Hi Lori, Well, to anser a question like that I think we really have to go back 30 years and look at Packman as it relates to its golden years so to speak. When we look at games to day, how far technology has come, it is easy to dismiss what a huge impact a game like Packman had on modern day video games. How that one single game changed the way we saw vidio gaming in the early 1980's. For one thing in the late 1970's and early 1980's the concept of home computers were in their infancy and if you had a 1 MHZ processor and 180 KB of ram you were doing great. As a result Atari's first home console, the Atari 2600, was a true marvel of its day, but the graphics technology was terrible. All of the early games for the console such as Combat, Pong, Demon Attack, Atlantice, Cosmic Ark, etc were all in black and white. Even the very shape of the tanks, demons, spaceships, etc were very crudely drawn. The graphics technology was that bad. However, Packman would soon change all that in a hurry. By 1980 though Activision, Atari, Namco, and other third-party game developers began to launch a new wave of arcade games with color graphics. One of these new games, soon to become an instant hit, was Packman. Unlike previous games for the Atari it featured 16 color graphics, much more detailed graphics, and an extremely adictive game as well. the game was simple where you used the joystick to move a little yellow ball around, that had eyes and a big mouth on it, eating dots. Little ghosts would chase you around and if you had a power pill you could scare the ghosts off or eat them. Before you knew it Packman was the latest craze. There were songs like Packman Feavor on the radio. There were Saturday morning cartoons about Packman. There were Packman comic books. There were Packman toys in the toy stores. If you went to Pizza Hut to order a pizza I remember they had a table top version of Packman you could sit down at and play until your pizza arrived. Packman was everywhere you looked. As for me personally I had a huge amount of Packman stuff of my own.I had a Packman ball plus a few little rubber Packman figures that are probably worth a king's randsome now. My bed sheets were Packman sheets. My very first video game was Packman. It was Packman feavor in deed. Although, I grew up and Packman is something from my early childhood I still hold a place in my heart for the little yellow guy. Although, I'd say my fondmess for the game has more to do with simple nostalgia rather than it being a novelty these days. However, thing is when my son was a baby I saw these hand held games by Activision, and one of them had Packman on it. I purchased it for my son, Sean, who absolutely loves the game now. Packman is now a family favorite just by being passed down from father to son. It really is a good, clean, and fun game for children. It is the kind of simple but fun game everyone can enjoy no matter how old you are. So when Phil put out Packman Talks I think it was a good decision on his part. I know there are plenty of blind gamers who may have lived through that era, but wasn't able to be a part of the fun and experience the game first hand. For those gamers Packman Talks is a chanse to do what they should have been able to do 30 years ago. For me it is a chanse to revisit an old friend called Packman after I'm all grown up now.
Smile. On 5/23/10, Lori Duncan <[email protected]> wrote: > Sorry but what with the high quality of action games out there for the blind > now, why was Packman so popular. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
