Professor Pac-Man
A quiz arcade game using Pac-Man characters.
Professor Pac-Man, a quiz arcade game from Bally Midway, hit arcades in August 1983 as a later entry in the Pac-Man series, which by then included well over seven titles. It was one of several Bally Midway games built on the Midway Astrocade hardware—more than seven such games exist, and Professor Pac-Man was not the final one. Only 400 cabinets were produced, and many were later sent back to the manufacturer to be turned into Pac-Land machines.
The game was an attempt to tap into the quiz game trend. Instead of the classic maze chase, players—called "pupils"—faced simple visual puzzles and had to solve them within a tight time limit. Despite featuring Namco’s popular character, Professor Pac-Man flopped in arcades, largely because of its slow pace and departure from the maze-based action that made earlier Pac-Man titles hits.
Gameplay supports one or two players. In a two-player game, the first to answer correctly gets the points. Players answer multiple-choice questions before time runs out. The timer is represented by the original Pac-Man eating a row of pellets; the more pellets left when a correct answer is given, the higher the score. As questions progress, Pac-Man eats pellets faster. Bonus questions appear after a player answers two to six questions correctly on the first try. The game ends when a player loses all their fruits—the equivalent of lives, which also indicate difficulty. A wrong answer on a regular question costs a fruit, but wrong answers on bonus questions do not. Correct bonus answers can earn an extra fruit. The game holds over 500 questions and could load new question sets, though none were ever released.
Most questions have nothing to do with Pac-Man, but a few do. Some show the original Pac-Man maze (with a regular wall where the ghost regenerator would be) and a line of pellets leading to a fruit in the center, asking how many left or right turns lead to the fruit. Another question, after studying a city scene, asks where you would go to play Professor Pac-Man. Others require filling in the lower-right square of a 16-square grid, with four different fruits or Pac-Men facing different directions in each row.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Professor Pac-Man
- Programmer
- Rick Frankel
- Composer
- Marc Canter
- Developer
- Dave Nutting Associates
- Publisher
- Bally Midway
- Release
- February 11, 1983Publication date only
- Genre
- Quiz
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Series
- Pac-Man
- Arcade System
- Midway Astrocade
- Platforms
- Arcade
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Professor Pac-Man was designed to capitalize on the perceived quiz game niche. It presented simple visual puzzles and required players (called 'pupils') to solve each within a short time limit. Despite using Namco's popular Pac-Man character, the game did not fare well in arcades due to its slow pace and abandonment of the maze-based gameplay that made previous titles popular. The game is for one or two players; in two-player mode, the first to answer correctly receives the points. The timer is the original Pac-Man eating a row of pellets; the more pellets left when answering correctly, the higher the score. As questions progress, Pac-Man eats pellets more quickly. Bonus questions are awarded after answering between two and six questions correctly on the first try. The game ends when a player runs out of fruits, which serve as lives and difficulty indicators. Fruits are lost for wrong answers on regular questions but not bonus questions; fruits can be earned for answering bonus questions correctly.
Reader's Guide
Professor Pac-Man is significant as an early attempt to merge quiz gameplay with a popular arcade franchise, but it failed commercially. Its slow pace and departure from maze-based gameplay alienated fans, and only 400 cabinets were produced, many later converted. The game's development involved world champion foosball player Johnny Lott and RePlay publisher Ed Adlum, who proposed traditional Pac-Man maze gameplay with quiz prompts; Midway accepted but removed maze gameplay before release without notifying them. The game was written by Rick Frankel, with graphics by Mark Steven Pierce and Sue Forner, and sound by Marc Canter. Midway planned three versions—Family, Public, and Prizes—but only one was released. The game supported loading new question sets, but none were ever released. Despite its failure, a Professor Pac-Man character appears in the Pac-Man World series, with a white mustache and design closer to official Pac-Man, and remains intact in recent titles, implying no legal issues despite not being originally created by Namco.
Did You Know?
- Only 400 cabinets of Professor Pac-Man were made; many were returned and converted to Pac-Land cabinets.
- The game was originally proposed by world champion foosball player Johnny Lott and RePlay publisher Ed Adlum, but maze gameplay was removed before release without their knowledge.
- Midway planned three versions of the game: Family, Public, and Prizes, but only one was released.
- The game has over 500 questions and supported loading new question sets, but none were ever released.
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