My first real Pico-8 game, a port of Paku Paku, a 1D Pacman game by Kenta Cho, with some small changes and added features.
I think it's pretty fun, but would appreciate any feedback! Also interested in seeing how high your scores can get. My current best is 8,223.
Controls
Press 'x' to start, and change the direction with the left and right arrows.
While the ghost is red, it'll eat you, but if you eat a power pellet, it becomes briefly weak, and you can eat it.
Scoring
- Each basic pellet is worth points equal to your current level.
- If you eat the ghost when it's weak, you'll get 10 times the current level.
- After half of the pellets on the current level have been eaten, a fruit will appear, if you eat that fruit, you'll get points equal to 20 times the current level. If you finish eating the pellets on this current level, the fruit will disappear, so be quick!
Updates
2024-01-13:
- Made it so ties between the player and the ghost always favor the player.
- Added a "New High Score!" splash
Very fun, short and sweet.
Often died at about the same time I ate the power pellet.
The ghost killed me each time but either turned blue or got eaten ...
When either scenario occurs, you feel cheated. A death with no power pellet eaten would feel fairer even if it would be the exact same difficulty in reality.
I like the fruit collection and gaps for the missed ones. Maybe the collection could be saved and displayed along the high score for a better feel of how far you were from it : because of the ever increasing value of things, you often feel further from the high score than you really were. Would also like a "NEW HIGH SCORE" celebration message.
Despite the simplicity, as a fan of pacman, this is easily one of my GOTY's this year!
Perfectly encompasses Pico-8. A truncated version of something we know. I like it. It reminds me of being caught between first and second base and running back and fourth.
Very well made. Thanks for posting!
Thanks everyone!
@RealShadowCaster : Thanks for the feedback, your reflexes must be quicker than mine. :) Reordered the collision checks, so now the death check happens last, and the player should always win ties. Also add a "new high score" splash.
90/100
PROS
Addictive
Nice Graphics
Appeal
Unique Idea
CONS
You Can Just Stand Still For A Few Levels At A Time
Hey @sizescape ,thanks for the update.
Close call chomps are now an absolute delight to pull off.
Your high score is higher than mine, so I don't think it's a matter of reflexes, you're likely more cautious than me and/or more mindful of fruits. I just like to eat the ghost, witch is often a mistake after around level 13-14 : if you have no power pill left and there are dots in the middle, you're done for because of your own greed...
This could be a one button game. Just press anything to change direction.
@jowalarson the original web version was a one button game, and that was part of the beautiful simplicity. Adding multiple buttons complicates the interaction far more than expected.
@sizescape a bug, I've collected a new dot as my previous dot was about to expire and I still expired.
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