On May 22nd, 1980, everything changed in the arcades. Video arcade gaming had been all about sports games and shooter games. Games such Asteroids, Space Invaders, and the varying derivatives of Pong were the kings of the arcades. That is, until a 26-year-old Japanese game designer had an idea about expanding arcade gaming to a more general audience and becoming more encompassing to women.
Pac-Man has a pretty simple concept. The idea is for the player to move Pac-Man around a maze and have him dots while avoiding the four colorful monsters. There are power-up dots located in each corner of the maze that give Pac-Man invincibility to eat the monsters. A score multiplier awards increasing points for each monster that is consumed. The monsters (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde) have differing personalities and will attempt to follow you using different methods. For additional bonus scoring, various edible items appear periodically in the center of the maze.