‘PAC-MAN’ creator drew on simplicity

Even after 40 years, PACMAN is unforgettable. The reason is literally as sim- ple as his design.

His creator, Toru Iwatani, thinks of a 17th century haiku, when asked about the importance of audi- ences identifying with a fictional character, especially when said charac- ter’s defining characteristics are simply being round and ravenous. The haiku, written by Matsuo Basho, translates to, “So tranquil is the area, that the sounds of cicadas seeps into the rocks.”

“Varying images come up in everyone’s mind when reading this haiku,” Iwatani, 65, said in an interview with The Post. “Thinking and imagining the serenity of the scene in the haiku instills a sense of joy. People read novels while imagining the scene where the story is taking place. In a similar fash- ion, simplicity helps peo- ple to identify and imag- ine the character they’re controlling.”

The images Iwatani and a team of seven created for the first “PAC-MAN” game in 1980 are forever embed- ded in pop culture, in part due to how instantly you can relate to the iconog- raphy.

The first video games, like many of the most popular ones today, were vio- lent and centered around conflict.

“PAC-MAN,” instead, would tell a story, open to interpretation.

For millions of others, “PAC-MAN” was a cute and easy distraction from life’s winding paths. For some, it was a reminder that life is a confusing labyrinth where we are either run- ning from or chasing down our ghosts.

In the end, all we can do is keep eating.

It’s a far-fetched and s omewhat ironic read- ing of the story, but the simple design was always intended for players to proj- ect their own thoughts and feelings. Iwatani says the ghosts were inspired by manga artists and Casper the Friendly Ghost, while their back-and-forth hos- tility with PAC-MAN was inspired by Tom and Jerry episodes.

“I designed PAC-MAN to be simple to the point that he doesn’t have eyes or any other adornments,” Iwatani said. “Likewise, I designed the ghosts to be simple and cute. This draws on Japan’s age-old appreciation of “wabi-sabi ,” where people found transient beauty and depth in simplicity, and I think the world accepting this Japanese aesthetic has made people embrace PAC-MAN in various ways.”

The character has starred in hundreds of games over the decades. He’s the star of the Namco Museum Archives, a collection of old BANDAI NAMCO games just released in the West. Dozens of tomes have been written about the impact of Iwatani’s iconic character design, inspired by a pizza missing a single slice. It’s the first video game mascot.

It was the first video game that told a narrative, paving the way for story-driven games. The game itself was designed to widen gaming’s audience appeal, particularly to women.