C SC 335, Fall 2005 Final Project: Pac-Man
Project Manager: Ken
Pacman This project allows you to implement the classic
arcade game Pacman.
Model The underlying bulk of your game’s code should
lie in its model—the code to represent the current state of
the game. This model should be independent of view or
graphical representation—it should not understand how to
paint panels or draw images, for instance. A portion of
your project grade will be based on how well you
understand and implement this model-view-controller
separation.
Game Behavior The behavior of your game must be
similar to the behavior of the Pac-Man arcade game.
Some groups choose to make their game as close to the
original arcade game as possible, while others try for
something unique and different. Either is fine, but in
either case, there are certain basic requirements for the
game's behavior. The following are the basic categories
of behavior that your game must model:
General Game Mechanics:
The game is represented by a maze filled with dots and pellets. The player is Pac-Man, and his
goal is to eat every dot in the maze. A dot is eaten by moving the player on top of it. When all dots
are eaten, the level has been cleared, so the player advances to a new level. (More on levels below.)
The Pac-Man player is chased by enemies. These enemies are ghosts, and there can be one or many
ghosts chasing Pac-Man in any given level. The ghosts come from a generator in each level. The
player starts with three lives; if one of the ghosts touches the player, the player dies and loses a life.
If the player loses all of his lives, the game is over.
Pac-Man has a weapon against the ghosts: the power pellet. Power pellets will be scattered
throughout each level. When Pac-Man eats a power pellet, he becomes temporarily invincible to
ghost attacks. The ghosts change appearance and become frightened, running away from Pac-Man
instead of chasing him. During the brief period (5-10 seconds) of the pellet’s life, Pac-Man may
touch the ghosts to eat them. When a ghost is eaten, it returns to its generator and is revived, then it
begins chasing Pac-Man again.
The object of the game is earn as many points as possible. Eating dots, pellets, and ghosts scores
points. Also, at random times, a piece of fruit appears in the game. Eating fruit also earns points.
