Stabyourself.net released Not Pacman, a free recreation of Pac-Man without physics. I know, I know. Where are the physics in Pac-Man to begin with? Hidden in plain sight and glaringly obvious when there aren’t any.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJWJt_lgd4g’]
What makes the game so addictive, and not just a rehash, are the new controls. You control the game with either a mouse, keyboard, steering wheel, or joy stick, and the level itself rotates, jostling and moving the characters housed within the level. Power pellets are still in the game, but they don’t make it much easier. Controlling the ghosts and Pacman proves extraordinarily hectic. Remember that for every move you make with your yellow champion, three ghosts make theirs. It’s important to calmly observe the safest path, but the ghosts can clump up in a corridor while Pacman has free reign until the screen rotates enough to force them free.
The game is free to download here, and boasts one of the handiest “advanced multi-data scoring system optimized for professional competitive gaming events.” That’s right, you and your friends can compare high scores!
Maybe the kids at MIT knew this was out: http://www.universalhub.com/2013/some-mit-kids-were-busy-overnight
Nerd moment – Technically this could be construed as not adding or removing physics, just changing reference frames. In the original Pacman you could assume you are looking from a top view so gravity is acting into the screen. This game assumes you are looking at a front view so gravity is acting in a downward direction… Just depends on what you think the top of Pacman’s head looks like :)
Oh snap. The level of badassery and overall mindfuck is well over 9000.
Warning: O,o that video gave me a vertigo fit. Do not view if you have history with that.
I never thought about physics in such an old game that you’re supposed to view the world from above and guide the Pac-Man through corridors to eat pellets and avoid ghosts also roaming the corridors.