began live as a different game titled Crazy Otto before being converted into a modified version of Pac-Man after the American Pac-Man distributor Midway Games purchased Crazy Otto. It was developed by General Computer Corporation (GCC) and distributed by Midway Games. [1] At first, it was intended to be called Super Pac-Man, but it was eventually given the title Ms. Pac-Man. [2] A Midway marketing employee, Stan Jarocki, exclaimed that Ms. Pac-Man was made to thank female arcade players for playing Pac-Man. [3] Namco, the publisher of Pac-Man, was reportedly unhappy with the existence of Ms. Pac-Man, ending their distribution deal with Midway in 1984, before gaining the rights to the Ms. Pac-Man name, though GCC retained royalties off the game and Ms. Pac-Man brand. [1] However, one of the designers, Steve Golson, argued that Namco's dislike for the game was a rumor, stating that Namco had been involved since Midway became involved. [2] The royalty rights were later purchased from GCC by AtGames in 2019, resulting in a lawsuit by Bandai Namco (formerly Namco) which was settled in 2020. [1]

Ms. Pac-Man was created after a Midway marketing employee, Stan Jarocki, suggested making the female character in Crazy Otto, Anna, the main character, as part of the shift into Ms. Pac-Man. [4] First intended to be called Pac-Woman, she was later considered to be called "Miss Pac-Man. As the developers included a baby Pac-Man character, they did not want to suggested that Ms. Pac-Man had a child out of wedlock, and then decided to call her Ms. Pac-Man. [2] She was initially designed with red hair, though Namco's then-President Masaka Nakamura asked them to instead give her a bow and beauty mark. [2]

Ms. Pac-Man, as well as her titular game, have been the subject of legal disputes, with AtGames unable to make a Ms. Pac-Man mini arcade cabinet due to Bandai Namco refusing to approve it, with speculation that they did not want AtGames to receive royalties. [5] In a re-release of Pac-Land under the Arcade Archives brand, Ms. Pac-Man was removed, replaced by a character called Pac-Mom. This is believed to be due to a legal dispute over the use of the character. [1] She was later removed from Pac-Man Museum+ and the remake of Pac-Man World , both having her replaced with Pac-Mom. [6] Ms. Pac-Man still appeared in Pac-Man Arrangement '05, a game included in Pac-Man Museum Plus after these updates. [7]

Appearances

Ms. Pac-Man first appears in the video game of the same name in 1982, where she is its protagonist, tasked with eating pellets while dodging ghosts, similar to the gameplay of the original Pac-Man . She is portrayed meeting and falling in love with Pac-Man before having a child with him in intermissions. [2] This game has been the subject of multiple re-releases on different platforms. [8] She makes brief appearances in Pac-Land (1984) and Pac-Man World (1999). [9] [10]

Ms. Pac-Man starred in Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness in 2000, a 3D, top-down action-puzzle game. [11] The sequel to Pac-Man: Adventures in Time , titled Ms. Pac-Man: Quest for the Golden Maze , released in 2001. [12] Ms. Pac-Man is a playable character in Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005), Pac-Man World Rally (2006), and Sonic Dash (2013). [13] [14] [15] Her last reported appearance in a Pac-Man re-release was in the 2014 release of Pac-Man Museum , failing to appear in later entries due to legal issues. [16]

As part of breast cancer awareness, Bandai Namco held a Ms. Pac-Man Pink Ribbon Campaign, where players could purchase a pink maze in various Pac-Man games on mobile phones, with all proceeds going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. [17]

Reception

Ms. Pac-Man has been considered the first female lead character in a video game, though Polygon writer Patricia Hernandez argued that she was not an "actual person" and not having her own name disqualified her, a sentiment shared by GamesRadar+ writer Dustin Bailey. [18] [19] [20] A writer for Polygon said that Ms. Pac-Man's "simplistic and stereotypical" presentation limited her appreciation of the character as the first playable depiction of a woman, though she acknowledged that technical limitations played a role in her overtly feminine design. Nevertheless, Polygon staff regarded her as one of the most famous female video game characters, calling her "unforgettable." [3] GameSpot writers Steve Watts and Gabe Gurwin, while arguing that Princess Peach was the most famous woman in video games, suggested Ms. Pac-Man was the only character with similar fame. [21] Esquire staff ranked her as among the best video game characters, noting how her design and personality, as well as her game's superior gameplay, helped her stand apart from Pac-Man as a character. [22] Destructoid writer Chris Moyse criticized Bandai Namco for removing Ms. Pac-Man from certain video game re-releases and remakes, arguing that they were removing an important female character from video game history. He felt that this would continue to be the case, believing that the decision was financially motivated. [6] Nintendo Life writer Alana Hagues was similarly disappointed, feeling that Ms. Pac-Man had made iconic appearances at various points in the series. [7]

Ms. Pac-Man's depiction as a woman has been the subject of commentary and criticism. Pop Matters writer G. Christopher Williams discussed the tendency of video games to portray "rather traditional assumptions of heterosexual relationships," specifically men's primary motivation being to pursue women. He argued that the relationship between Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man was tangential to the actual premise of the game. [23] Kill Screen writer Rachel Helps discussed the tendency to represent female characters by redesigning male characters with female features. She cited designer Anjin Anhut's views on the problematic nature of making male the 'default' and limiting girly-looking features to girls, who noted how female characters having derivative male versions was a comparative rarity. [24] While discussing the design of the gender swap feature in Shovel Knight , developer Yacht Club Games sought to avoid making them designed like Ms. Pac-Man, feeling that the idea of making a female character be akin to a male character but with a bow or dress would be regressive. [25] The Guardian columnist Charlie Brooker noted how, where Pac-Man did not have explicit male identifiers in his design, Ms. Pac-Man had to have female identifiers, like lipstick, a beauty mark, and a bow. He commented that, despite her portrayal possibly coming off as "patronizing," it was a more progressive depiction than many female characters in the early 2010s, specifically arguing that the industry tended to depict women as damsels or hypersexualized. [18]

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<i>Ms. Pac-Man</i> 1982 maze video game

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<i>Galaga</i> 1981 arcade game

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<i>Super Pac-Man</i> 1982 video game

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<i>Rally-X</i> 1980 video game

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Koch, Cameron (April 11, 2022). "Ms. Pac-Man Is Being Replaced, And It's Likely Due To A Legal Dispute". GameSpot . Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Machkovech, Sam (March 26, 2016). "Post-mortem: Ms. Pac-Man, Diablo dissected by their original devs". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "The Polygon staff tries to draw Ms. Pac-Man from memory". Polygon . September 5, 2021. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  4. ↑ Brindle, John. "The little-known story behind Ms. Pac-Man". Fanbyte. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  5. ↑ Good, Owen S. (April 7, 2022). "Pac-Man has a new wife, thanks to Ms. Pac-Man drama". Polygon . Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Moyse, Chris (June 29, 2022). "Pac-Man World receiving remake, but one family member won't be at the reunion". Destructoid . Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Hagues, Alana (May 27, 2022). "Pac-Man's Family All Have VERY Different Names In Pac-Man Museum+". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Orland, Kyle (April 8, 2022). "Bandai Namco scrubs Ms. Pac-Man from its own classic game". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  10. ↑ Phillips, Tom (June 29, 2022). "Pac-Man World remake replaces Ms Pac-Man with Pac-Mom". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  11. ↑ Bobinator (August 20, 2019). "Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  12. ↑ Varanini, Giancarlo (November 8, 2001). "Ms. Pac-Man: Quest for the Golden Maze Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Pac-Man World Rally Hands-On". GameSpot . August 4, 2006. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  14. ↑ Torres, Ricardo (September 6, 2005). "Mario Kart Arcade GP Hands-On". GameSpot . Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  15. ↑ Good, Owen S. (February 21, 2018). "Sonic, Pac-Man cross over to each other's mobile apps". Polygon . Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  16. ↑ Stanton, Rich (April 8, 2022). "Ms. Pac-Man is being written-out of Pac-Man history". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  17. ↑ Crawley, Dan (October 1, 2014). "Ms. Pac-Man joins the fight against breast cancer". Venture Beat . Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  18. 1 2 Brooker, Charlie (June 17, 2012). "Sometimes it's hard to be a woman. Especially when you're made out of pixels". The Guardian . Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  19. ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (February 11, 2021). "In the '80s, she was a video game pioneer. Today, no one can find her". Polygon . Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  20. ↑ Bailey, Dustin (May 13, 2022). "Historians find Van Mai, the woman behind the first playable female protagonist in a console game". GamesRadar+ . Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  21. ↑ Watts, Steve; Gurwin, Gabe (September 26, 2023). "The Best Nintendo Characters Of All Time". GameSpot . Archived from the original on November 30, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  22. ↑ Langmann, Brady; Sherrill, Cameron (July 10, 2020). "The 50 Best Video Game Characters of All Time". Esquire . Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  23. ↑ Williams, G. Christopher (October 24, 2011). "Other Princesses, Other Castles: The Problem with Playing Romantically in Video Games". Pop Matters. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  24. ↑ Helps, Rachel (October 31, 2012). "The sexist assumptions behind female game characters". Kill Screen . Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  25. ↑ Yacht Club Games (March 15, 2017). "Shovel Knight rethinks gender in retro games with Body Swap Mode (update)". Polygon . Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
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