February 24, 2008

THE CURSE OF BEING PAC-MAN

Commenter Alogusz pointed me to this astonishing rendition of Pac-Man. I've always been fascinated with arcade cabinet artists' imaginative interpretations of rudimentary video game graphics, but this is perhaps my all-time favorite adaptation. (It's available as a t-shirt at Threadless!) The artist is Travis Pitts and he happens to be the author of one of my other fave threadless threads too...

8 comments:

Alogusz said...

Glad you liked it Kirk. I originally came across it on Ed Mironiuk's page where he did an even scarier animated gif adaptation.

http://edmironiuk.livejournal.com/94649.html

Take care.

Anonymous said...

hey thanks guys- that's exactly what i was trying to do with it- rationalize a story for the otherwise nonsensical idea of pac-man.

thanks for noticing my stuff!

TRAV

Alogusz said...

Great work Trav. I remember the more lighthearted artwork on the Atari cart where Pacman is smiling and is eating giant wafers.

http://www.cedmagic.com/misc/thrift-store/pac-man-atari-2600.jpg

But your art really "brings to life" what Pacman would be like if it was real.

Hey Kirk, I noticed you like the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Here is some sad news:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981430.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562

"Actor Ben Chapman dies at 79
Starred in 'Creature from the Black Lagoon'
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ben Chapman, the actor who played the title character in "Creature from the Black Lagoon," died Feb. 21 of congestive heart failure in Honolulu. He was 79.

While the Gill Man didn't have any lines in the 1954 cult film, his role as the scaly monster earned him a spot in Hollywood history."

MC said...

I like the storyline that conveys. I mean, I'd read a comic book with that on the cover too.

David W. said...

This is such an insanely good illustration. It's so cleaver. It makes me think how Pac-Man might have looked if it was a story in a EC horror comic.

Damn, I wish I had thought of it.

Kirk D. said...

alogusz- yeah, thanks again for pointing that out. The gif version is great too. And thanks too for the news about old Ben Chapman. I hadn't heard.

Trav- Hey, thanks for popping in! What a nice "internet moment." I love how the piece makes me start to think differently about other aspects of the gameplay. Like, what's going on when the ghosts turn blue? Do the big pills give him enough confidence to face them or something? Is the "tunnel" some sort of space age teleportation device, or a delusion? How would the prizes play into it? The randomness of cherries, keys, and Galaxians actually makes more sense when filtered through your vision. Anyway, I just love it.

mc- agreed! and I'd definitely see a movie if that were the poster.

david w.- Good call on the EC horror feel. Another reason to love it.

Addicting Games said...

That's just so cool! I'm a fan of Pac-man, but I guess I never see the 'other' side of Pac-man that you showed here :D Anyway, nice to know you guys! Keep on doing creative things like this!^^

العاب said...

I also love Pac-man so much, my first game ever i played was pacman when i was a kid, and i really liked this, very creative.