The True Story of Pac Man -- and a Ton of Weird Theories

Summary

Ridiculous History

Episode: The True Story of Pac Man -- and a Ton of Weird Theories
Hosts: Ben Bowlin & Noel Brown
Release Date: September 18, 2025
Summary by [Your Name]

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Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Ben Bolin and Noel Brown dig into the storied and absurd history of Pac Man, one of the most iconic video games of all time. The hosts trace Pac Man’s real origins, explore a ton of fan theories (ranging from the wacky to the nihilistically philosophical), and revisit how this simple arcade game became a global cultural phenomenon. With their trademark banter and deep dives, Ben and Noel also examine how Pac Man reflected and shaped broader trends in entertainment, art, and even existential questioning.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pac Man’s Artistic Legacy & Gameplay (01:56-03:44)

• Early video games were graphically simple and had to carry impact through gameplay and design.
• Ben and Noel note that iconic visuals and difficulty (like Pac Man's) are partly because “they had to do a lot with a little” (Noel, 01:56).
• Tie-ins with movies or complicated plots weren't on the table in Pac Man’s era; instead, basic forms and mechanics became legendary.

2. The Real Backstory: From "Puck Man" to Pac Man (06:56-08:11, 37:02-38:46)

• Pac Man turned 45 in May 2025—still younger than many think.
• The Name: “Did you know that the original name for Pac man was Puck Man?...it actually comes from the Japanese phrase paku paku, which means to flap one’s mouth open and closed.” (Ben, 07:59)
• The English name was changed from "Puck Man" to avoid arcade vandalism turning the "P" into an "F" (Noel, 37:29).
• Toru Iwatani created Pac Man in 1979 for Namco, inspired by a pizza with a slice missing and the kanji for mouth (“kuchi,” 40:10).

3. Fan Theories: Pac Man as Metaphor and Myth (08:43-16:57)

• The show relishes exploring absurd and dark theories:
  • Serial Killer Theory: "The Pac man couple are serial killers, and they've been hiding their victims under a maze." (Ben, 09:20, summarizing Dan McCoy)
  • Drug Metaphor: “Pac man is eating too many pellets, aka drugs, and he's hallucinating, so he's seeing ghosts.” (Ben, 10:32)
  • Addiction/Haunting: “An elaborate metaphor of his time spent in rehab being haunted by the ghosts of his addiction.” (Noel, 10:57)
• Playful speculation about whether Pac Man is a video game Sisyphus, Minotaur, or dungeon crawler (Ben & Noel, 11:53-13:19).

4. Philosophical & Nihilistic Interpretations (12:28-17:00)

• Sid Lexia’s Thesis: Pac Man is a metaphor for futile consumerist existence and the inevitability of death:
  • "Your individual life...is largely characterized by the grim capitalist system...spent endlessly collecting brightly colored, consumer oriented products." (Noel, 16:07, quoting Sid Lexia)
  • “You are predestined to die and you will probably not accomplish anything of merit before this occurs.” (Ben, 16:20, quoting Sid Lexia)
• Discussion of "roguelike" mechanics, endless cycles, and the philosophical idea that Pac Man’s struggle is Sisyphean.

5. Alternative Origin Stories & Deep Fan Lore (25:29-32:33)

• Oyster Theory: Pac Man is an oyster reclaiming pearls, ghosts are jellyfish (Ben, 25:29-25:55).
• Microbial/Medical Theory: Pac Man is a white blood cell fighting germs (Noel, 26:32-28:15).
• Garfield-as-Lovecraft, Pac Man-as-Horror:
  • References to webcomics and art (SMBC, Travis Pitt) imagining Pac Man as surreal horror or existential struggle (Noel & Ben, 28:50-31:34).

6. The Real Design Philosophy & Cultural Context (38:46-44:45)

• Toru Iwatani sought a non-violent, universally appealing game welcoming to women and families, not just “war” or “sports” gamers.
• The shape inspiration: "One lunchtime I was quite hungry and I ordered a whole pizza...what was left was the idea for the Pac man shape." (Ben, 40:10)
• The chase mechanic, sound design (inspired by crunching into fruit), and nonviolent, colorful style were chosen to be inviting and memorable.
• Creation of "Ms. Pac Man" (1982) was a nod to the game’s diverse appeal, with detailed anecdote about naming and design choices (Ben & Noel, 41:42-43:31).

7. Game Mechanics, AI, and Iconography (46:00-47:37)

• The ghosts’ behavior is a notable example of early game AI:
  • “Shadow Blinky, who always chases Pac Man....Speedy, aka Pinky...Bashful or Inky...then Pokey or Clyde…The Japanese names translate to chase, ambush, fickle and plain dumb." (Noel & Ben, 46:24-47:07)
• The game’s cutscenes (“coffee breaks”) were early world-building and proto-lore, detailed at pacman.fandom.com (Noel, 48:21).

8. Cultural Impact & Legacy (47:37-end)

• Pac Man transcended into cartoons, merchandise, magazines (yes, even Hustler), and cookbooks (Ben, 47:37-48:08).
• The hosts reflect on Pac Man's lasting relevance as art, inspiration, and a reflection of 1980s anxiety and optimism.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If you can’t make it pretty, you can’t make it easy."
  – Ben Bolin (13:19), on game design philosophy.
• "Your individual life on this planet is completely insignificant and is largely characterized by the grim capitalist system that you were born into. You are doomed to a miserable existence..."
  – Noel Brown (16:07), quoting Sid Lexia’s existential read of Pac Man.
• "Pac Man is our video game Sisyphus and he just has to eat up these lost balls forever."
  – Ben Bolin (11:53), discussing the Pong theory.
• "The art's somewhat ambiguous."
  – Ben Bolin (25:47), on the oyster theory.
• "He’s just a cheese pizza with one slice taken."
  – Ben Bolin (12:28), on Pac Man's design origin.
• "All these games are so stressful. Mario man, I mean, I guess Donkey Kong, but like all the old games, the quarter eaters are just so stressful."
  – Unidentified Speaker (41:32), on the pressure of classic arcades.
• "Did you know that the original name for Pac Man was Puck Man?...it actually comes from the Japanese phrase paku paku, which means to flap one’s mouth open and closed, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."
  – Ben Bolin (07:59), classic offhand detail.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:56-03:44 — Art, limitations, and early game design.
• 06:56-08:11 — Pac Man’s naming, Scott Pilgrim reference.
• 08:43-16:57 — Absurd and philosophical fan theories.
• 16:07-17:00 — Sid Lexia’s existential Pac Man.
• 25:29-28:15 — Oyster and white blood cell theories.
• 37:02-38:46 — The true origin story: Puck Man and vandalism.
• 40:02-41:42 — Toru Iwatani’s pizza inspiration.
• 41:42-43:31 — Creating Ms. Pac Man and appealing to women/girls.
• 46:00-47:07 — The ghosts’ unique AI strategies.
• 48:21-49:02 — Proto-cutscenes and world-building.

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Tone and Atmosphere

The episode delivers its blend of geeky enthusiasm, cultural appreciation, and signature irreverence, making dense trivia and existential speculation approachable and entertaining. Ben and Noel’s conversational style brims with affectionate nostalgia, snark, and genuine curiosity.

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For Those Who Haven’t Listened

This episode is a tour through Pac Man’s quirky past and ongoing influence, seasoned with oddball theories, deep cuts from gaming culture, and reflections on what makes the character so endlessly fascinating. Whether you’re a classic gamer, a pop culture buff, or a philosophy nerd, you’ll leave with a newfound appreciation for the “little cheese pizza with one slice taken out”—and all the ghosts (literal and metaphorical) he’s been chasing for 45 years.

Transcript

[Ben Bolin]

Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to the show, fellow ridiculous historians. Thank you as always so much for tuning in. Let's hear it for our favorite video game ghost super producer, Mr. Max Williams.

[Noel Brown]

Waka waka, Max. Atari Teenage Riot.

[Ben Bolin]

Oh, that's a cut I wasn't expecting, but I love it. That's Noel Brown. I'm Ben Bolin.

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

Before we go, can I tell you all that? Yeah. I've decided on the next tattoo. Already?

[Ben Bolin]

Oh, good.

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

Yeah, it's going to be the third Empire symbol on the inner. Inner bicep and the right arm.

[Noel Brown]

I don't know what that is.

[Ben Bolin]

Max.

[Noel Brown]

I don't know what that is.

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

You know what?

[Noel Brown]

You know what it is. I don't. Is it Star Trek related?

[Ben Bolin]

It's Clair. Obscure related.

[Noel Brown]

It's not clear obscure.

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

It's Elder Scrolls.

[Ben Bolin]

It's Elder Scrolls. That's right. Okay, you know what?

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

Septim Dynasty.

[Ben Bolin]

All right. And thank you for not saying inner thigh, which I thought you were about to describe. Look, we have a great research brief from our pal friend of the show at North Star, Andrea, who I don't think has a ridiculous street name yet.

[Noel Brown]

No, Andrea. The word carpenter. Sharpentier.

[Ben Bolin]

Okay. I like a rhyme. You know, I'm a sucker for rhyme. Noel. We had to do it to him.

[Noel Brown]

Or it might be pronounced charpentier, in which case she is the word carpentier.

[Ben Bolin]

All right. And Andrea, as we know, is one of our go to correspondents for all.

[Noel Brown]

Things pop culture, graphic novels, nerd culture, gaming comics. She's particularly a fan of. And I would argue that this is a great intersection of those because we've got a lot of graphic art components to some of these early video games that become iconic and that really leave an imprint on art moving forward. Like the Space Invader guy that does all the tags. Those are basically little blinky characters from the Pac man games because they didn't have that much to work with. So they had to do a lot with a little. And make these things eye catching.

[Ben Bolin]

100%. Yeah. And that's why a lot of earlier video games are legendarily difficult. Because they couldn't make the graphics super tasty, so they had to make the gameplay super difficult.

[Noel Brown]

It's true for sure. And then move a little later, we started to see movie tie in video games that actually had a little bit more of a look that matched the games. Because in the early days, Atari and stuff, you had to really use your imagination and stretch it to its bounds to make the COVID art match anything remotely, you know what the gameplay was. The ET game is a perfect example, but apparently the Lion King video game for Sega Genesis is an example of a game that was so punishingly difficult, it was designed to get kids to continuously rent the game from Blockbuster Video.

[Ben Bolin]

Yep. And then we see another thing like oh gosh, what's that really difficult one. Captain Planet Unfair because the message was saving the world is hard, but they did it. We're talking about a much more simplistic game today. We're talking about Pac man.

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[Ben Bolin]

Who hasn't played it? Who doesn't enjoy it? It's not a huge commitment unless you're very good at it. And it turns out, as Andrea taught us, that Pac man has quite a complicated backstory. And get this, it is 45 years old as of May this year.

[Noel Brown]

Only 45.

[Ben Bolin]

I know, I thought it would be older.

[Noel Brown]

I thought it would be older, too. That's just a couple years older than us. And Andrea did a great job setting the tone for this episode in this brief with some still frame images from the wonderful movie based on a graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. And a lot of us who are familiar with this might have got the most, I guess, relatively obscure bit of backstory for Pac man from a scene with Scott, played by what's his face, Michael Cera, where he's trying to impress a girl and he asks her, did you know that the original name for Pac man was Puck Man?

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, you would think it was because he looks like a hockey puck, but it actually comes from the Japanese phrase paku paku, which means to flap one's mouth open and closed, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[Noel Brown]

It is funny because it's one of those chicken or the egg things where it's like, if they had called him Puck man, would history have just reflected that and just we would just. That would be what we would think of Puck Man. Or your immediate thought is, no, that's just wrong. That would have been bad and it would have been a failure. I don't know if that's true or not, but it is interesting. Pac Man. Something about it just does have A little bit more of a ring to it. And I love that it's associated with that onomatopoeia of the sound of flapping one's mouth open and close, which in Japan certainly would have resonated.

[Ben Bolin]

And it also brings us to an excellent segue into the fan theory origin stories about the provenance of Pac Man. It turns out there's a lot of mythology surrounding the game, the backstory of the man himself, the Pac himself, and other aspects of the world they build there. One of our favorites is that both Mr. And Mrs. Pac man are serial killers. This comes to us from the Daily Daily show writer Dan McCoy.

[Noel Brown]

That's true. They're ghost. Well, are they killers, though, or are they ghost hunters?

[Ben Bolin]

So this is what Dan is pitching. A while back, he went on Twitter, back when it was called Twitter, and he said, guys, here's what I think. The Pac man couple are serial killers, and they've been hiding their victims under a maze. And the ghosts that are chasing them are actually the spirits of their earlier victims haunting them.

[Noel Brown]

I appreciate what he's doing here. I appreciate the commitment to the bit. I would argue that he is inserting information that does not exist. I would say more likely that Pac man and Ms. Pac man are Ghostbuster type figures. They're there to hoover up these spooky ghosts that are out haunting the maze, which is, I guess, the world in which they occupy. I do love this next point that he makes, though, which has always occurred to me about this game. And also Dr. Mario, where he's just literally Homeboy's just chilling, chucking pills into the puzzle window of the game. But, yeah, we know Pac man loves gobbling up these little pellets that are a little pill like themselves, aren't they?

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. This one is more Internet ephemera, and we can't specifically trace it to Dan McCoy.

[Noel Brown]

Got it, got it, got it.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. The idea is that, like you said, Noel, Pac man is eating too many pellets, AKA drugs, and he's hallucinating, so he's seeing ghost because he's partied too hard. And the other one, the other related theory is that Pac man is in a club having too good of a time, and then he bumps into a ghost.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah. Or another theory, too, is that the creator of Pac man, who had some addiction struggles himself, used this as an elaborate metaphor of his time spent in rehab being haunted by the ghosts of his addiction. I think that's beautiful. I think it's a little unlikely, but, you know, maybe so. Man Maybe it is like a total like work of art that is mirroring his struggle with pill addiction.

[Ben Bolin]

Or maybe it's fan fiction and there's nothing wrong with that. We also want to shout out a Reddit user, GM Caros, who does a little bit of multiversal world building. It says that we all know the game Pong. Pong came out in 1972, eight years before Pac man came out in 1980. And Giancaro says, what if some ball balls from Pong fell off the sides of the board?

[Noel Brown]

Which they do if you miss deflecting them. Where do they go?

[Ben Bolin]

Where do they go? Maybe they go on the Pac man maze below. And maybe Pac man is our video game Sisyphus and he just has to eat up these lost balls forever.

[Noel Brown]

Is he Sisyphus or is he the Minotaur of the maze?

[Ben Bolin]

You know, I like it, I like it.

[Noel Brown]

Doesn't he just have one eye? Does he even have an eye?

[Ben Bolin]

Well, we are not the people to answer that question. But it's also, you know, it's a 2D game, right?

[Noel Brown]

He doesn't have an eye in the original game. He's just a yellow cheese wheel with one section removed.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, he's just a cheese pizza with one slice taken. And now we go to Sid Lexia, writing In February of 2008, who gets a bit nihilistically philosophical about Pac Man.

[Noel Brown]

Sorry, I'm playing a web based version of Pac man real quick right now, just to remind myself. So the ghosts are sort of like held in the middle until they're released and then you have to turn when they're blue. You can eat them only when they turn blue. And all the while you're gobbling up pills and then you also want to get the little bright shiny pills. That's what turns them blue. Sorry, y'. All. Just reminding everyone of how Pac man works. It's a pretty complex mechanic if you think about how simple the game is. And I've never gotten past like, you know, three or four stages. It's not easy for sure.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, if you can't make it pretty, you can't make it easy. So going back to Sid Lexia, who says the following quote. Thus far, the 21st century has been a sort of an odd time for video games. We've seen drastic increases in graphical presentation, and it's becoming increasingly probable that video games will offer up environments that are visually indistinguishable from the real world. Within my lifetime.

[Noel Brown]

Yup, we're still not quite there, but.

[Ben Bolin]

We'Re getting there prescient. And Sid, Lexi points out the games are becoming more realistic in other areas too, using special controls that get. You know what it reminds me of? Now Sid here is referencing Wii Sports and Guitar Hero, but it reminds me especially of things like Microsoft Simulator, Flight Simulator, which I as you know, in a continuing weird side mission, I play that simulator a lot.

[Noel Brown]

I know it's super cool, man. And it's, I mean similar controls to the way, you know, flighted vehicles might operate too within other games, Star Fox and stuff like that. Right.

[Ben Bolin]

And then we go into an earlier conversation we had on stuff they don't want you to know about the genre of things called God games.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, fascinating. Which, which would include technically things like the Sims where you're sort of this all knowing unseen hand sort of moving the inhabitants of this world that you've created through the paces of their day to day lives. These games don't really require super, super, super, super intense in depth, high level graphics because it's more about the interface they've designed and the, the largeness, the scale of the world. Another good example of that would be something like Minecraft, which is a modern example of using limitations to your benefit.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, well said. We also see that Sid. Lexia. After pointing out these breakthroughs and the stunning escalation and sophistication of video game technology, Sid finds that only one game has ever managed to really address the authentic simulation of the real world by which this writer means the complete futility of human existence in the western world. We told you it would be nihilistic. That game, says Sid, is Pac man and our author here goes into depth. But I think we go with the recap and let's just put on our philosophy hats and maybe round robin this one.

[Noel Brown]

Your individual life on this planet is completely insignificant and it is largely characterized by the grim capitalist system that you were born into. You are doomed to a miserable existence which will be spent endlessly collecting brightly colored, consumer oriented products.

[Ben Bolin]

You can attempt to alleviate your sorrow with needles or pills, but such efforts will inevitably fail. Furthermore, you are predestined to die and you will probably not accomplish anything of merit before this occurs.

[Noel Brown]

So I guess technically games like Pac man are what you would call today roguelike games where the deal is that you will inevitably die. There is a, you know, you want to push it as far as you can go, you know, rack up as many points, but the nature of the game is that you are predestined for expiration, for failure.

[Ben Bolin]

Again, Sisyphean Yeah, correct.

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

Just jump in here. Roguelike, traditionally, being that it will always reset, you don't have synthetically die. So, for example, like Blue Prince, which is a new puzzle roguelike game, you could win, but you can't just keep playing. Will restart.

[Noel Brown]

Okay, so it's so. But wait a minute. But aren't there. But aren't there. So yeah, I mean, technically, you know, Pac man involves a dungeon. That Pac man is a dungeon crawl, is it not? It kind of is.

[Ben Bolin]

It very much is. And this is where they continue and say, so now that you know your life is pointless, you might as well do what Pac man does. Go cry in the corner. Ouch. Ouch. Sid.

[Noel Brown]

He does sort of cry at the end, doesn't he? He's got little tears that squirt on out.

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[Noel Brown]

So when Dan is telling us now that we've wrapped our heads around what type of game this is and sort of what came from it. It's true. We're this endless cry in the corner. Yes, it's this endless loop, right? That is the nature of the Pac man game. It is the Sisyphean struggle. So he's crying in the corner after. He needs a little break from this endless cycle of absolute defeated by life. So there is little trick, however, that he can employ when a new level starts going back to the text. Move Pac man one space to the right and three spaces up, then stop. The ghosts will leave him alone for about 15 minutes or so.

[Ben Bolin]

It's true.

[Noel Brown]

This is. Wow, that's a hack I didn't know about.

[Ben Bolin]

So Sid continues. When you are feeling like life is completely hopeless and it is disagree, Sid. Find yourself a cozy little corner to cry in. I can't guarantee that your demons will leave you alone for at least 15 minutes, but you'll feel a lot better regardless. So now we're going past philosophy into literature, right? At this point. This is a weird meditation on Pac Man.

[Noel Brown]

I think this is fantastic and I see all of these parallels, whether they're intentional or not. It absolutely holds and I think it works beautifully.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, it squares with the reality of the game. And before Lexia comes along, there's a. A publication called Trigger Happy by Stephen Poole. It's a book entirely about video games. And here Poole kind of dovetails with the concepts later proposed by Lexia because Poole says Pac man again I introduced and I keep using the word Sisyphean, but Pac man is on this endless quest to become whole, consumed by consumerism and therefore never achieving true satisfaction. Interesting.

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, no, it's mega interesting, Ben. And I mean also considering the particulars of the Japanese rat race, you know what I mean? Like it is, I can see how this maybe even would have hit home on a cultural level, you know, over there. Right? Because I mean like we talk about salarymen literally passing out in subways because they've had to drink their bosses under the table as part of the sort of social contract other of business life. These things are non negotiable, right?

[Ben Bolin]

Oh my gosh. We jumped in so quickly to the fan theories. We've got to just say it plainly. We mentioned Pac man, originally called Puckman, was made in 1980. It was made by Namco and it was made in Japan, as you said. Noel, here's what's happening. If you've never played Pac man, you control a guy called Pac man who looks like a incomplete pizza pie. You have to eat all These dots inside this maze. And you have to avoid four differently colored ghost. There are larger flashing dots called power pellets, which cause the ghost to become vulnerable to Pac Man's insatiable appetite at some point.

[Noel Brown]

Turn blue.

[Ben Bolin]

Turn blue.

[Noel Brown]

Yep.

[Ben Bolin]

Just so. And now we go back to fan theories. I had not heard this one. There's the idea that Pac man is supposed to be an oyster taking back lost pearls and that the ghosts are jellyfish.

[Noel Brown]

Interesting.

[Ben Bolin]

I mean, I can see it. The art's somewhat ambiguous.

[Noel Brown]

I can see it too. But nah, I think they're definitely ghosts.

[Ben Bolin]

I think they're supposed to be ghosts. I think the creators would have said they were supposed to be jellyfish if that was the case.

[Noel Brown]

There's no other nautical themes to it. And they could have accomplished that with limited resources. They had in terms of the coding of it all. But there's nothing else implying that. I think the absurdness of it, the ridiculousness if it you will, is part and parcel with the whole concept of Pac Man. It's like, what is this weird little round dude doing chasing around ghosts if it's not a metaphor for the futility of capitalist existence? I love the absurdity of it.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. I think the futility argument is probably the best so far. We can move past some of the maritime stuff. We can go even deeper and look at YouTubers Lockston and Noggin in particular. They said, what about this? What if the game Pac man is occurring on a microscopic level inside the human body? What if Pac man is a white blood cell that's trying to destroy germs, AKA the pellets, and protect the host against viruses, the ghost.

[Noel Brown]

See, now that would. I'd be down with that if it wasn't accomplished so. Well, I don't know, Maybe it's the inspiration because Dr. Mario would have been much later, but that is literally what what Dr. Mario is about. You are throwing these pills in and matching them up in order to destroy these germs that stack up as the Tetris y kind of puzzle window fills up with pieces.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, yeah. And then these YouTubers also say, well, the ghosts do vanish when Pac man clears a level, which could mean the cell is cleared of all germs and the box in the middle may be ground zero for the infection, which is why these viruses, the ghost, come back to the source after Pac man eats them. I don't know. It's internally consistent. Let's say that because a lot of these metaphors or these deeper analogies do explain everything that happens. In the game, right?

[Noel Brown]

Yeah, for sure. I mean, at least we're talking about the mechanics of it all. I would not say that. I mean, are there cutscenes in between clearing stages?

[Ben Bolin]

You get a little dopamine hit, for sure.

[Noel Brown]

Fair enough. I guess what I'm saying is I don't think they're going out of their way, at least in the early iterations of Pac man, to impart any particular lore.

[Ben Bolin]

Right, right, exactly. Not to go too dark, but it's not as though you complete a level and then it cuts to a pixelated picture of someone in a hospital. Getting better.

[Noel Brown]

That would be funny, though. Or, yeah, dark. Maybe funny's the wrong word.

[Ben Bolin]

No, they're getting better.

[Noel Brown]

They're getting better. They're getting at all.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, but why don't we go to.

[Noel Brown]

Zach Wienersmith, by the way?

[Ben Bolin]

Let's talk about dark. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Real name, by the way.

[Noel Brown]

I mean, it's amazing. No, not. Not to be a child. It's. It's. It's the name that he was blessed with. And I'm sure he wears it proudly Saturday morning breakfast cereals as well. Right. This was a gag a day webcomic SMBC that started in 02 and continues on to this day, reimagined Pac man as a horror story. Much like there's an incredible web Garfield stuff. Garf. Garfield as a Lovecraftian monster monstrosity, you know, absolutely terrorizing. What's his buddy's name? John Odie. The John. Yeah.

[Ben Bolin]

I require lasagna, John.

[Noel Brown]

Exactly. So they're doing something similar here with Pac man, imagining it as a horror story. I mean, he is relentless. I could see him instead of having the mouth flapping, having, like a knife and going, you know, so I can see where they're going with this. Where people in this world exist only as giant mouth, which is a bit Lovecraftian, able to do nothing but consume while being attacked by. By jealous, mouthless ghosts who can no longer eat their hungry ghosts.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, and I love that reference, and technically it would be envious, but we're fun at parties, so let's keep going darker. There's a awesome graphic novel called Nameless that.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, God. That speaks unpleasant read, but very good.

[Ben Bolin]

Hey, what do you think happens at the end of Nameless? Noel? We haven't talked about that.

[Noel Brown]

I don't know if I. I need to reread it, but I just remember it's definitely, like, seriously effed up, like event horizon level stuff in that particular book. Like a, you know, space as Portal to Hell.

[Ben Bolin]

Again, a rollicking buddy comedy, appropriate for all ages.

[Noel Brown]

A real swashbuckler.

[Ben Bolin]

A real swashbuckler. It's kind of a rom com. We are lying. Do not give that to your children unless they are edgy teenagers. But we're bringing these up, these references, because there is another darker analog inspired by Pac Man. An artist named Travis Pitt had this just fantastic artistic subversion of Pac man depicting the entire lore as a crew of astronauts sent to a research facility where every one of them, except for one guy, the yellow suited guy, gets murdered. And our surviving astronaut, Pac man, is then chased through the Byzantine halls of the laboratory of the spaceship and is being chased by the ghost of his former fellow astronauts.

[Noel Brown]

People are really wanting, they're digging deep for some of these. That's all I'm saying.

[Ben Bolin]

Well, I think I, I think Travis here is not saying that's what happened. No, no.

[Noel Brown]

It's another fun interpretation for sure. Yeah, there's definitely different ways to slice it. I like it. I like after the fact because the beauty of like open ended art or art that allows you to insert your own narrative into it and isn't so, I mean, because, you know, let's be real, Pac man is a work of art. It's really cool. The design of it, the iconic ghost images, the color palettes, you know, I mean, that's all there in that first game, in that simple design. And it's like that alone. There hasn't really been, I mean, there certainly have been spinoffs of Pac man and you can play as Pac man in like Super Smash Brothers and there have been cartoons and all of that. But when we think of Pac man, largely we think of this one. We think of the old school, eating the pills, chasing the ghost, you know, Original.

[Ben Bolin]

This episode of Ridiculous history is brought to you by American Public University.

[Noel Brown]

American Public University is the number one provider of education to our military and veterans in the country.

[Ben Bolin]

They offer something truly unique. Special rates and grants for the entire family, making education affordable not just for those who serve, but also for their loved ones.

[Noel Brown]

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[Ben Bolin]

So visit Apu Apus Edu Military to learn more today.

[Noel Brown]

That's Apu Apus Edu Military. Hey, everybody, this is Matt Rogers and B. Yang and you're never going to guess who's our guest on Las Culturistas. It is Bradley Jackson, Elle Woods, Tracy Flick herself, Reese Witherspoon. Reese, we must Go on a girls trip.

[Ben Bolin]

I have have to have a tequila.

[Noel Brown]

We must. Oh, the Q rating. When they run diagnostics, we can run.

[Ben Bolin]

It on you guys.

[Noel Brown]

I'd be scared. Don't run the Q rating. No, on the Q rating. My resiliency score is down to adequate because we were on a red eye. My resiliency score. Where's your grit? My grit? I gotta get my grit score up now. Don't think that you're gonna come on Las Culturistas, the podcast. And we're not gonna at least bring up Big Little Life, season three.

[Ben Bolin]

Whoever said orange is the new pink seriously disturbed.

[Noel Brown]

Listen to Las culturistas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Nicole Garcia]

It may look different, but Native culture is very alive. My name is Nicole Garcia, and on Burn Sage, Burn Bridges we aim to explore that culture.

[Lauren LaRosa]

It was a huge honor to become a television writer because it does feel oddly like very traditional. It feels like Bob Dylan going electric. That this is something we've been doing for like hundreds of years. You carry with you a sense of purpose and confidence.

[Nicole Garcia]

That's Sierra Taller Ornelas, who with Rutherford Falls became the first Native showrunner in television history. On the podcast Burn Sage, Burn Bridges, we explore her story along with other Native stories, such as the creation of the first Native Comic Con or the importance of reservation basketball. Every day, Native people are striving to keep traditions alive while navigating the modern world, influencing and bringing our culture into the mainstream. Listen to Burn Sage, Burn bridges on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Leslie]

Do you want to hear the secrets of serial killers, psychopaths, pedophiles, robbers?

[Noel Brown]

They are sitting there waiting for the vulnerable thing. They're waiting for the unprotected.

[Dr. Leslie]

I am Dr. Leslie, forensic psychologist. I advocate for safety and awareness of predators while wearing pink.

[Ben Bolin]

When you were described to me as a forensic psychologist, I was like, snooze.

[Noel Brown]

We ended up talking for hours and.

[Ben Bolin]

I was like, this girl is my best friend.

[Dr. Leslie]

This is a podcast where I cut through the noise with sarcasm, satire and hard truths.

[Ben Bolin]

I'm not going to fake it and.

[Dr. Leslie]

Force it, but would you force an orgasm? Because that's like a different layer. The car accident you didn't want to see but couldn't turn away from. In this episode, I discuss personal safety and self defense. Tools, instincts and strategies to protect yourself and your loved ones in everyday life and high risk situations. Listen to Intentionally disturbing on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Noel Brown]

Everybody exclusive. You know she don't lie about that, right?

[Lauren LaRosa]

Lauren came in from viral performances to red carpet looks that had everyone talking the podcast. The latest with Lauren the Rosa is your go to for everything VMAs. We will be right here breaking it all down. I'm going to be giving you all the headlines, breaking down everything that is going down behind the scenes and getting, getting into what the people are saying. Like what is the culture talking about? That's exactly what we'll be getting into here at the Latest with Lauren LaRosa, everything DMA's. I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything.

[Noel Brown]

And everybody.

[Lauren LaRosa]

To hear this and more, listen to the latest with Lauren the Rosa from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ben Bolin]

Speaking of subversion, we subverted the order of the story here because we're giving you the cool, deep, sometimes disturbing philosophical interpretations. But we were telling you the truth at the beginning, folks, as we reference Scott Pilgrim versus the world. Yes, there is a true story about Pac Man. He was originally called Puckman, and it did come from the name Paku Paku, or the phrase meaning to gobble things up.

[Noel Brown]

And we thankfully saved this for the end here. There's another detail that led them to calling it Pac man instead of Puckman. Think about it. Think about some naughty little scamps going around with their Sharpies at the arcade. Defacing the side of these giant machines would be a very simple maneuver to change that, that puck to another naughty word.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, they're not calling it Puck fan, just so you know. So that was the concern. And they changed it to Pac man because it sounded close to the original Japanese name, Pacoman. And the design, as we mentioned, was conceptualized initially by Toru Iwatani. Toru Iwatani led the team in 1979 to create the game, and Iwatani wanted it to have universal appeal to women and men. And at the time that they were working on Pac man or Pakuman, they saw a market opportunity because a lot of contemporary games were based on war or sports, which they saw as traditionally male interest.

[Noel Brown]

And I'm not trying to necessarily psychoanalyze what was going on here, but it does occur to me that those types of games that you're talking about, like war games and driving games and more masculine games, because of the technology of the time, they didn't look particularly immersive. It was sort of like A video game version of Battleship. We were dealing with a grid or these tiny little icons and things that are sort of representative of these sporting events or war. But a game like this that purely creates its own world and sort of defines the terms of what it's showing you, it's a lot easier to become immersive. And I think that's why the original design has stood the test of time. Originally, this idea of a world occupied by these, like, moving mouths. He saw a pizza pie. Iwatani, originally with a slice missing, and that to him resembled an open mouth. And thinking along of like, what would be a simple, easily communicable, iconic image that could be communicated with the limitations of this early video game, you know, programming and pixel count.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, the fancy word for that is pareidolia. Pareidolia, yeah.

[Noel Brown]

Where you see faces and weird stuff like the backs of trucks and, you know, the hooks on the wall look like a little drunken fighting squid.

[Ben Bolin]

The reason cars have two headlights, largely a face on Mars. So on, what's hottie is saying, hey, this reminds me of a word in Japanese language or a character. Kuchi, which means mouth. K U C H I. We would spell it here and says, look, the original Japanese character that means mouth has a square shape. So why don't I just round it out? And then to our earlier question about eyes, he said, look, we could have put eyes on it, but eventually we decided to keep. Keep it simple. And he talks about this. He says, one lunchtime I was quite hungry and I ordered a whole pizza. Epic Iwatani. Nice one. And he says, I helped myself to a wedge. And what was left was the idea for the Pac man shape. So he steers away from sports themes or shooter games. And he says, I want something non violent. I want colorful characters, I want cheerful music. I want couples and families to play games at the arcade together. This makes more money. Also, I got to point out, I don't know about you guys, but being an entity that can be given to anxiety, I do find Pac man stressful. Especially as you get further in. Right. And the ghosts get faster.

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

All these games are so stressful. Mario Man, I mean, I guess Donkey Kong, but like all the old games, the quarters eaters are just so stressful.

[Ben Bolin]

Quarter eaters, yeah. But the good news is this works for Iwatani and the team. So much so that in 1982, just two years later, they create Ms. Pac Man. As a specific, explicit thank you to female gamers for their enthusiasm about Pac man, they changed her name too she was going to be called Pac man.

[Noel Brown]

Woman, but instead she's Miz, Right? Isn't she Miz? Or is she Mrs. Well, she's.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, she's Ms. Pac man if you're nasty.

[Noel Brown]

Oh, fair enough. But is the implication that they're a couple?

[Ben Bolin]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They originally wanted to call her Ms. Pac man, but they had included a baby Pac man because why not? And so they. They didn't want to apply that she gave birth out of wedlock, so they called her Ms. Pac man, which I guess made it sound like they were married. But here Ms. And Ms. Are the same thing, so it would have to be Mrs. Pac man for us. Anyway, lost to history. Originally, Ms. Pac man was going to be a redhead. But the guy who was in charge of Namco at the time, Masaka Nakamura said, said, nope, don't make her a redhead. Give her a bow and give her a Cindy Crawford esque beauty mark. Or Marilyn Monroe esque beauty mark. Whatever you wish. And so we said the work on this started in 1979. It took a year and five months to make it. At this point, this was the longest development time for a video game ever. Bethesda, looking at you. Where is the next Elder Scrolls?

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

Probably five to ten years away.

[Noel Brown]

Jesus.

[Unidentified Tattoo Speaker]

Nah, there's some people it's in. They have confirmed it's in. When they released the Oblivion Remastered, they confirmed that it's in production, which is, I guess, new because it had been. We don't even know where it's set at technically yet.

[Ben Bolin]

Right. There are rumors, but also, we're roasting with. With a light roast.

[Noel Brown]

And a lot of affections love a light roast.

[Ben Bolin]

Good things take time, Right?

[Noel Brown]

So apparently the lighter the roast, the more caffeine in the bean.

[Ben Bolin]

That is correct. Yes, yes, yes. Here's the other idea.

[Noel Brown]

Didn't mean for that to rhyme, but I'm here for it.

[Ben Bolin]

I love it. I love a rhyme. So Iwatani is honest about his inspirations. He says the idea of Pac man consuming energy pellets came to him from. From the video game based on Popeye the Sailor man, who would get a boost after eating his little pellet. His can of spinach.

[Noel Brown]

Spinach pellets. He fights to the finish. But he only ever ate canned spinach.

[Ben Bolin]

Right.

[Noel Brown]

Which is weird because he had to squeeze it out of the can. Then it just shot up in the air.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah.

[Noel Brown]

Exactly.

[Ben Bolin]

So the Ghost, he further says, came from his own personal admiration of Casper the Friendly Ghost. And those fruit bonuses that get you more Points were surprise. Inspired by slot machines.

[Noel Brown]

Slot machines, huh? Okay.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah, yeah. He's a man who's lived a life.

[Noel Brown]

That's right. But also, like, we know that slot machines are so inherently designed to elicit those dopamine hits. They're sort of the first to market with that kind of stuff, so it definitely makes sense. Also, the cherries and the bells and all the little icons that slot machines show on those little revolving. What do you call them? Cylinders. I guess that was something that also was able to be kind of co opted a little bit.

[Ben Bolin]

100%. Yeah. And there's a funny anecdote about Iwatani sitting together with the team that was doing sound design. And this guy, this absolute legend, sits down with the sound designers and he has fruit with them. And he says, here's the sound Pac man should make. And he noisily eats, crunches, and he gurgles and he's like, this is.

[Noel Brown]

Looks like I didn't have misophonia.

[Ben Bolin]

I know, right? Psychotic. Yeah. One of the last things we want to mention here as we're wrapping up is that the concept of artificial intelligence plays a big role in packaging. The Ghost are not steered by other players. Their movements are described by their names.

[Noel Brown]

Exactly. I've been itching to get to this. We've got Shadow Blinky, who always chases Pac Man. We've got Speedy, AKA Pinky, who tries to get ahead of him. Each of them have their own kind of like football players, sort of flanking maneuvers. Right. They're doing like plays. They're sort of like trying to. Yeah, I never really thought about that. But it's true. They all do have their own kind of. Kind of set of moves. That's fascinating. We got Bashful or Inky, who uses a more complicated strategy to really hone in. Then we have Pokey or Clyde, who alternates between chasing him and running away. Yeah, yeah.

[Ben Bolin]

And the Japanese names translate to chase, ambush, fickle and plain dumb. Pretty cool stuff.

[Noel Brown]

Super cool. It never even occurred to me that they all do different things, but they very much do. It's immediately apparent now that I'm thinking about.

[Ben Bolin]

Oh, and we do have to mention to the thing about cutscenes, there are intermissions between levels. No, they're not that.

[Noel Brown]

I remember them being a little bits. Right. Certainly not on the level of what we think of today, but sort of occupying a similar space, creating a little bit of transition, maybe a little bit of lore as to the interaction between these characters.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. And this is one of the first games to deploy that strategy. All of the stuff we're describing worked. Pac man soon became a huge household name on the level of Mickey Mouse. Like we said earlier, he got his own Saturday morning cartoon merchandise out the wazoo and we're a PG13 show. But Pac man also got a cover spread and a hustler.

[Noel Brown]

Pac Man. Just saying.

[Ben Bolin]

There was a cookbook released just this year of the Pac man the official cookbook featuring amazing choppable recipes.

[Noel Brown]

Heck yeah. And by the way, I found a sort of a collection on pacman.fandom.com of all of the cutscenes. And there are a ton and they all are little skits basically between you start getting into the meet cute of Pac man and Ms. Pac man in Ms. Pac man, of course, but you have little funny interactions between between the ghosts and then pac man and Ms. Pac Man. And if you go to they're called coffee breaks, actually. So if you go to pacman.fandom.com wiki coffeebreak, you can see a breakdown of what happens in each one of these. And I would argue they are absolutely proto cutscenes.

[Ben Bolin]

Yeah. World building. We love to see it. We love to see it here and everywhere else. We also can't thank you enough enough for joining us today, folks, but here we go. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yeah, thank you. Thanks also to Our super producer, Mr. Max Williams, our research associate for this Andrea. And who else? Who else? Who else?

[Noel Brown]

Oh, geez. Christopher Haciotis Neems Jeffcoats here in spirit, Jonathan Strickland, the quizzter, AJ Bahamas Jacobs.

[Ben Bolin]

The puzzler, Dr. Rachel Big Spinach Lance, the world's number one authority on underwater water explosions. And Noel, thanks to you and you as well, buddy.

[Noel Brown]

We'll see you next time, folks. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows, folks.

[Ben Bolin]

Balancing work, family and education is not easy. However, American Public University makes it possible.

[Noel Brown]

With online courses, monthly start dates and flexible schedules. APU is designed for busy professionals who need that fits their lives and affordability matters as well.

[Ben Bolin]

APU offers the opportunity grant giving students 10% off undergraduate and master's level tuition, helping you reach your goals without breaking the bank.

[Noel Brown]

Plus, they provide career services and 24. 7 mental health support at no extra cost. Visit Apu Apus Edu to learn more.

[Ben Bolin]

That's Apu Apus Edu.

[Noel Brown]

Lauren came in.

[Lauren LaRosa]

From standout speeches to the shows and stars making all of the history, my podcast, the latest with Lauren, the Rosa has your full Emmy's breakdown, the wins, the surprises, the cultural impact and what it really means for us. I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything and everybody Listen to the latest with Lauren the Rosa from the Black Effect Podcast network on the iHeartRadio app. You can get it at Apple Podcast or wherever you listen to your podcast. Culture Eats Strategy for breakfast right On.

[Valisha Butterfield Meadow]

A recent episode of Culture Raises Us, I was joined by Valisha Butterfield, media founder, political strategist and tech powerhouse for a powerful conversation on storytelling impact and the intersections of culture and leadership.

[Lauren LaRosa]

I am a free black woman.

[Valisha Butterfield Meadow]

From the Obama White House to Google to the Grammys, Valisha's journey is a masterclass in shifting culture and using your voice to spark change. Listen to Culture Raises us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Danielle Robay]

Just like great shoes, great books take you places through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget.

[Ben Bolin]

I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like butterflies.

[Danielle Robay]

I'm Danielle Robaix and this is bookmarked by Reese's Book Club, the new podcast from hello Sunshine and I Heart Podcasts, where we dive into the stories that shape us on the page and off. Each week I'm joined by authors, celebs, book talk stars and more for conversations that will make you laugh, cry and add way too many books to your TBR pile. Listen to bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Books is the official audiobook and ebook home for Reese's Book Club Club. Visit Apple Co reesapplebooks to find out more.

[Lauren LaRosa]

Welcome to Pretty Private with ebony, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebony and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network. Tune in on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. This is an I Heart podcast.