RandomPac (C64)

RandomPac is a tribute to Pac-Man, an arcade game released by Namco in 1980.

Main differences from the original version:

• Procedurally generated mazes
• Bonus rounds

The game runs perfectly on both PAL and NTSC models of the Commodore 64.

If you are using an emulator on a 60 Hz monitor, it is recommended to select an NTSC model for smoother gameplay.

Gameplay

RandomPac is an action maze chase video game; the player controls Pac-Man through an enclosed maze. The objective of the game is to eat all of the dots placed in the maze while avoiding four colored ghosts - Blinky (red), Pinky (pink), Inky (cyan), and Clyde (orange) - who pursue Pac-Man. When Pac-Man eats all of the dots, the player advances to the next round. After the first 2 rounds and every 3 rounds thereafter, Pac-Man enters a bonus round where he has to eat all the bonus items before the time runs out.

If Pac-Man is caught by a ghost, he will lose a life; the game ends when all lives are lost.

Placed near the four corners of the maze are large flashing "energizers" or "power pellets." When Pac-Man eats one, the ghosts turn blue with a dizzied expression and reverse direction. Pac-Man can eat blue ghosts for bonus points; when a ghost is eaten, its eyes make their way back to the center box in the maze, where the ghost "regenerates" and resumes its normal activity. Eating multiple blue ghosts in succession increases their point value. After a certain amount of time, blue-colored ghosts will flash white before turning back into their normal forms.

Eating a certain number of dots in a round will cause a bonus item - usually a fruit - to appear underneath the center box; the item can be eaten for bonus points.

To the sides of the maze are two "warp tunnels", which allow Pac-Man and the ghosts to travel to the opposite side of the screen. Ghosts become slower when entering and exiting these tunnels.

The game increases in difficulty as the player progresses through the rounds: the ghosts become faster, and the energizers' effect decreases in duration.

At 10000 points and then every 50000 points, the player earns an extra life, for a maximum of 7 lives.

Options

There are 4 difficulty levels to choose from: Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert.

You can choose between 5 different shapes for the maze walls.

You can choose whether the mazes are generated symmetrical or not.

Controls

Joystick lever	Move Pac-Man
F7	Pause
F1	Stop game and return to title screen
F1	Reset ranking (while the top scores are displayed)

Joystick in port 2.

History

Version 1.0

• First release.

Version 1.1

• Some notes in the intro music were incorrect.

Version 1.2

• When Pac-Man was in the outermost part of the left tunnel, the ghosts saw him on their right.
• Added the Options menu, where you can also save the settings.
• You can now choose whether the mazes are generated symmetrical or not.

Version 1.3

• On PAL models, the intro music was slightly slower than the original arcade version.

Version 1.4

• A bug introduced in version 1.3 caused the incorrect generation of random mazes, resulting in poor variety or even repetitiveness. In any case, maze generation has been overall improved, and even symmetrical mazes are now more interesting and varied.
• You can now choose between 5 different shapes for the maze walls.
• Added attract mode.