Buzz
by Ryan Lambie
Since its debut in Tokyo arcades 37 years ago, Pac-Man has grown into a worldwide sensation. Created by Namco, this dot-eating maze game has cemented its place in pop culture, even as arcades have become less common. Despite the decline of physical arcade machines, Pac-Man continues to flourish on gaming consoles and mobile devices.
The brilliance of Pac-Man lies in its straightforward design. For those who might need a reminder: you control a yellow circle tasked with navigating a maze and consuming all the dots while being pursued by four ghosts. These spectral foes aim to block your path and complicate your journey. However, you’re not defenseless—power pellets scattered across the maze temporarily turn the tables, allowing you to chase the ghosts and earn bonus points. This advantage is short-lived, as the ghosts quickly regroup and resume their pursuit.
Toru Iwatani, the game’s designer, once remarked that Pac-Man would have lacked excitement if it were solely about collecting dots. To elevate the challenge, he introduced the ghosts, each with distinct behaviors and personalities. At the beginning of the game, they are named Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. The programming behind these ghosts is both clever and straightforward, and mastering their patterns is essential for excelling at the game. Below, we explore the unique behaviors of Pac-Man’s iconic ghosts.
CHASING AND SCATTERING
At the start of a fresh Pac-Man game, only Blinky, the red ghost, appears in the maze. Over time, additional ghosts emerge from the central holding area, often referred to as the 'ghost house.' A less innovative designer might have made the ghosts relentlessly pursue the player, trapping them in a corner and ending their life. However, Toru Iwatani understood that constant pressure would create a stressful and less enjoyable experience. To address this, he designed the ghosts to alternate their behavior every few seconds.
The ghosts alternate between two states, which Jamey Pittman, on his site The Pac-Man Dossier, labels as "scatter mode" and "chase mode." During scatter mode, each ghost moves toward a specific corner of the maze. Pinky, the pink ghost, targets the top-left corner; Blinky, the red ghost, aims for the top-right; Inky, the blue ghost, heads to the bottom-right; and Clyde, the orange ghost, moves to the bottom-left. (A third mode, "frightened," occurs when Pac-Man consumes a power pellet, but we’ll focus on the other two modes for now.)
Since the target zones are unreachable, the ghosts circle their designated corners for a brief period before transitioning to chase mode. In this mode, they actively pursue the player until they revert to scatter mode. Each ghost’s pursuit is governed by its distinct, pre-programmed behavior, adding complexity to the game.
BLINKY, THE RED GHOST
Among the ghosts, Blinky’s behavior is the most straightforward to explain. In chase mode, Blinky relentlessly targets Pac-Man, pursuing the player until it switches to scatter mode and retreats to its corner. However, there’s a unique twist: when only 20 dots remain in the maze (with this threshold increasing at higher levels), Blinky’s speed slightly increases. This acceleration happens again when 10 dots are left. During these moments, Blinky’s scatter mode behavior changes; instead of returning to its corner, it continues chasing Pac-Man. Known as "Cruise Elroy" among players, this makes Blinky the most formidable ghost, as it only reverts to its slower state once all dots are eaten or the player loses a life.
PINKY, THE PINK GHOST
Pinky employs a more tactical approach to corner Pac-Man. It is designed to move toward a spot four spaces ahead of Pac-Man’s current direction, often leading to the player being trapped. However, a glitch can work in the player’s favor: when Pac-Man moves upward, Pinky targets a position four spaces ahead and four spaces to the left. Savvy players can use this to their advantage by briefly moving toward Pinky, causing its AI to recalculate its path and potentially divert it to a different part of the maze.
CLYDE, THE ORANGE GHOST
Clyde’s behavior may seem erratic at first, but it follows clear rules. In chase mode, Clyde’s actions depend on its distance from Pac-Man. If it’s more than eight squares away, it behaves like Blinky, targeting Pac-Man directly. However, within eight squares, it retreats to the bottom-left corner—its scatter mode zone. This dual behavior makes Clyde appear both aggressive and timid at different times. Once players understand this pattern, evading Clyde becomes much easier.
INKY, THE BLUE GHOST
Inky is the most cunning of the ghosts, with movements that are particularly challenging to predict. This complexity arises because its target is determined not only by Pac-Man’s position and direction but also by Blinky’s location. During chase mode, Inky aims for a spot just ahead of Pac-Man, similar to Pinky. However, it then adjusts this target to a point twice the distance from Blinky’s current position, adding an extra layer of unpredictability.
Essentially, Inky calculates its path by drawing an imaginary line from Blinky through a point two spaces ahead of Pac-Man, then moves to a location double that distance. This makes Inky’s movements seem erratic when far away, but as Blinky closes in on Pac-Man, Inky also begins to converge. Like Pinky, Inky shares the same programming glitch, allowing skilled players to misdirect it by altering their movement patterns.
GAME ON
While this might appear to be advanced game knowledge, it’s actually a fundamental overview of how Pac-Man’s ghosts operate (cue Pac-Man death noise). The timing of their release from the central 'ghost house' and their transitions between chase and scatter modes are intricate and vary with each level. However, don’t be daunted—grasping the basic rules behind the ghosts’ behavior can significantly boost your score. It also highlights the creativity and meticulous design that went into crafting one of the most iconic games in history.
