#he was hired on with the express purpose of controlling his own special team | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ask-de-writer · 5 years ago

Text

DARING DO and the ADVENTURE of the X'IBIAN VASE! : MLP Fan Fiction : Part 10 of 21

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Daring Do

and the Adventure of the X'ibian Vase!

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

And

Carmen Pondiego

Cover Art by

Doctor Dimension

52630 words

Writing begun 08/26/15

//////////////

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions, provided that such things are done without charge. I will allow those who do commission art works to charge for their images provided that I receive a copy of each image for my archive.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fictions is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

Robber was getting upset. The fool Lock Keeper was not paying any attention to the importance of getting these five motor trucks across the canal!

“SIR! I must speak to you!” he demanded imperiously.

Signaling the line of peasants to halt, the Lock Keeper stepped around his counter and glared at Robber. He gave the slight inclination of the head of one of great importance to one of little value and snapped, “We HAVE SPOKEN! You are rude. Your trucks cannot use this bridge in ANY CASE. They will not fit. You must find better courtesy and a different way to cross the canal!”

A watching pegasus in the same cotton robes and flat conical hat as the other watching peasants stepped out of the line for the bridge, courteously yielding his place to the mare behind him. He stepped behind some bushes nearer to the Dunn See and a poor young beggar came out. He had dark blue fur with an orange mane and tail. His robe, though clean, was much worn. His flat conical straw hat had straws fraying away from one side.

He approached Robber imperiously, and offered only the slightest of nods. Robber might be a slow learner, and he was, but he had sorted out that he needed to fix whatever it was that had gone wrong. He returned a bow of equals to the beggar.

“What do you want, umm … Sir?”

The beggar gave back another bow of superiority, though not quite so great. “It is rather what YOU want. Also, what you need. Your greatest need is courtesy, especially your bow. Being foreigners here gives you no special privilege. The importance of the one you face is not in his social station, but in whether he can aid you or not. Recognize that in your bow to him or suffer the consequence.

“All the ponies here know Shun Yu. As the Master of the Lock, he is vital to all who wish to cross the canal, bring cargoes to the canal, unload cargoes from canal boats, ship or receive goods from the rail line. You treated him worse than a beggar like myself. He will not even accept a bribe from you, so badly have you done this.”

Robber nearly ground his teeth at the rebuke from so lowly a pony. The only reason that he did not was his already spectacular failure. As a prominent lawyer, he was used to listening only for the purpose of gaining information to use in a case.

“What of bribes? We have heard that this whole place runs on bribes but if they do take ours they act as if insulted!”

“They were. You do not understand the bribe at all. For that I will not help you. All that is needed is to look, think deeply of what you see and learn from it.”

The blue and orange beggar held out a hoof. “For an alms reasonable to the importance of the information, I can help you to pass this canal.”

Robber was about to offer a few of the odd copper cash used in the Empire. Thinking like a lawyer, he reviewed what he had just been told and instead offered the same twelve golden cash, with their funny square holes, that he had tried to offer to Shun Yu, the Lock Keeper.

The beggar smiled as he made the coins disappear. “Come back up the road a little. It is not marked but this side path down to the river’s edge is your answer. It leads to a tether barge for large equipment and other awkward objects.”

Robber turned to inform the others of the development. The beggar passed behind some bushes. An old earth pony, also blue and orange, trotted down to the empty barge toll house.

It took some serious effort but Robber did negotiate their passage. One at a time, the first three of ROT’s motor trucks was loaded, chocked, strapped and hauled upstream to the other side of the canal. It took over an hour each.

Overthrow grew impatient at the slow pace. “It is just past noon already! We have not got all day to do this trifling chore! Here! Put both of our remaining trucks on the barge! There is plenty of deck space!”

He thrust five more cash into the blue pony’s hoof. The coin vanished. “This is most unwise. You must load, place them, and secure them. I will see to the pulling as I have already. The consequence of your action is upon you alone.”

The old pony stood by while both vehicles were placed on the barge and tied by Overthrow, with Robber’s help. None of their hired ponies would go near the task.

The old pony, staying on the downriver side, managed the pulling gear for the tether barge from his toll house.

ROT’s team cheered as the barge settled into its dock. Now that the barge was across, ROT’s hirelings swarmed aboard and untied both trucks. With the roar of its mage/tech engine, the first truck inched forward to the barge’s exit ramp. It was about half on the dock when the barge began to tip away from the dock. The untended truck, free of its ties, was rolling slowly toward the river side of the barge.

With a loud gurgling hiss of escaping air, the tipping barge started to take water! The roll of the barge pulled the ramp free of the dock. Both truck and ramp fell into the gap with a huge splash and more burbling. Free of the nearly balancing weight, the barge flipped up almost on edge, dropping the second truck into the muddy water. Free of the pesky, mismanaged loads, the barge flopped back to upright, neatly covering both trucks!

The horrified hirelings managed to rescue the pony driver of the first truck by throwing ropes and dragging him to a maintenance ladder.

In the toll house, the blue pony neatly set the controls and left. Passing behind some bushes he seemed to vanish.

By nightfall, the barge had been pumped out and removed. The salvage cranes meant to handle river wrecks had hold of the first truck and lines secured to the second one.

All was being managed by a furious Shun Yu, whose lock facilities had been seriously damaged by these bungling foreign amateurs!

He was not buying any tale of mysterious blue and orange ponies, either.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

As word of amusing disasters will, the tale of ROT’s trucks falling from the barge and the ghastly salvage situation that the idiot foreigners caused, ran up the river Dunn See like a wind driven wild fire.

Daring Do and her two students were sitting at an outdoor restaurant enjoying noodles, stir fried veggies and tea when the table next to them erupted in gales of laughter.

Soree, who was better at understanding Chineighese than Jeremy, got it first! Holding her sides, she told Jeremy, “ROT really fouled up! They were trying to bypass the end of the canal back there with a barge. They miss loaded it and dropped two of their five trucks right into the river! They were still lifting them out by salvage crane this morning!”

Jeremy, giggling like mad, turned to Daring Do and suggested, “Remind me not to get on your bad pony list! Did you know that they would run into something like that if they tried to use trucks?”

Failing miserably at looking innocent, Daring Do replied around a mouth full of excellent stir fry, “Not in detail, no. I did know that they would not do bribes correctly and I was sure that the bows of courtesy would not be done right.

“That is certain to anger anypony important to them. Especially officials like Canal Lock supervisors. That pretty well guarantees that they will have trouble at such places.

“I am wondering about something else. The mysterious blue barge keeper with the orange mane.”

“Why?” asked Jeremy.

“Because that color pattern is extremely rare in the Empire. It is believed to be the worst sort of bad luck. There is a long history of the worst pony caused disasters in the Empire being caused or connected to ponies of those colors.”

Soree said thoughtfully, “That sounds like a superstition. Is there any reason to think otherwise?”

Daring Do nodded. “The most recent of them was Admiral Wong Weigh. He led over 90% of the Empire’s Naval forces in the attack against Qushi Han Le’s Formasa Archipelago headquarters base.”

Suddenly Jeremy remembered a thing that he had been told about the Pirate Queen. “Qushi had a major in Naval Architecture, Strategy and Weaponry, right?”

Daring Do nodded as she sucked in more noodles.

“How bad was it?”

“The Admiral ordered no surrender to all ships before the attack. They followed orders. All Imperial Navy ships in the attack were sunk. Qushi lost about ten of her fleet. They rescued almost 45% of the Imperial Navy sailors.”

Jeremy winced. “How did she wind up owning the Imperial Navy?”

Daring Do returned to her narrative. “There is a big difference between being an outlaw and being disloyal to your nation. The attempted Nippony invasion brought home to her the magnitude of the disaster to the Navy.

“She hit the Nippony fleet from behind and, working together with the Imperial Army on land, crushed them. She used that victory to arrange a truce to speak to the Emperor and his advisors. She offered to BE the Navy to make amends for the loss to the Empire.

“She remains based in the Formasa Archipelago and PAYS the Empire a percentage of her travel duties and other incomes. The Empire has REFUSED offers by other nations to replace the fleet because the Navy was a huge drain on the Imperial coffers. The present arrangement gives better defense and PAYS the Empire to boot.”

Jeremy and Soree grinned. Suddenly, Jeremy got it. “It was a blue pony with an orange mane and tail that lost the Empire’s navy! Any other examples?”

Daring Do nodded as she mopped up the last of her luncheon with a steamed bun. “Lots of them, going all the way back to the gate keeper who let the Mong barbarians through the Great Northern Wall. Blue ponies with orange mane and tail are all through the Empire’s history. Connected to disasters.”

Soree gave Daring Do a sort of admiring gaze as she asked, “Is there anything in history that you DON’T know about?”

Daring Do looked up soberly and replied, “Far too much. This whole expedition would have been unnecessary if I knew enough.” She sighed, “Eris was so unhappy about having to open her love’s tomb.”

Jeremy’s brows pulled down in puzzlement as he asked, “What does Eris have to do with Im Farst’s tomb? Her love? Are you serious?”

Daring Do looked about to be sure that no pony was listening in before answering, “She has EVERYTHING to do with it.”

Soree sucked in a breath of surprise. She said softly, “The Dragon Queen. That was Eris? That was way back before the Nightmare Wars.”

Daring Do nodded slowly. “It was. Never forget how OLD Eris, Discord, is. The Dragonequis was made in the earliest days of the world’s creation. She is older than Celestia and Luna. I know from both experience and being told by Luna herself that Eris prefers her female form and is only male when that is needed to accomplish her mysterious purposes.”

Jeremy sort of snorted, “And SHE loved Im Farst? How could an Immortal being like her love anypony?”

Daring Do gave him a bleak stare that sent shivers down Jeremy’s spine. “I don’t know, Jeremy. I do know this. Eris spends time in Memorial Meditation to this day. She has a shrine with the ORIGINAL Weeping Dragon painting that you have a copy of in your materials and offers incense and tea. And still weeps for him.”

Jeremy suddenly sat up and looked about in puzzlement. “Where is Guardian? Come to think, I have not seen him since Singapone.”

Daring Do smiled. “You are the observant one, aren’t you? This is his land. The Guardians have more work than keeping an eye on us. Though I do believe that his replacement is not far away.”

Jeremy paused. “Would it be impolite to try to see who he is?”

Daring Do grinned at his suddenly found caution. She replied, “It would be REALLY HARD to see HIM. She is here, though. And yes, it would be rude.”

Soree was happily filling her notebook with details of the Inn that they were rooming at. She looked up from her task and commented, “Since we are going to Hong Wa, and this is where you met the Dromedaries that were such good support on the Darkling Expedition, I guess that is why we are waiting here, now?”

Daring Do nodded affirmatively. ”That is correct, Soree. We are specifically waiting for Sang He and her herd. I am really anxious to see her reaction to the new rifles that I had made for her and her followers.”

It was just then that there was a slight commotion at the front of the Inn. A big Dromedary mare was seeking entry. The top of the door only reached as high as her shoulder. There were six more mares out in the Inn’s courtyard. They had bared swords that were only slightly curved, maintaining a uniform width almost their full length and clipped to sharp, angled chisel point. There were fullers running most of the length of each blade. These were sometimes called “blood gutters” by those whose imaginations ran wild. Their real purpose was to both lighten and stiffen the blade.

Daring Do called out in delight, “Sang He!” She ran out, bowing the bow of equals to the enormous dromedary.

As Sang He bowed back, Jeremy got a rough idea of just how gigantic a dromedary was. Suddenly, thinking back to the pirate attack on the Sea Sage, Jeremy appreciated the design of the huge rifle that Daring Do had used.

Soree was in an utter transport as she sketched the scene of Sang He, hugging Daring Do, and in the process, lifting her hooves over a meter above the ground.

Daring Do bowed as one seeking a favor to the Inn keeper. “An open tab for my friends, please, good Inn keep.” She bowed a second time, offering three of the Empire’s square holed golden cash. With a pleased smile, the coins vanished into the Inn Keeper’s big sleeves.

A Wok big enough for a pony bathtub was set out in the courtyard. It had its own fire box with a big fire of charcoal lit in it. Oil was poured in by the gallon. From the kitchen came the near machine like hammering of cleavers chopping vegetables. They were brought out by the basket load and stirred into the oil to fry swiftly. The stir/strainers were the size of shovels. And needed. Cooked vegetables were lifted up to draining racks, ready to serve.

Using platters, instead of plates, the Sang He’s herd lined up, getting huge rice beds first, loading up on the vegetables and then pouring sauces over the whole thing.

As they sat to eat, the Inn’s wait staff became even busier filling four-liter sized mugs with water and tea.

Jeremy was about to comment that this did not look like the kind of help needed for a desert journey, when Soree pointed out, “It was in the Adventure of the Darkling’s Tomb. They will fill up now and won’t need food or water for a week or more.”

Jeremy nodded, “That was a part that I found hard to believe. I think that I understand it better now.”

“Listen, Jeremy! They aren’t speaking Chineighese at all! We are hearing our first X'ibian!”

It was obvious from his reaction that Jeremy had not been paying attention. Again. He was looking at the fact that all seven of the dromedaries’ swords had been sheathed and the Inn had set out the huge seeming feast.

He growled, “So much for the courtesy of bows and bribes! They just walk in here brandishing swords and get treated like royalty. Nobody mentioned Threats!”

Soree and Daring Do stared at him in shock. Soree shook her head sadly, “Doctor Do, is it too late to leave him in one of Qushi Han Le’s prison cells?”

Picking at batter fried broccoli with her chopsticks, Daring Do nodded glumly, “I am afraid so.”

Turning to Jeremy, she demanded, “HOW could you not know that the X'ibian dromedary herds declare peaceful intent by displaying their weapons in a non threatening stance? It is mentioned many times in the Darkling’s Tomb, which you told me that you have now read, after the Qushi Han Le debacle.”

Sullenly, Jeremy muttered, “X'ibia is part of the Chineighese Empire. I read the part about the Chineighese bowing and bribes carefully. Since it is all the same country, I sort of skimmed the rest.”

Daring Do put a hoof over her eyes. “Jeremy, do you even understand what an Empire IS?”

“It is a big country built on conquest of smaller ones, obviously.”

Daring Do said bluntly, “If you gave me that answer in the RU’s class on Ethnological Geography I would flunk you.

“An Empire is built mostly by conquest but it is a conglomerate of states held together by common political and economic interests as well as force.

“The Chineighese Empire has existed for 1500 years. It has fifty two individual states, each with a unique spoken language and dialects. Each one has been allowed great cultural autonomy as well. They share a common written language. Chineighese Ideographic representation.

“A poet in X'ibia can be read in any state of the Empire. Likewise, anything written anywhere else can be read in X'ibia.”

Jeremy was looking sick. “I did get a D in that class. I never dreamed that it could be important. I mean, why waste time studying inferior cultures? We have Celestia and Luna. We are the oldest culture on the planet.”

Soree’s eyes flew wide. “That is insane! Equestrian culture and society were so shattered by the Nightmare Wars that even the official dating places the year zero at 250 PNW.

“The Empire is roughly equally old. Saddle Arabia is older, though not much. The Nippony Isles are the oldest culture that I know of from my studies in that same class.”

Daring Do pointed out, “We are seeking a tomb that dates to only 224 years after the founding of Fortress Canterlot. That makes its date roughly 1000 years BEFORE the Nightmare Wars.

“The X'ibian Empire lasted about 2000 years. A thousand years ago, it was taken by the Chineighese Empire. Following the successful practices of 1500 years of conquest, they allowed much autonomy, local language and culture to flourish. We are going to a place where the local culture is nearly 3000 years old.”

Feeling cornered, Jeremy snapped, “And still nomads!”

Soree sweetly pointed out, “Just like the Rom? You know, the nomads of the Equestrian Roads that Celestia and Luna both join whenever they can? The ones who invented the first Mage/Tech engine? The same who made the first successful heavier than air aircraft? Who invented the Magic Net that we all use? Those nomads?”

The discussion was ended by Sang He putting her head under the door frame, bowing as an equal, and saying in perfect Equestrian, “As fascinating as your discussion is, Doctor Do, we do have your expedition to get under way. We have been examining your bills of lading to divide up our loads.

“We found listed rifles and ammunition that we wondered about, since there appears to be seven of them.”

Daring Do returned the bow and grinned. “Seven rifles and seven in your herd. It seemed to be about the right number of weapons for you!”

Sang He called back over her shoulder in X'ibian and her words were greeted by cheers. The other six of her herd made an orderly stampede for the warehouse where the expedition’s equipment was stored.

Soon a very impressed Jeremy was looking at the loaded dromedaries. It had taken little time at all. They all knew which boxes of supplies that they wanted. Most of their time was spent examining the rifles and ammunition. The literally small books of care and specifications. They were happily pointing out the features and field stripping the weapons. It was obvious that this was something that they knew how to do well.

Sang He gave some orders and the whole expedition put up the rifles and assumed their loads. Sang He knelt and said, “Friend Daring Do, and lady Soree, it would be my pleasure to carry you. Sadly, we will not make good time across the desert.

“We are limited by the pace that your Jeremy can set. After his offensive remarks and demonstrated willful ignorance, none of us will carry him.”

<==Previous Next==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

#DARING DO AND THE ADVENTURE OF THE X'IBIAN VASE #Part 10 of 21 #MLP Fan Fiction #Written by De Writer and Carmen Pondiego

6 notes · View notes

buttercamera1-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Buffalo Criminal Defense Lawyers

Defending against theft charges will be difficult without the help of an experienced Buffalo theft attorney. When it comes to theft crimes, the State of New York doesn’t play around. When you’re facing shoplifting, theft or larceny charges in Buffalo, your best bet is the team that’s seen it from both sides of the courtroom - and built long careers by delivering for our clients. Don’t get pushed around by prosecutors or the police. We’re the team that takes the punches for you and then pushes back. You don’t have to be in this alone. Call the dedicated Buffalo theft attorneys at Friedman & Ranzenhofer for a free confidential consultation with some of Buffalo’s most experienced shoplifting, theft, and larceny defense lawyers. From reduced charges to alternative sentencing approaches, we’ve built excellent reputations in the legal community for consistently delivering for our clients. We can never promise a particular resolution in a case, but proudly stand behind our record of success, and the appreciation of clients we’ve helped in the past.

Misdemeanor and Felony offenses differ in the route they go through the Court system. On a misdemeanor DUI offense, there are several different possibilities. First off, you should realize that if you hire myself or any other Santa Cruz DUI Lawyer, your attorney can and most likely will appear for you at the first court date. Generally at that court date, the case will be continued for a further court date, giving us the opportunity to get additional evidence in the case. A Motion to Suppress challenges illegally obtained evidence, such as when the police pulled you over without a legal reason.

A Motion to Strike a Prior Conviction requests that one or all of your prior convictions not be considered in the current case. There are multiple reasons why these motions can apply, but the results can be crucial in your case. Obviously, if you are a multiple offender, you want to change that fact in the eyes of the court, especially for sentencing purposes. If you file a Motion to Suppress, it is obviously advantageous if you can have the chemical test result, whether it is blood, breath or urine, thrown out of court. This is the process of Court. DUI Lawyers obtain the evidence and then execute a plan of attack based on the evidence.

The evidence includes the chemical test, the police report, witness statements, any independent surveillance footage, and of course, your testimony. Ideally, if you set up the DMV hearing within the 10 days, you can contest the same issues at the DMV hearing while all of this is going in court. If the evidence shows you have nothing but a damage control case that is the type of attack I will pursue. Every case is unique, and every case should be negotiated and challenged based on the evidence of the case. Either hire a competent attorney, or set the DMV hearing on your own, and request the Public Defender in Court. Stay as positive as possible. Michael Rehm provides representation throughout Santa Cruz County. This includes Watsonville, Santa Cruz, Capitola, Scotts Valley, Aptos, Ben Lomand, Live Oak, Soquel. The Law Office of Michael Rehm is not limited to Santa Cruz County; Mr. Rehm also practices DUI Defense throughout California.

Grand theft charges are going to require the assistance of a theft lawyer. In Miami, Florida grand theft is a very serious charge and prosecutors are going to go after the defendant hard. Without the help of a grand theft defense lawyer the accused are not likely to know all of their rights and subject themselves to unfair investigations by the law authority. What determines the severity of a grand theft charge? What are the maximum penalties for various grand theft charges? How can a theft lawyer help when it comes to defending against grand theft charges? Grand theft charges in Miami, Florida range from the less serious third degree felony to the much more serious crime of a first degree felony. What grand theft charges an individual is charged with depends on the overall value of the property they stole.

However, even if the property stolen is not worth much money, if it is unique in nature it may qualify as a grand theft charge. Miami, Florida prosecutor’s takes grand theft charges very seriously and if an individual is charged obtaining the services of a grand theft defense attorney should be the first course of action. Penalties for grand theft charges can be very stiff. Many who have been charged with grand theft in the past have made the mistake of cooperating with the police without having a theft attorney in their corner. Without the guidance of a grand theft defense attorney, it can result in the accused unintentionally incriminating themselves or permitting law officials to search their property without having a proper warrant.

There have been circumstances when grand theft charges have been dropped just because the accused acquired the services of a grand theft defense attorney. What charges an individual is going to be given when it comes to grand theft depends largely on the value of the items/property that were stolen. 100,000 or more then they will be endure a grand theft charge in the first degree. 100,000 it falls under the category of a grand theft charge in the second degree. 20,000 it will be classified as a grand theft charge in the third degree. If you or someone you know have been brought up on grand theft charges in Miami, Florida, whether the crime was committed or not it is going to be necessary to obtain the services of a Florida theft lawyer. A quality grand theft defense lawyer understands the law and the lasting impact that grand theft charges is going to have on an individual’s life. When it comes to grand theft charges timing is everything and the sooner the services of a theft lawyer is obtained the better. The quicker that an aggressive defense plan can be put into place the better chance an individual has at reducing their charges or getting them dismissed all together.

The Law passage is due in large part to the efforts of the Apartment Association of North Carolina and the North Carolina Realtors. The Law changes aspects of several different areas of landlord-tenant law. In an action for ejectment based upon G.S. You may deduct commission to realtor/property manager for reletting if tenant breaches lease. 5. DEATH OF A TENANT: Streamlines process for removal of tenant possessions and reletting home if tenant passes away. The provision that will likely be of greatest interest is the"Partial Payment" provision. It is important to note that that in order to gain the benefit of the statute you must have the language required by the Law included in your lease. Legal Disclaimer This site is intended for general informational purposes only and does not provide any legal advice nor create any attorney-client relationship. Statutes and case law vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Information presented here may not be applicable to any individual situation. You should consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for legal advice relating to your specific situation. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and not of Praet Law Firm, PLLC.

If there is ANY way to win your case at trial then you need only the best to get the job done. Our goal is to make sure no one ever gets taken advantage of by the criminal justice system. We aggressively advocate for your rights, and will not just sit back while the DA builds their case. Instead, we will take charge and defend your case right from your first phone call. If you are seeking an experienced criminal defense attorney in San Diego, make sure you hire someone with the expertise and proven track record to ensure the best possible outcome. As your criminal defense lawyer , Mr. Ozols will expose the weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, which in turn gets his clients an outstanding result. He will look through the entire police report in your case. Every single word will be analyzed to see whether the officer’s statements are deceptive or if any errors in the report can be exploited.

Criminal charges can be very serious. The same can be said about the laws surrounding these issues. It is a complex landscape. But our attorneys are the best in the business in understanding how best to proceed with your case. From practical matters to complex legal analysis, The Frankfurt Law Office ensures your case gets unparalleled attention. The Frankfurt Law Office specializes in DUI cases in Denver. From simple to complex, we know the ins and out of how the laws work - and how best to position you for the most favorable possible outcome. We are experts at understanding all the details involved in DUI cases. We have seen it all - and no one in Denver is better equipped to handle DUI cases. Personal injury cases involve many layers of issues. We have unsurpassed experience and skill in ensuring optimum results. We never rush. We listen, we understand and we develop a custom plan to make sure the outcome is best for you. Let us handle the details and feel confident knowing you have the best team in the business on your side. We have Denver DUI Attorneys standing by - don’t wait until it’s too late!

Based in Houston, Texas, the Neal Davis Law Firm handles all types of criminal cases across Harris County and statewide. Neal Davis founded the firm after more than a decade of working with legendary criminal defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin. For nearly 20 years, he has fought for clients from all walks of life in state and federal courts - including the U.S. While Neal has earned a reputation for success in the courtroom, including in several high-profile cases, he has often successfully resolved matters without publicity. His superior qualifications, client service and record of success have consistently placed him among the top lawyers in America.

Why do I need to hire an attorney that specifically specializes in alcohol-related offenses? According to Wikipedia, there are over 100 areas of law that an attorney may practice in Michigan. Within each area of law, there may also be several unique specialties. For example, there are over 100 separate crimes that a criminal defense attorney can defend in Michigan. Just like doctors, there are attorneys that specialize in general criminal defense, but that does not mean that they are qualified to defend you in a complex alcohol or drug related matter. Just like doctors, you want to weigh the impact a DUI conviction may have on your future and determine whether seeing a “specialist” is in your best interest. Can’t I just plead guilty and expunge/remove the conviction from my record one day?

The answer is NO! Michigan does not allow an individual with a traffic offense related conviction, including drunk driving, to be expunged from their record. Once you are convicted of an DUI, the charge will remain on your criminal record for life. In addition to your criminal record, it will also appear on your Master Driving Record with the Secretary of State. If you have only one prior OWI/DUI, it will stay on your record for seven years for purposes of enhancing your sentencing on a second DUI. If, however, you have two or more prior OWI/DUI convictions, they will stay on your record forever.

If you have been ticketed or arrested for any grade of Theft, you need a good criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. Theft is one of those offenses that will almost certainly prevent you from reaching your future goals if it is revealed on a background check. Theft charges range in severity from Class C misdemeanors to First Degree Felonies, depending on the value of the property. A conviction is frequently used as grounds to terminate or deny employment, deny lease applications, and prevent you from obtaining some State or Federal licenses. Almost every job application asks if you have ever been convicted of a felony or any grade of theft. It is extremely important to have a criminal defense lawyer who understands the repercussions of having a theft conviction on your record.

I will do everything in my power to prevent you from having to answer “yes” to that question. If you are arrested for a Class C misdemeanor theft charge you may be tempted to just pay the fine. Kind of seems easy, just pay the fine and you get out. Why bond out, hire an attorney and deal with all of that? You may even hear from the police or jail staff its the same level as a speeding ticket. What they mean is it is the same level misdemeanor, but the consequences are far greater for a theft on your record than a speeding ticket on your record.

As a theft lawyer, I have seen almost everything in my years of practicing criminal defense as it relates to defending theft cases. From a high school student taking something on a dare, to a mother walking out of a store, talking on her cell, consumed with the demands of life and totally forgetting to pay. Whether it was a ridiculous decision of an 18 year old student or a parent forgetting to pay, you may find your reputation is at stake. 100 to First Degree Felony theft charges. Whether a theft charge is a misdemeanor or a felony depends on the value of the item alleged to have been stolen. Please contact me as soon as possible, for a consultation, immediate action can often be the difference in your case.

Taglines as branding devices have been a subject of interest for some time now. Curious to see whether taglines have changed much since 2002, we decided to update the list and see if we could find more. Taglines follow a variety of formats and styles; repetitive pairs, patterns, puns, and wordplay all figure prominently, and all with the goal of describing the firm’s philosophy succinctly and (hopefully) memorably. Do they accomplish those goals? You be the judge! Alston & Bird: Leadership. Baker Botts : Deeper Understanding. Bingham McCutchen: Legal Insight. Crowell & Moring: Experience. Faegre & Benson: More together. Holland & Knight: Industry focused. Jenner & Block: When it’s a Matter of Importance.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius: We’re In This Together. Your Team and Ours. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker: One Vision. Boyle Fredrickson: You’ve got ideas. Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz: IP Smart. Business Savvy. Client Connected. Cozen O’Connor: The confidence to proceed. Dickinson Wright: Great Lawyers. Ervin Cohen & Jessup: It’s Not a Common Practice. Foster Townsend Graham: Damn Fine Litigators. Gardere: Legal Knowledge. Human Wisdom. Grodsky & Olecki: What makes us different makes us better. Halloran & Sage: Your solutions start here. Harris Beach: Lawyers you’ll swear by. Holme Roberts & Owen: Experience Listens. Leonard Street & Deinard: Uncommon Wisdom.

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith: Client Focused. Munsch Hardt: Right Firm. Quarles & Brady: Common Ground. Sheehy Ware & Pappas: Experience you need. Strellis & Field: Experienced. Wells Jaworski & Liebman: Effective. Browne Jacobson: Law, less ordinary. Lawrence Graham: Lawyers. Just Different. Mischon: Not just any law firm. Brazeau Seller: Business people. Crease Harman: We Mean Business. Stewart McKelvey: When Results Count. Zvulony & Co: A Small Firm That Acts Big. Harrison Pensa: In any case. Davis LLP: Nationally Established. Did we miss your firm? Drop us a note in the comments, or an email in the coming days, and we’ll revise accordingly. And finally, a huge thanks to Emma Durand-Wood (who now has a profile on the Stem website). Emma was responsible for pulling this idea from one of our brainstorming sessions, researching and then compiling the list! A great project, with valuable results!

Arrested for a Drug Crime in Houston, Texas? Drug crimes are one of the most severely punished offenses in the state of Texas and throughout the United States. Retain an aggressive Houston drug defense attorney from The Martinez Law Firm as soon as possible. This law firm will fight for your rights and fight to defend you against your misdemeanor or felony drug charges. There are many types of drug offenses, both state and federal. Those arrested for and convicted of drug crimes in Houston could face mandatory minimum sentences for certain amounts of drugs regardless of the circumstances. Recently, the Attorney General recently proposed an end to this type of sentencing for nonviolent and low-level drug offenders. Some jurisdictions throughout Texas have begun to offer alternative forms of sentencing that are aimed at rehabilitating rather than punishing, such as community service or drug rehab.

The sentence a person receives, if convicted, will depend on the type and amount of the drug. For example, the previous Harris County District Attorney refused to accept charges for trace amount of cocaine charges. The current District reinstated the acceptance of trace amount of cocaine cases. These are all things that a Houston drug crime lawyer must know. The Martinez Law Firm is totally prepared to its best to defend you against your state or federal drug offense. A conviction can have massive implications for your future in addition to incarceration and fines, such as loss of federal aid, temporary loss of voting rights and other felony collateral consequences.

The DUI Attorney Group is cognizant of the measures taken by law enforcement to arrest drunk drivers for a DUI (Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs). A DUI attorney from our office will discuss the facts of your case with you including the number of drinks you had before driving, the time period involved, the reason why you were stopped and the events that followed. Our DUI lawyers can spot irregularities in police procedures, such as the circumstances of your stop and how field sobriety tests were conducted. If a chemical test was administered, a knowledgeable DUI lawyer from our office can advise you if proper protocol was followed. If necessary for your defense, we will retain an expert in chemical testing to refute the results of your breath or blood test (blood split) and subpoena MVARS (CHP Dash Camera Recording). Do not resign yourself to the consequences of a DUI conviction. Fill out the form and contact the DUI Attorney Group immediately after your arrest to discuss your case with one of our experienced and dedicated attorneys and see how our services can benefit you. The DUI Attorney Group - Experienced lawyers specializing in DUI defense.

If you are facing criminal charges of any kind, it is essential that you get a defense attorney involved as soon as possible. Sometimes if you take immediate illegal action, your attorney can then go and negotiate with the district attorney and come to a settlement or verdict without ever stepping foot in court. The court record involves many cases that were dismissed through our creative and intelligent defense work early in the case. Your choice in legal counsel is also of great importance. If you are assigned a public defender you will not be able to select one yourself. Your attorney could make or break your case and be the only person standing between you and jail time. A good criminal defense attorney however, has the knowledge, skill set and legal resources to possibly have our charges reduced or dismissed entirely.

In our San Francisco office, managing attorney Ryan J. King has dedicated his legal career to defending clients facing criminal charges. Committed to justice and the rights of the criminally accused, his background as a former prosecutor for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office gives him the insight you need when creating a strategy to defend a case. There is no substitute for real life, hands on trial experience, and Mr. King and the criminal defense attorneys at Okabe & Haushalter provide clients with outstanding legal representation in all types of criminal charges. We urge you to contact our firm as early in your case as possible. Our early involvement can be productive with regard to getting charges dismissed, and the evidence against you should be evaluated and the best defense strategy identified as soon as possible. So contact a San Francisco criminal defense lawyer from our legal team without delay!

1 note · View note

telltheworld-phff · 7 years ago

Text

Chapter 43: Valentine’s day

Carol, as Harry imagined, has closed down a little since the day she met The Queen. She would answer his messages with short texts, never extend the calls he made at night and never invite him to come to her apartment. Harry felt frustrated several times and in many of them he had to control himself to not to start a fight. He constantly remembered that Carol was afraid of relationships and that his title did not necessarily help him to woo her. The fact that she lived in London made the weight of his position more present and noticeable in their lives. With the return of normal activities, Harry could no longer go out alone without his protection officer, he had royal engagements that were publicized in all media outlets, he had meetings, visits and protocols to follow. And when they met, the only time since the day at St. James's Palace, it was sneaking up to have a quick coffee in the afternoon and praying that no paparazzi would spot them together. He did however try to keep her hidden from the media. Everyone was going crazy trying to find out who the girl was and he knew it’d be only a matter of time before people discovered her identity. And if she still lived in Brazil, things would be easier. But here, he dreaded the day where she’d wake up to a dozen paparazzi outside her house. So he did what he could to take those photos down.

He made sure to be at her place on her first day of work. He woke up early, got ready, and asked Bernard to cook her favorite breakfast dish. He wore the bunny tie on purpose and arrived at her house with time to spare so they could have breakfast together. Bill was with him, and to follow the protocol, he had to do a quick survey of the apartment before waiting outside. Carol wasn’t expecting him so early, but she smiled in surprise and relieved to see a familiar face on this important day. She was ready and waiting for the time to leave the house for her first day of work.

"Good Morning." she said, feigning animation as her facial expression said otherwise.

"Good morning. I see that British punctuality is one of your strengths." he said putting the bags made by Bernard on the dining table and going to her. As always, he kissed her temple and her cheeks.

"I barely slept tonight. I woke up early, got ready, and stayed here waiting for the right time to leave.”

"I'm glad to see you have not eaten yet. I asked Bernard to make your favorite breakfast."

"Harry! You shouldn’t! I don’t want to make him do things for me. I’d be fine with some crackers on the way." she said as she watched him set the table and wondered how he got so used to her apartment in such a short time that she lived there.

"Don’t be mental. One does not eat crackers on their first day of work.” he pulled the chair for her and she sat down while he placed the food containers on the table.

"Thank you." she said after taking a sip of the orange juice.

"There's no reason to thank me." he said starting to eat and she laughed. Harry was always hungry in the mornings.

"I'm so nervous." she said stirring the food with her fork.

"I'd be surprised if you weren’t." he got her hand in his and rubbed circles with his thumb to calm her down. "You're going to do very well, don’t worry."

“What If I don’t?” she asked him with fear filled eyes.

“My darling, please, don’t start with your ‘what if’s’ it’s not a healthy thing to do. You’re going to do just fine. Your boss wouldn’t have sent you here if he didn’t believe in you or if you didn’t have what it takes to be in this position. Everything will be just fine. Believe me.” he said and kissed her knuckles.

“You’re way too good for me, Henry.” she said looking at him.

“Nah… I’m alright enough. Now eat your breakfast because you have a long day.” he said and watched while she ate.

He offered to take her to the building where she would work but she refused. She wanted the full experience. Bus, subway and walk through London until you reach the address. She hugged him for a bit longer in the doorway of her apartment and thanked him again for being there for her. One of the things Carol most liked about him was that Harry didn’t force her to do the things he wanted her to do. He respected, and perhaps even understood, her crazy way of thinking and acting and her insecurities that often got the best of her.

"Glad to see you brought the bunny tie today." she said wiggling his tie and smirking.

"I needed to give you an incentive and something to remember if you get bored during the day." he smiled smugly.

"What I need to remember is that this tie needs to pay me another visit.” she blinked at him and grabbed her purse to leave the apartment leaving Harry surprised by the insinuation. Would that be a tip? Was it a hope?

He had been way too close to her to start himself with his own what ifs.

(...)

She lost her breath as she stopped in front of the imposing building. She had her credentials and could come and go as she pleased, but she stood for a few minutes in front of the building admiring it’s beauty. She walked unsteadily to the lobby and was greeted by the people who worked there. She asked for directions, and one of the guards accompanied her to the HR room. The first few weeks would be for adaptation. She would know the company's dependencies, colleagues, her office, bosses and her new duties. But at the moment she just wanted to be able to walk that place without getting lost in it. It was a thousand times bigger than the headquarters of São Paulo.

Once she signed all the contracts and terms of confidentiality, one of the women who worked in RH began the detailed tour with her by all sectors of the company. From the cafeteria to the writing room. She knew, but surely would not remember, all the entrances and exits of the building and some newsroom as well. She had been hired to perform the same function as she did in São Paulo, she would work with the internal communication of the company. Her new room was on the eighth floor of the building, and it was the most beautiful newsroom Carol had ever seen. She was introduced to her colleagues and her new team and was more relieved to see that she wasn’t the only 'imported' employee there. She met her new bosses and was surprised to see that she had received a “Welcome to our Team” party, a tradition to every new member of their team.

The day was full and exhausting, she had a meeting after lunch her new bosses and they asked her for a presentation to them, as soon as the training ended. It was intriguing her idea of a staff magazine made by the staff themselves as a climate improvement plan within the company. She’d have to find a way to include every single person that worked for BBC with their different cultures, backgrounds and interests. A challenging task that would take time, but that she wanted to perform no matter what. She made a point of being considerate and polite to everyone, she participated in the conversations in which she was included, and before she knew it, it was already time to go home.

And when she noticed, she had spent her first week at BBC London.

Time was flying fast.

(…)

Harry had surprised her when he appeared at her house on Valentine’s day. He had gone all cliché and had brought a teddy bear, chocolates, flowers and balloons and an invitation for dinner. Carol spent a few minutes laughing at him before letting him enter her house. She was already dressed in pajamas and she was about to cook something for her to have dinner when he arrived. It took her a few minutes to get ready, because she called Hailey and asked her sister what she should wear to this dinner outing that was seeming like a date.

Bill would be their escort this evening and Carol tried to not freak out by it. It wasn’t the first time Bill would be with them, she didn’t understand why she was bothered by it now. So she made sure to pay attention to Harry and how handsome he was looking this night. He had really dressed up for her and she appreciated it. Harry had made reservations at Cafe Monico, it was a belle époque-styled restaurant. And while they were driven to the place, the prince interlaced his fingers with hers.

"If I'd known I'd have a date so hot for Valentine's I'd have dressed up better." he teased and she just rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure it's safe?" she asked, watching the streets of London at night.

"Yes, I asked for a special place for us. Relax, Carol, and let me give you the full experience of a Valentine's day." he said trying to calm her down but hiding there was a 50/50 chance of them being spotted.

"Why the bear, flowers and chocolates weren’t enough?" she joked and Bill stiffed the laugh as he drove.

They were very well received by the people in the restaurant, the food was delicious and Harry seemed genuinely interested in hearing the stories she had to tell regarding her new job. He was struggling to remember the names of all the people, the technical terms she used and trying not to get lost in the conversation. He had never thought that so much was behind a communication company and she was introducing him to a whole new world. But from the way she described her tasks and deadlines and meetings he was already really tired for her. When the dessert arrived, Carol asked his opinion because she wanted a master degree in mass communication and transnational media. It would be one more thing to get her attention from him, now that even living in the same city they had so little time to see each other, but if it was her dream, he just said that he would support her 100%.

He paid the bill and she left the restaurant first and entered the parked car. He came out a few minutes later and she looked at him admiringly. She caressed his face and her heart filled when he closed his eyes and leaned in her hands. She traced the lines on his face, she tried to count the freckles over his nose and when she noticed what she was doing, her lips were already over his. She pecked it lightly and lingered in there. They both still had the chocolate and cherry flavor in their mouths. He opened his eyes and cupped her face in his hands and pecked her lips a couple more times before kissing her. He missed it. He missed her mouth and her warmth. He missed how hungry their kiss was and how delightful it was to have her taste. They kissed passionately like it was their first time and Harry kissed her the way she liked the most. Slowly and thoroughly.

“Henry” she whispered almost out of breath with her mouth still close to his.

“Yeah?” he answered lightly biting her lower lip.

“Do you think you could spend the night with me?” she said looking at him.

“Do you really want it?” he asked to make sure he wasn’t pushing her.

“Yes. I do.” she said kissing his neck slowly.

“Then I’ll stay.” he whispered back. “I’ll stay and I fully intend on using that bed of yours.”

“I’m counting on that.” she said and noticed Bill had already parked the car in front of her building. She got out first and walked the path to her apartment and soon she heard Harry’s footsteps as he jogged to meet up with her. They climbed the stairs laughing and she opened the door quickly to let them in. She was out of her coat and shoes faster than she thought and his mouth was already over hers hungrily claiming what was his.

A/N:

CAROL’S OUTFIT FOR HER 1ST DAY OF WORK

CAROL’S OUTFIT FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

#royalfanficcentral #royalfanficcollection #brf #prince harry #royal fandom #royal fanfic #british royal family #chapter: 43

22 notes · View notes

iexcelerp-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Can Salesforce Keep Growing? Five Possibilities for Marc Benioff

Editor’s note: This article was contributed to Cloud Wars by Jiri Kram, a solution architect who studied Fintech at MIT and specializes in cloud computing and blockchain. He is a highly respected commentator on LinkedIn, where he originally published this piece on May 6. This article marks Jiri’s third appearance on Cloud Wars; you can see his first two Cloud Wars articles here and here. While Jiri is a good friend of Cloud Wars, the views expressed are his, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cloud Wars. In particular, I think there is almost no chance that Jiri’s idea of Keith Block returning to Oracle or going to Microsoft will come to pass, and I think there’s an equally tiny likelihood for Jiri’s idea that Thomas Kurian will have Google Cloud develop a database designed to compete with Oracle’s. But multiple views make for interesting debates, so with those qualifiers made, we invite you to enjoy this latest set of provocative ideas from Jiri Kram. Can Salesforce keep growing despite the crisis? That’s a billion-dollar question. And it doesn’t have a straightforward answer. Salesforce has enjoyed so far 35% growth, and the future looks rosy. Can this trend sustain in an environment when IaaS is outgrowing any other cloud category? And how do the Cloud Wars between AWS / Microsoft / Google / Oracle affect Salesforce? Let’s dive in and see what challenges and strategic options Marc Benioff is facing. Will Salesforce say sayonara to Oracle? In 3 years, it will be exactly ten years after Salesforce signed a deal with Oracle. Ever since then, there were various attempts to test if Salesforce can run without Oracle database foundation. These attempts led in creation and acquisition of many new services Einstein, MuleSoft, Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Pardot, Quip, Heroku that wasn’t built on top of Oracle. Thus, creating a situation when 50% of Salesforce (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Force Platform) runs still use Oracle database and java, while the rest use mix of AWS and Azure. The only question is if Salesforce will manage to migrate schema to other databases. Let’s explore Salesforce’s options Stay on Oracle and migrate to Oracle Autonomous Database Migrate Oracle databases to AWS RDS for Oracle Migrate Oracle databases to AWS Aurora or AWS Postgres Create a hybrid deployment use AWS RDS for Oracle for some workloads and move to AWS Aurora, DynamoDB or Postgres Deal with Thomas Kurian 1. Staying on Oracle and migrate to Oracle Autonomous Database This option is possible, due to Keith Block’s departure from Salesforce. If Oracle hires Mr. Block, he would be able to close the deal with Marc Benioff for extending or expanding the Oracle contract. Although it may sound to many unrealistic, technically, this option is the lowest risk for Salesforce. Problem with Oracle database foundation of Salesforce is a simple fact. Beyond core products like Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and Force Platform, there is also AppExchange that contains around 3,500 applications from many vendors. Given all these applications uses in some way shape or form Oracle technologies (schema = objects, fields; security model = profiles, roles, permission sets, OWD; logic = apex / oracle application express; UI = visualforce / oracle JSP). Migrating all of those to some other platform might be very risky, so if Keith Block ends up at Oracle, then it is likely he would attempt this deal.

2. Migrate Oracle databases to AWS RDS for Oracle This option is also very tempting because Salesforce already has experience with this setting. For example, the Canadian data centre is running on AWS and therefore, it’s likely that Salesforce would be able to deliver Oracle-based schema they are using AWS RDS (Relational Databases Service) for Oracle. Given that AWS now supports all versions of Oracle database including 19c, which was the last version before starts delivering Autonomous Database, RDS should be sufficient for Salesforce purpose. Why? Salesforce licensing deal with Oracle signed in 2012 contained ten years deal but without Oracle Autonomous Database, which didn’t exist by then. AWS RDS now supports all major version 11g, 12c, 18c and 19c so it’s possible this could be sufficient for Salesforce. It’s also relatively safe move, as there is no major change, the primary impact is data centre is operated by AWS and not by Salesforce team, so all maintenance like patching, upgrading, scaling and so of the database wouldn’t need to be done by Salesforce team. This could both reduce Salesforce’s operating cost and help them innovate faster because they would benefit from any development on the AWS side.

3. Migrate Oracle databases to AWS Aurora or AWS Postgres Similar to the previous scenario, here Salesforce would be using AWS RDS but instead running licensed Oracle databases. They would start using either AWS own relational database Aurora or Postgres, which Salesforce already uses in Heroku. My guess is that Salesforce is more likely to use Aurora, because Amazon uses this relational database themselves for the most challenging workloads, which previously ran on Oracle. Aurora, unlike using RDS with Oracle, would also come with the benefit of single cost per database. In case Salesforce would be using RDS for Oracle, here cost of such infrastructure would also be influenced by license cost from Oracle. If Oracle would increase maintenance or any other fees for running Oracle outside of Oracle approved infrastructure (see “Oracle license audit”), you can quickly see that running Oracle on AWS might come with some challenges to consider. So if Salesforce’s Oracle workloads would be migrated to AWS Aurora, then Salesforce would gain an advantage in controlling the cost of the database. If this is done successfully, Salesforce would be able to reduce own cost while price same and thus increasing margin and attractiveness for investors. The only problem is the migration of AppExchange. It’s possible to imagine the migration of core Oracle-based services like Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. But the migration of Force Platform, which has many millions of apps build on top of it and is bundled to commercial offers via AppExchange, might not be so smooth.

4. Create a hybrid deployment use AWS RDS for Oracle for some workloads and move to AWS Aurora, DynamoDB or Postgres I believe that the Salesforce engineering team will opt for this. The reason is straightforward. Unlike the big bang approach (e.g. let’s take everything and migrate to Aurora), in this scenario, moving off Oracle is phased. Salesforce would likely split migration as follows: 1) workloads that require a relational database, 2) workloads that can use NoSQL database, 3) workloads that are currently in a relational database but doesn’t need to database. Then they would differentiate further: 1) workloads that require a relational database but are using capabilities that can be recreated in Aurora, 2) workloads that are bind to other Oracle technologies and that are not easy to replicate in Aurora. After that hybrid deployment would be stood up; 1) Oracle workloads are first migrated to AWS RDS for Oracle, 2) After that some Oracle workloads are migrated to Aurora some stay on Oracle, 3) Workloads migrated to Aurora are tested and if there is no technical issue, it will start to run in parallel, means APIs will be slowly transition from Oracle RDS to Aurora, 4) If transition to Aurora is successful, RDS Oracle instances will be stopped and kept as backup, 5) Meanwhile workloads that could be converted to NoSQL will be switched to DynamoDB and run in parallel with those in RDS, 6) When conversation is successful DynamoDB will be replacing in selected API connectivity to previous RDS, 7) When transition from RDS to Dynamo is completed then RDS is stopped and kept as backup, 8) Some feature programmed in Java and PL SQL as workarounds on older versions of Oracle database could be developed externally for example using AWS Lambda functions, 9) Same as with RDS new Lambda functions replacing previous code for Oracle will be tested and run in parallel with Oracle, 10) After its clear Lambda functions can replace custom development done in Java for Oracle, then Lambda will start to replace Oracle in APIs, ultimately replacing it. Yes, this will be a long and complicated journey, but many other AWS customers did it, and so it’s technically possible. Once again, however, the main problem is the logistics around AppExchange as the transition from Oracle to AWS can’t impact a running application. Imagine the scenario when Vlocity, Veeva, Apttus, FinancialForce, nCino, ServiceMax and other ISV applications would have any piece of code pointing to Oracle and thus leading to stop instances.

5. Deal with Thomas Kurian This option is improbable, but it’s not impossible. Thomas Kurian came from Oracle, and his primary goal is to replace Oracle. To do this, he will have to beat Oracle at its own game – database. Google currently doesn’t have a database that could be equal to Oracle or AWS Aurora. So it’s likely Kurian will develop a brand new database with his strategic hires from Oracle and will challenge Larry Ellison in the market. Having Salesforce as a reference would be not just a big boost for Google capabilities, but also a highly strategic message. Kurian would steal the most critical SaaS application in the world running on Oracle. And of course, Google sales are full of ex-Oracle people that would use this to visit every single strategic Oracle client and offer them alternative to both AWS Aurora and Oracle. Thomas Kurian is brilliant, and he loves winning. Challenging Larry in his own game could be too tempting for Thomas not to think about. For Google, there might also be another thing in play: many top Salesforce dealmakers were hired by Google, and so there is a direct link between both companies. Besides, Google can buy Salesforce in case they would feel Amazon would consider it. And, let’s not forget Keith Block can join any of players mention above Oracle (to make a deal with Salesforce), AWS (to make a deal with Salesforce to fight Oracle) or Google (to help Thomas Kurian making a deal with Salesforce to challenge AWS and Oracle). One more thing… Some say Keith Block could join Microsoft and, thus, would be the one controlling Salesforce on infrastructure level could be Azure. Impossible? Do you remember Marketing Cloud already runs on Azure? Back to you, Marc and Keith. RECOMMENDED READING Jiri’s first Cloud Wars article: To Combat COVID-19, a Retail App Becomes a ‘Smart Quarantine’ Solution Jiri’s second Cloud wars article: The 10 Most-Valuable Industries in the Wake of COVID-19 Can Larry Ellison Turn Zoom & Autonomous DB into Big-Time Oracle Cloud Revenue? Q1 Cloud Revenue Roundup: Microsoft, AWS and Google Total $26.3 Billion How Bill McDermott’s Magic Touch Has Made ServiceNow a Cloud Superstar Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: 10 Thoughts on the Post-COVID-19 World Microsoft & Amazon Lead Top 5 Beyond $150 Billion in Cloud Revenue in 2020 Google Outpaces Microsoft, Amazon in Cloud-Revenue Growth at 52% Zoom Picks Oracle for Cloud Infrastructure; Larry Ellison’s First YouTube Video Subscribe to the Cloud Wars Newsletter for in-depth analysis of the major cloud vendors from the perspective of business customers. It’s free, it’s exclusive and it’s great! The post Can Salesforce Keep Growing? Five Possibilities for Marc Benioff appeared first on . https://cloudwars.co/salesforce/can-salesforce-keep-growing-five-possibilities-marc-benioff/ -- Link of source Read the full article

#SAPNEWS2020

0 notes

theysentushope-blog · 8 years ago

Text

The Right Thing To Do (Cassian x Reader) [Part Five]

Here it is, the final chapter! I had so much fun writing this, and I’m actually quite proud of it. I hope you all enjoy, and special thanks to @ly–canthrope for the prompt.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

As they flew through hyperspace from Margravia to Yavin IV, Y/N quickly patched up Jyn’s minor wounds in the kitchen/makeshift medbay. Thankfully, they had escaped the planet with minor cuts and bruises, but Jyn’s extended stay in the Margravian dungeons had left her with several injuries that would require more care.

“So, who are you?” Jyn asked as Y/N taped a bacta patch over her worst injury, a blaster shot that grazed her leg.

“Y/N Y/L/N.” Y/N replied. “The finest rescue party that ever was.”

“You’re not Alliance.” Jyn replied, a statement instead of a question.

“Definitely not.” Y/N replied with a chuckle. “I’m a hired hand.”

“Hmmm, let me guess. Han?”

“How’d you guess?” Y/N asked, rocking back on her heels to look up at Jyn.

“The ship. The reckless endangerment and disregard for your own personal safety with that mad rescue attempt. You definitely have the mark of someone Solo would approve of.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.” Y/N replied, standing up to put away the medical supplies. “You might want to have yourself looked over in the medbay once we’re back, but I think you’ll survive.”

“Thanks.” Jyn replied, stretching her leg out and inspecting the bacta patch.

“Can I ask you something?” Y/N found the words leaving her mouth before she could stop them. Jyn raised an eyebrow at the question, but didn’t stop her from continuing. “What’s the deal with Andor?”

“The deal?” Jyn repeated, and Y/N sighed.

“He’s so intense, so focused. But he let the Council keep him from going on this rescue mission himself.”

“Cassian was raised in the rebellion. He doesn’t know anything else. And yes, he is willing to do whatever it takes. And yes, we’re partners. But he’s also a soldier and will follow orders until given no other choice.”

“He used that word too, partners.”

“That’s what we are.” Jyn replied, pulling her hair out of its tie and quickly redoing it as she continued. “We’ve been through a lot together, Cassian and I. It changes you, changes your relationship. Few can relate to what we’ve been forced to do in the name of freedom…hell, even just to survive. It changes you as a person, and Cassian understands that.”

Before Y/N could reply, the ship began to beep with an alert about their impending arrival to the Yavin system.

“Looks like we’re here.” Y/N said, pushing herself away from the counter and back toward the cockpit. She heard Jyn following limping behind her, and didn’t bat an eye when the other woman slipped into the co-pilot’s seat.

“Transmit the passcodes.” Y/N instructed, and Jyn nodded as her fingers flew across the buttons.

“This is Alpha Dawn requesting clearance to land.” Y/N sent out over the communications. “Transmitting clearance codes now.”

“Alpha Dawn, this is control. You are clear to proceed to landing pad two. Welcome home.”

Y/N piloted the ship smoothly onto the planet’s surface, surprised that they had cleared one of the larger landing pads for them. Clearly, Jyn was more important to the rebellion as a whole than she had been led to believe. Once they had landed and completed their final checks, Y/N helped Jyn stand up from the co-pilot’s seat, the grimace in her face making it clear that her leg injury was getting worse.

“You know,” Jyn said, putting some of her weight on Y/N as they prepared to exit the ship. “We make a pretty good team.”

“You are pretty useful in a fight.” Y/N replied. “You ever thought about leaving all this behind to make some real money?”

Y/N watched as a smile grew on Jyn’s face as she shook her head.

“No, this is my family, my purpose. These people and what they’re fighting for…it matters.”

Y/N hopped down onto the landing pad first, grabbing Jyn’s arm and helping her to keep her weight off of her injured leg.

“Jyn!” Y/N heard Cassian’s voice call, and both women turned around to find the man waiting nearby. He moved toward them and Y/N watched as Jyn opened up her arms, enveloping Cassian in a hug.

“Took you long enough to send someone after me.” Jyn greeted, and Y/N watched with a pang of jealousy as she watched Cassian cradle Jyn’s face in his hands, a smile on his face.

“Well, I suppose I could have sent K-2 to rescue you again.” He said, and Jyn smiled back.

“I think I would have preferred the Margravian dungeon.” Jyn replied before turning back to Y/N. “You did well, though. I like her.”

“Jyn!” A new voice called, and Y/N turned to see the blonde man she had seen Han talking to upon her arrival on Yavin IV running toward them.

“Luke!” Jyn called, and Y/N saw her expression change immediately, stepping away from Cassian and limping as fast as she could toward the other man. He immediately wrapped her up in his arms, lifting her off of the ground and spinning her around.

“I was so worried!” Luke said, gently setting her back down on the ground. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Jyn replied. “I promise, no permanent damage. I told you I’d come back.”

If it was possible, Luke’s smile grew wider before Y/N watched as Jyn pulled him into a heated kiss.

“So…” Y/N began, looking away from the couple to give them what little privacy they had on the busy landing pad. “Definitely not your girlfriend, then?” She asked Cassian, who chuckled.

“I tried to tell you.” Cassian replied, turning away as well. “You did well.” He added, and Y/N shrugged.

“All in a day’s work.”

“Thank you, truly.” Cassian insisted, and Y/N smiled at the man. “You have proven yourself quite useful. Perhaps you would consider sticking around?”

Y/N leaned closer to Cassian, tugging on his jacket before shooting him a smirk.

“I think I could be convinced.”

#cassian x reader #star wars #jyn x reader #star wars reader insert #star wars drabbles #the right thing to do #alpha dawn series

27 notes · View notes

biofunmy · 5 years ago

Text

WhatsApp Is Fighting To Keep Millions Of Users Untraceable

WhatsApp, the encrypted messaging service that has built a 400 million strong user base in India, is squaring off in a Tamil Nadu courthouse in a case that could force the company to weaken its privacy protections. The Madras high court recently began hearing a case filed by two petitioners asking the country to force people to link their WhatsApp accounts to their Aadhaar, India’s controversial biometric ID number for nearly all of the country’s 1.4 billion residents.

The two petitioners, Antony Clement Rubin and Janani Krishnamurthy, are private citizens. In copies of their legal filings reviewed by BuzzFeed News, they describe themselves as animal welfare activists, and say that they’d like the court to mandate users to link “any email or user account” to their Aadhaar numbers or any other form of identification, “owing to the rising instances of humiliation, disgrace and defamation [through] cyber bullying and other intolerable activities on social media.”

Rubin, who filed the petition after being bullied on Facebook in 2018, told BuzzFeed News that he only did so to help law enforcement agencies track down people who indulged in abusive behavior online. “To be honest, my only concern when I filed the petition was that the platforms should be a safe environment for everyone,” he said. “That said, I do acknowledge that in a case like this, there’s a double-edge sword when it comes to people’s privacy.” Rubin also denied having links to the government and said he had filed the petition in his personal capacity.

Krishnamurthy did not respond to requests for comment.

The case — the first in the country to consider traceability in social media — could set legal precedent for all tech companies operating in India. Privacy experts fear the case is a convenient opportunity for India’s nationalist government to force platforms to become surveillance tools.

“If the court directs a product change like breaking or weakening WhatsApp’s encryption, it won’t be limited to just WhatsApp but will extend to pretty much every single product and service that uses encryption in India,” Apar Gupta, director of the digital advocacy organization Internet Freedom Foundation, told BuzzFeed News. The IFF is an intervener — a third party that can join a case without the permission of the original litigants — in Rubin and Krishnamurthy’s petition. “Once you can trace a message, you can use it for methods of social control,” said Gupta. “That’s the primary objective of this.”

A WhatsApp spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing case, but pointed BuzzFeed News to a statement issued in February that described WhatsApp as “a space for private conversations online.”

“Imagine if every message that you sent was kept with a record of the fact that you sent it and with a record of your phone number,” it said. “That would not be a place for private communications.”

After lynch mobs fueled by misinformation about child abductors spread on untraceable WhatsApp messages killed more than 45 people across India in 2018, the government has been cracking down on the Facebook-owned app. Since then, the Indian government has repeatedly asked the company to develop a way to identify senders of messages. WhatsApp has turned down the request each time.

As it rebuffs those demands, WhatsApp has fought the spread of rumors in other ways, such as limiting the number of people or groups users can forward messages to and clearly labeling forwards. It ran advertising campaigns on television, newspapers, and radio warning against the dangers of misinformation. And the company is hiring a national law enforcement liaison — one of the government’s key demands.

Nevertheless, the government remains focused on personal traceability. In October, it demanded the locations and phone numbers of people using WhatsApp for real-world violence, and in December, it proposed changes to the country’s IT law that would force platforms including WhatsApp to break their user encryption. Last month, it asked the company to digitally fingerprint every message to track the sender.

“Traceability shall be [WhatsApp’s] job,” said Ravi Shankar Prasad, India’s IT minister, last week.

WhatsApp is taking these developments seriously, flying out its top legal counsel, Brian Hennessy, to the hearing from its California headquarters. The company hired Arvind Datar and India’s former law minister Kapil Sibal, two of India’s highest-profile (and most expensive) lawyers to make its case before the judges.

Their arguments against traceability in the high court were blunt.

“Requiring WhatsApp to trace originator information is disproportionate to the laudable aim of preventing and detecting crimes, particularly since users can easily migrate to encrypted platforms that do not have such an obligation,” WhatsApp stated in a 27-page submission to the court reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

The company also stated that WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption promoted citizens’ fundamental rights and enabled journalists, civil society organizations, members of ethnic and religious groups, activists, and artists to exercise their right to freedom of speech and expression “without fear of surveillance or retaliation.”

“Imposing a traceability requirement would undermine all of these benefits,” WhatsApp said in the submission. “Journalists could be at risk of retaliation for investigating issues that may be unpopular, civil or political activists could be at risk of retaliation for discussing certain right and criticizing or advocating for politicians or political, and personal information like sexual orientation, health, religious affiliation, Aadhaar, and financial information could be at risk of becoming publicly exposed.”

Representatives from Facebook, Google, and Twitter, each of which have millions of users in India, also attended the hearing. Facebook did not respond to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment. A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment. A Google spokesperson said that the company could not comment on the case as it was still in court.

“The outcome of this litigation could lead to a change in the product design of major social media platforms because law enforcement agencies want the [court] to direct these companies to devise a mechanism to trace the originator of a message,” the IFF wrote on its website.

In July, V. Kamakoti, a professor at the Indian Indian of Technology Madras and a member of the country’s National Security Advisory Board, a body that advises the prime minister on national security matters demanded that WhatsApp attach the original sender’s phone number to every forwarded message. Kamakoti’s proposal, which is part of the Indian government’s report submitted to the court, said that WhatsApp could attach the original sender’s phone number to every message, which wouldn’t require it to break encryption but would allow law enforcement agencies to track down the sender if they wished to.

Kamakoti did not respond to multiple interview requests from BuzzFeed News.

According to sources familiar with the matter, members of WhatsApp’s legal and policy teams from its California headquarters met Kamakoti along with law enforcement agencies in Tamil Nadu in May. The purpose was to discuss how all tech platforms — not just WhatsApp — work with law enforcement in the state of Tamil Nadu. There was no resolution at the end of this meeting, a source said.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 21.

Countries around the world are calling for tech platforms to break their encryption or build backdoors into their products — ostensibly in service of law enforcement. On the same day that WhatsApp was making its case in the Madras high court, United States Attorney General William Barr demanded that tech firms put backdoors into their encrypted products because encryption “seriously degrades” law enforcement’s ability to “detect and prevent a crime before it occurs,” and makes prosecution more difficult. Earlier this week, intelligence agencies from the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand demanded special access to messages flowing through WhatsApp and other encrypted services.

But a judicial requirement to let law enforcement agencies access encrypted WhatsApp messages would hit Indians particularly hard, critics say, especially with the rise of Modi, whose five-year reign has polarized the country along religious lines.

“Free expression itself is regularly undermined in the political space in India at present especially for people who use social media,” said Gupta of the IFF. “A lot of people’s conversations on the internet are about politics and criticizing politicians. Tracking down their identities would result in a great chilling effect. There will be fear in their minds.”

Sahred From Source link Technology

from WordPress http://bit.ly/33qSPqx via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

americanbusinessadvisors · 7 years ago

Text

Homerun: How to Develop a Corporate Culture to Sustain You in the Top 25%

In This Edition...

Featured Article - Homerun: How to Develop a Corporate Culture to Sustain You in the Top 25%

Newsbreak - Kudos / Gratitudes

"Success" Story - Lesson from a Former Client's Experience

Featured Article

Homerun: How to Develop a Corporate Culture to Sustain You in the Top 25%

CEOs / business owners are a competitive group. I know of few who wouldn’t want to stay in the top 25% in their industry. Who wouldn’t want to keep hitting homeruns?

One of the critical components of a sound Strategic Business Plan (see our February and March Strategic Edge eNewsletters) in order to attain top 25% status is a Statement of Core Values. Does this Statement really help you get into the 25% status? Are they necessary to stay there? Or are they just “fluff”?

There are a number of obvious motivations we’ve heard from business owners over the decades. They want to be able to say they have a $20m company or that they are growing at 35%/year. They are preparing for live “performance,” whether they be auditioning with a potential client for their business, or with a bank for that line of credit, or with a business broker for a prospective buyer.

The owners say that their motivation is to provide a number of benefits for themselves, their families, and their employees. Owners want their business to grow large enough to hire specific talent (VP of Sales, Controller or the like) so they do not have to juggle so many roles. They want to shorten cycle times to cash or push out their AP to increase cash on hand. They want their firms to be resilient enough to weather the next downturn. They want to attract, retain and develop employees.

While good, all of these reasons are extrinsic motivators. Extrinsic motivators don’t tap into the powerful core of what energizes owners and businesses over the long haul. They do not tap into the core of longing to have a life that matters, to make meaning. Building a business using only extrinsic motivators is like swinging to hit a poorly thrown outside pitch, lunging, and coming up with just a foul.

In short, these kinds of motivators may work for an inning or two, but they will not keep your company in the top 25%.

“Our Purpose is to Make Meaning”

Imagine you’re the history-making NL Player of the Week, Rockies shortstop Trevor Story. He set a MLB record by hitting 6 homeruns in his first 4 games as a rookie by knowing his sweet spot and then swinging. I would like to suggest that intrinsic motivators are the equivalent measurement for you and your team. These intrinsic motivators are the core values—your unique sweet spot—that will drive your company’s long term value and give you and your team the staying power to remain in that elite top 25% in your industry.

You no doubt have many of these core values ensconced in an employee manual or company documents that need to be dusted off! To make sure you and your team are on track to keep your firm in the top 25%, consider these 5 questions:

“What does our business do to make a difference in the world?”

For some owners, it’s delivering a one-of-a-kind customer experience. For others it’s creating unique products. For others, it’s creating jobs or becoming the influence in their industry. Your team wants to feel that they are more than a cog in your wheel and they need your leadership to understand and connect their life with the difference your firm makes in the world.

“What personal meaning do we get from building our business?”

We had a conversation with a potential client who knew he needed our help but expressed his ambivalence about starting work with us. In response I said, “You don’t have to worry about what we are going to ‘do’ to you. Our work involves the thrill of discovering what you want to do, where you want to head your company and allowing us the privilege of serving as a catalyst to help get you there.” For American Business Advisors, our personal meaning as a firm is seeing our clients achieve their goals!

“Do you have the satisfaction of doing something great every day?”

Consider this imaginary story of two workers who had identical jobs preparing stones for the great Antonio Gaudi cathedral in Barcelona, Spain.

Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family

One worker came home tired. His wife asked him, “How his day was.” He said, “Well, I broke 3 chisels so that really slowed me down. And I only got 2 blocks carved. What a day!” Another worker came home tired but happy. His wife also asked him, “How his day was.” He said, “It was a fabulous day, honey. I got two stones carved. Those two stones will hold the capstone of the 3rd side door on the north side. No one knows about that entrance. But I’m so thrilled I get to be part of Gaudi’s great cathedral coming to life!”

When we enable clients to create companies that remain in the top 25% companies, we see not only their business but their lives change. Upon building his business to his next level, one of our clients told us, “When I started with you, I was ready to quit my business. You not only changed my business but you changed my life. My wife now has a husband and my boys have their father back.”

4. “How are we achieving personal growth and accomplishment?”

Successful business owners who keep their firms in the top 25% never stand still. But they do know how to enjoy the journey as much as the destination. Our clients depend on us to guide them through an environment with an accelerating pace of change. Our firm is motivated to learn, pay attention, and know what questions to ask our clients so that they can pay attention to what’s important. Continual awareness and personal growth are keys to keeping your firm in the top 25%.

5. “What are we doing to help others achieve their goals?”

If we want to achieve our goals, we must look for ways to help others achieve theirs. Great business leaders keep their eyes open for other businesses in a related space that can complement theirs. Great business leaders want to see their teams achieve both business and personal goals. Remaining in the top 25% is not reason enough to stay there. You and your firm needs to consistently serve all its stakeholders—customers, vendors, employees and leaders.

Are you and your team in your sweet spot to stay a top 25% company? Learn from our client whose firm did not survive without a Statement of Core Values. And consider these five questions to help you continue to swing for the fences and be your own Trevor Story!

ABA Newsbreak

Kudos / Gratitudes

Jon Hokama was selected as one of the breakout session leaders for the upcoming Purposeful Planning Institute's “Rendezvous,” an interdisciplinary gathering of professionals sharing best practices to serve legacy families and family businesses

His working session is entitled, “How Do You Resolve “The Founder’s Dilemma?” An Interdisciplinary Collaboration”

For more information about this July 27-29, 2016 event, go to the Purposeful Planning Institute “Rendezvous”

"Success" Story

We thought it would be of equal interest for you to learn from a former client’s experience

“Our Purpose is to Make Money”

We were working with a manufacturing company in the 90s that was profitably growing rapidly. They were successfully penetrating their industry and major competitors were taking note of them. They requested that we assist them with the development of a Mission Statement. An effective Mission Statement is comprised of three components: The Vision – The Mission – The Purpose. We met with the two brothers who owned the business and successfully helped them clarify their Vision (what do we want to be) and Mission (What are we going to do).

Then we started discussing the Purpose (Why are you going to do it – that is, what is your passion?) We asked them to list their reasons. “Our purpose is to make money” was the reply. “Okay,” we said, “that is good, what else might be included as motivating factors?” They looked at us rather strangely and said “That’s it, our purpose is to make money” they replied. Somewhat shocked we tactfully inquired, “What about your employees - perhaps include some language they would buy into. What about your customers? What about the environment? What about the community? Would it be appropriate to include something about any of those we inquired?” At that point they got a little agitated and replied “All we are interested in is making money.” Soon after that meeting they terminated our services and a few years later they went out of business.

The Strategic Edge newsletter is published monthly by American Business Advisors to provide business and financial planning information and ideas. All material is presented to provide general and broad information only. The information found in this publication does not constitute business, tax, financial, or legal advice and should not be acted upon without seeking the counsel of a professional advisor. Comments and questions can be directed to Dennis Guse at [email protected].

This email is never sent unsolicited and American Business Advisors keeps all our subscribers’ information strictly confidential. You have received this special offer by voluntarily providing your email information to us personally or at our web site.

We respect your right to privacy. If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy or this email, feel free to call us directly at 303-335-4218. Subscribers’ personal information will not be shared, sold or rented.

Homerun: How to Develop a Corporate Culture to Sustain You in the Top 25% is courtesy of http://www.abadvisors.com/

0 notes

libramoon2 · 8 years ago

Text

[evening dionysian]

working title: [evening dionysian]

Dancers dance musicians play Enchanting sylph narrates stories while seductively moving to sinuous back beat, tick of chimes. Occasionally emphasizes subtle percussions with intense expressions, leaps, cunning stumbles, falling to crawl into spellbound speech. Scheherazade myths, archetypal passion escapades, poignant weeps, salient shouts to power. Exquisite meditations on mystic climes, spirit and form. Merry masks, sparkly costumes, paint and glitter as embellishment to the tellings. Theater as intimate ritual. Anything could manifest.

Pisces murky androgeny Libra emits graceful beauty Scorpio at home in passion Deeply attractive Complicated self-hatred urging service and demeaning. At core strong self-belief expressed intuitively. Stories from the collective well, mystic ether, imbued in earth, exhaled by flames. Centering, sense memory trances exhibits as sinuous performance.

This world is ending …

Even happy families share dissonance, complex histories, emotional triggers. Happy families learn to thrive, profound mutual respect as guide, resort to good humor for smoother passage. Why fight, divide strength from where it is better spent? Folk who pull together by choice rejoice in shared communion.

Outside self-circumscribed worlds Diverse perception of views Sight with wide spectra of hues

She heard him crying, a lost child in the night. In her prophetic heart she knew only she could comfort him. But she was only a child who was never allowed to be lost. How could she comfort this lost boy when she had no freedom to reach out? Late in quiet dark, after her people, asleep, would not be checking on her, she opened her window and made daring escape. Wandering in the outside dark, she listened for his cries. At first she discerned wind among leaves and branches, small creature forays, clash of metal against pavement, perfumed strains from afar. Then, yes, whimpers, ragged rhythm past exhausted weeping. He was huddled, hidden, on the alley side of a cold brick building. Seeing him, frightened, lost, she did not know what to say. He smelled of rancid sweat and fear. She did not know how to speak. She cried. She emptied herself of every caustic tear, every regret held for guilty ransom, every sadness kept inside so no one would fuss. He looked up at her watery face and asked with amazed concern: “Are you lost, too? Because if we are lost together, really we have found each other. We don’t have to stay scared and alone.” She looked around, realized that in al her blind wandering she had lost her way. She had no idea where they were. She knelt beside him. They smiled and hugged. For that precious while they became beloved kin. Perhaps some special night they’ll meet again.

Mythy visions to transcribe; thought fragments to form. Myths we live, and how to rewrite them.

She knows she has awakened. Every effort of her body pinches, aches, demands refuge in self-talk, reason, mental override of pain. Carefully, she measures out tools of destruction, what she must carry in her pack into the city, to her place of destiny. Doing what one can to make sense, have meaning. Life is short, ugly, pointless, unless you get that call. Trying to act cool with familiar friends, laying low, hiding from everything that doesn’t allow relevant existence for dregs like us. Recognition? Commendation? A scrap of real notice? To sacrifice this humorless joke to Godly cause, that’s got to be imbued with meaning, to be holy. How not find zealous courage, so dishonor numbing a drug, one point of focus. All my sins, my impoverishments, inadequacies, forgiven in ultimate atonement. God can love me. I am made pure in His sight. A tool, a weapon, no matter how lowly, bestowed sacred purpose in this great fight. My parents, my kin, vindicated, their suffering denied nobility avenged. Cleansed in adventure’s icy plunge, only ever young in throes of romance, a chance for breathless rush of brief immortality.

. question everything accept or reject with clear awareness and flexibility

. purity of essence is to will one thing

. She didn’t like her skin. So hard to blend in. She didn’t like her body, jutting awkwardly, too bulky, not compliant to conscious control. She ached to let her spirit free from matter’s burden, to ooze out onto open air. Her envisioned wish took her to aerial glee, and no more. “What would I see, outside of eyes, no biological boundaries?” Her attention, turned to this yearn for omniscient sight, was caught, held strong and seduced. Ever present, ever expanding through every crevice of her consciousness, she became inured to matter’s inadequacies. She desired entirely. No one could reach her, though no one tried. She trance-walked through her duties and habits with none to notice any lack of aliveness, lack of any impish spark within her eyes. Self-consumed, obsessed, absorbed in apotheosis, physical possibilities no longer matter. Her spirit no longer held to this room, this body. Blind to her unseeing world, enraptured in unfiltered light, colors far beyond our rainbow.

. A brave and learned man hired out to guide a motley assortment through a narrow, rocky passage to a settlement in need of laborers. At this time, he was a stranger to settlers and these prospective immigrants. He had an idea of joining their project, but felt nag of doubt enough to only commit as far as hiring out for specified work and pay. This Job – this man who gave his name as Job – was curious, clever, aloof because caught up in thoughts complex, calculating, critical, cynical, contemplative, entertaining. He spoke as necessary for terse communication. He listened as if a subtle etching of rain on sand. He sucked in sounds and all their meaning to nourish his chattering brain. Though his behavior, demeanor, presentment appeared distancing, others tended to respect his leadership, his abilities. Even those who mocked or boisterously complained in private camaraderie in which he did not join agreed that he bested them at coming through. After their passaging, safely gathered at the settlement, words and gestures of gratitude lauded upon him were spontaneous and sincere. As settlers and new arrivals met together to discuss their common project, ask questions, give opinions, figure out teams and chores, Job continued his passage. Busy in their plans and adaptations, no one noticed him disappear.

. Capture my imagination Take me for a ride self-discipline, acknowledge without judging

Philip, he so tired, exhausted, can’t bear the nattering. Silly people, spew of soft-heart advice. Stupidly happy people, smug in their hugs and white smiles. Philip recedes into deep, dark hate – so mired and convoluted spirals down his mind. Lethargic impulses, held back, kicked down, pounded to weakness as he grew in twists and turns. “Don’t look at me.” He hears his silence scream. Horrid beast snarls, whimpers. Philip aches to hide from his own mind, beastly child whining, cringing around cutting steel for comfort. Snappy, happy babblers burst like saliva balloons, insult, annoy. “Don’t speak to me. Don’t daintily pretend you understand; oh so precious extended hands, limpid eyes question, judge, sentence to demented status. “I am fine, or will be when you all leave me alone. Ignore my retreat into secure solitary recrimination, whip lash of vengeful sin. You know you don’t really want to be let in, to feel the wrath I am. Scatter, you flesh-covered delusions who choose to disturb my sleep, my darling nightmares’ stomping victory. You clearly don’t need my input to be complete. Complete fools – go do your better things. Enjoy your day. I’ve no more to say, to share.” Aloud? Allowed? He allows himself to voice complaint aloud. And the folk crowd ebbs out beyond his self-fixed point. “Express your truth,” he silently affirms. People may listen.

Imbibe trance Fall into story Record intimately

Become one story Imbibe trance intimately Record while falling

face shifter. story spinner. dervish zeitgeist possessed. defined by shades, by shadows, by negation.

Sammy scary loco crazy. They say he got the paranoid schizophrenia. What he got is commandos tracking his thoughts, grinning. Party of demons who been with him, telling him what to do, clever talk when he needs to answer some fool. He’s got my nightmares, but can’t shake them awake. No one wants to listen to me or him when we say what’s real. They want us to be kids, whatever that is. They want us to make them feel alive in their self-comforting fantasies about responsibilities. What is Sammy responsible for or to? Because he suffers disability, because he can’t break through Hell’s circles, flames of purity. I walked from Hell. My mind still burns. I am strong, a born survivor. He survives as he can. Is that weakness, or alternative dimensions habitated? I am amazing, mobile, continuing, sensibly explaining, harmoniously relating, conversing like a pro. I struggle. I hurt, it feels unbearably. I work until I want to scream, become explosive screaming. I stifle, call up mania to work on. Efforts only I applaud – amazing me! Nothing spectacular to entice the jaded they. Sammy is spectacular. I am seriously amazing. I won’t let them blind me.

. They walk in and out of patterns, broad swath of night. No designated home; no one has to accept them. They walk. Dust, dirt, soot, effluvia collect, protect in the sense of repel. In safe dark none encounter to harass. Those alive by day buried in bed. They walk without notice or plan. This is their closest approach to sleep, hypnotic glide through distance. Landscape undifferentiated by visible presentation. Footsteps feel clearly what comes under, it seems by instinct — or possibly familiarity. They walk on perhaps forever with no where to stop. Pit stops. Beg for food or find leavings. Play merry fool, eyes gleaming, lips voice hands form expressive grand soliloquies, hoped fee implied (implored). Sustenance they afford varies by mood of kindness, unswayed by desperation. Exhaustion only dulls, removes any attractive shine. As air blows colder, nights freeze over, they seem to dissolve into neverwere. Empty shadow, haunted tingle bereft of cause. “They were never us, nothing like us.” Unspoken song bears rhythms of walking unseen.

She awoke in a body, young, womanly, driving consciousness on hold somewhere like dreamless sleep. It was her occasional brief invasion to feel in touch with mortal concerns. She is to be a bride, again. Foolish, innocent yet of so many regrets and betrayals to come. She is ready to exult in the veil and it symbolic lift. Happy to perform, darling of her audience of familiars. Happy day, swept clean of trepidations, of all yesterdays and their burdensome effluvia. Today is always hers. These ceremonies, traditional duties and pleasures, bind her to cults, cultures, accumulated lore and intuition. Not creature, but weaver – still she is inseparable from the story. Today she again assumes bridehood. Tonight, awash in festivities, again she removes her spell of possession. This new bride returns to a familiar world, changed. No longer civil child nor spiritual supplicant, she has ascended. People see her differently, treat her with more deference, more distance even as they proclaim her their precious chosen intimate, ply her with cherished secrets as if her allegiance would add value. Her bearing carries an air, an enhanced spirit, a subtle awareness, unspoken by any inner voicing. Language is a human art.

Gathered on picnic table benches behind the home, hot in sunshine. Karen explains, fact by fact, how Gus became her inseparable soul. They beam together. He gives consoling hand to shoulder as she grieves children left with their father, her ex’s condemnation, stern paternal assertion of power. Saving his kin from this unrepentant whore. Karen cries, again – unrehearsed habit. She carries sadness; leaks occur. Gus hardly speaks. His troubled eyes, weary stance, gentle pull and pass of their pint bottle as he glances with deep countenance to each face around is eloquent conversation. Sweat smells, condensed alcohol, burnt tobacco, drying shit from local dogs, passing fumes from the road out front, all permeate, help set the mood. They treat the stranger in their midst as a friend of long acquaintance, just another straggly member of a morphing crew. “Ain’t we all strangers of long acquaintance – everybody a wrapping of layers, appearing in colored bits along our drowsy companionship. Strange friends, welcome distractions, smoky mirrors that let us see as we discern.” Bonnie and Denise giggle at Big Dan’s pedantic speech. They solicit contributions for their liquor store expedition. Enough gets thrown in to make it a go. Go, girls. We’ll be waiting, celebrating what we can because here we are.

#short takes #flashes of vision #theatre of imagination

0 notes

symbianosgames · 8 years ago

Link

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

Hello, I’m Antonio Uribe, better known as Fáyer. I’m the Co-founder and Director of HyperBeard Games, an indie game studio based in Mexico City. The following text is a combination of an analysis and the story about the development of KleptoCats.

HyperBeard before KleptoCats

At the start of the development we weren’t in the best position. We were sad. The office had lost half of its people because the game we made before wasn’t the success we needed financially speaking, and we were a couple months away of losing the other half. All the people involved in the project thought that this was going to be the last game we made together as a team. But well, if you follow us on Twitter you know that we actually made it and we are still making games.

Where did the idea come from?

While working on the game before KleptoCats, we noticed there was a feeling of discontent towards the players of mobile games- that they only wanted free games and didn’t want to pay for quality content. With this in mind Joe and JP made a prototype as social criticism. The idea was the user would send a cat out and it would return with a random object, and the time the user had to wait would increase more and more from seconds to minutes, hours, days, weeks… The only way to make the cat come back quickly was by paying or watching an ad. I liked the concept a lot, because the objects they chose were really interesting and they caught my attention quickly. Unfortunately, The Balloons (the prior project mentioned above which failed financially) was still under development during our exploration and our boss thought the prototype was kind of silly. So, before we got to explore these ideas further we archived the prototype in our “to do” folder.

After The Balloons wasn’t the success we expected, we immediately started to work on other games. Half of the team worked on a shoot ’em up and the other half worked on a pet game with cookie clicker and world building mechanics. The whole future of the studio depended on these games. By January of 2016, only Joe, JP and me were working for the company. The boss visited us to check the progress on the pet game, which we decided had the most chance of success. The game wasn’t close to playable, the ideas were all over the place and nothing was clear. Disappointed with the state of the development he asked us if we had something that could be done before March, the official closing date of the branch. We remembered the cat idea and with a frown on his face he let us make it. After the first iterations, he was super happy with the project. I make him seem like an asshole but really he’s not so bad (he made me add this part).

Throughout HyperBeard’s history we have paused and canceled many games. This never means that the idea dies, only that it is saved for the future. The pet game was canceled at the time, but KleptoCats was influenced by it and from other games paused in the past. Alchademy, for example, took a lot of inspiration from another game that we developed years ago, mixed with a game that we are about to release soon and with the waiting mechanics of KleptoCats.

Development through iteration

In the beginning, the prototype only had the cat, several objects, and the waiting mechanic. We didn’t know where this game was going, we just started working and ideating with what we had. In three to four weeks we implemented 100 cats, 100+ objects, and the first room. We also added other mechanics like feeding, petting, the mini game, and sounds (that we did ourselves with a mic). With that we decided to soft launch in Mexico and Canada to see if people had any interest in a strange game like KleptoCats.

Thanks to that soft launch we learned a lot and found more things that players wanted in the game. In the next two weeks we added music, accessories, the possibility to change the cats’ names, displaying inactive cats in the background, GemDog, the golden cat, and the object’s descriptions. We also gave ourselves the opportunity to experiment with other ideas. We considered giving the players the ability to place the objects in the room as they wanted. We also considered having different types of cats or even other animals. At the end we decided to continue on the path we already had because it made the most sense for the current game and sometimes the benefits of the ideas didn’t make up for the time we needed to invest.

After the experimentation and the soft launch, we launched globally on March 17, 2016 on iOS and Android. We had valuable feature placement in both stores and a lot of people shared screenshots and more in their social networks. We realized even before we launched that players actually liked sharing stuff about the game.

Not everything went super smoothly, the Android feature got us a lot of attention and with that attention we were flooded with 1 star reviews because the game didn’t work on several low end devices. Those reviews put our game below the 4.0 stars threshold and it was dropped out of the feature. Lucky enough, we managed to work on some optimizations and the game returned to a good position. Now it’s a rated a very respectable 4.5.

KleptoCats’ story and fan theories

If you’re a fan of the game, you’ve probably come across some strange objects that seem to suggest that the game is somewhat more complex than it seems. KleptoCats has a story that is developed while collecting objects. Due to the randomness of the order you may collect the objects, some users may discover it sooner or but for others, it may take a while. The object that makes it very obvious that something is strange, is the mirror.

While we were developing the game, JP (the lead artist) had thought it was a good idea to put a mirror in the center of the room and draw someone tied to a chair in the reflection. That was the origin of the back story. The idea is that the character who is tied up in the mirror, IS the “player” in a certain way. That player is also the voice that describes objects and is the one who experiences what happens in the game. Something that makes the mystery more interesting is that the reflection is only seen when the object is placed. It’s not shown in the catalog and its description says “nothing to see here, just a regular mirror.”

From there we developed the story into the game and added many more objects that took the story to another level, ending with the secret codes hidden in each of the first 4 rooms that, when entered into the safe, open a special secret level for really dedicated fans.

Because of this secrecy, and the way it unfolds differently for each person depending on what objects you find, there are many fans who developed theories about what was going on. A simple Google search reveals several videos, images, and posts with theories. On our side, to keep the lore going, we decided to make a comic that gives a bit more information.

The weirdness of an idle mechanic and the mobile game dev scene

KleptoCats is weird on several levels, but the weirdest thing, by far, is the wait mechanics on which the whole game is based. Most game design strategies are meant to keep your players happy and make them play a lot. In our game we try to have them interested a couple of minutes and then let them leave because there is nothing else to do. The game was designed like a small window to a strange world. Although we make money from the little patience that some players have, we always recommend to wait instead of rushing to find everything.

We didn’t invent the waiting mechanic and we were definitely not the first ones to make an idle collection game with cats (there is Neko Atsume). At first we were criticized for having stolen this other game but, if analyzed, the games are very different. Yes, both have cats, collections and idle mechanics, but how they are played and the purpose of each are very different. I think fans knew to differentiate and appreciate each one for its unique ways.

I think the comparisons happened because both are mobile games, an area of the gaming industry that is not well received. Gamers say that mobile games are not real games, the video game press rarely talks about them, and platform users think that we are only interested in money. Mobile game developers never get respect, and the few times a mobile game catches the attention of the world or the press is because it is making a lot of money. Nobody sees mobile games like the games on console or PC.

The mobile market is a complicated platform. Not only do we get little respect in the industry, we also have to find a way to make money in an ecosystem that refuses to pay and is saturated with free high quality options such as Supercell, King and in recent months Nintendo with IPs like Pokémon and Mario. This topic could be explored even further but for now I do not want to get too distracted.

Passing along to other teammates and combatting momentum

HyperBeard is a small team, when we started KleptoCats we were only 3 people, and now we are 7. The project started with Joe (programmer), JP (artist) and me helping with everything else that was necessary. This team developed the game to the third room. From there we hired a couple more people to add more details and eventually take control of the project. Mario, Marms, and Kyu developed the game from the 4th to the 6th room. The 7th (and those that follow) are currently being developed in collaboration with another branch of the company that owns HyperBeard. Even though to our standards KleptoCats was a success, after months of work and trying to do something new, we found trying to continue the project got tiresome. That’s why we decided after months of working, it was a good idea for the original team to move onto other things while the new members could take it and give it a fresh and different vision. After a month with the new core team, we again decided that it was better to take it to other people. We discovered that it is better to cycle development teams so that it does not feel monotonous and that others can adapt part of their tastes and cultures to the game.

For games like KleptoCats content is very important, it ensures that the app stores pay attention to the game and players stick around and invest in it. Even more important than the content is the people who are working on it, you have to maintain a high morale and also keep the interest of the creators for the project. If you get to lose interest the game will suffer the absence of creativity. That’s why we decided to cycle the development.

The Dupes (duplicated objects)

Having a success doesn’t mean that everything we did was perfect. An example at the beginning of development, due to the randomness of the game, there were many complaints from the players because the cats were bringing repeated objects. Although in the game when this happens we give more coins to the user, we wanted to do something so that the player did not feel like it was a mistake.

To correct the issue, we decided to remove the repeated objects and instead show a bag of money, so it would be more obvious that we were giving more coins. It did not work as expected, although internally the game worked the same, many users complained because by only showing the money bag it was much more obvious when the cat was not giving you a new object.

Not long ago we added another feature to the game where we showed a bubble with the description of the object that the cat brings, because of that, we decided that it was a good idea to return the repeated objects so the user could see again the descriptions that are an important part of the game. Again, it backfired, there were many complaints because the cats were bringing repeated objects and many thought it was a bug in the game.

In all iterations about duplicate objects, things worked exactly the same, the changes were only graphical. Either way the fans always reacted in a negative way, which taught us that sometimes it is better not to pay too much attention to what they say and it is better to see how they act on it.

Merchandise

If you follow us on social networks, you’ve probably seen some pictures of the plushies we made of Guapo (the main cat in KleptoCats). By chance we found a local manufacturer that had some cat plushies that looked very similar to ours and we contacted them to do some tests. We liked the results so much that we shared it online and made a mailing list for anyone interested in getting one. In a couple of weeks, we gathered more than 10,000 subscribers and decided to order 100 units to test.

Selling the plushies was not difficult but we never considered how complicated and expensive it is to send the merchandise to other countries, considering that almost all the fans were from outside Mexico. The entire process took a long time and surely that was more expensive than what we recovered when we sold them. Either way, it was not a bad experience and it was worth it just to see fans from various parts of the world with their KleptoCats plushies.

Besides plushies we did other things, too. A friend helped us with a webcomic that illustrates a bit of the lore of KleptoCats. We also made several stickers to distribute in events and to our friends. The KleptoCats page has a paint tool where you can create KleptoCats and we also have a section of wallpapers for phones and PCs.

KleptoCats Today

The game’s birthday is on March 17th. Today the game has 7 rooms, 280 cats, 844 objects, many accessories to dress the kittens, and is translated into 8 languages. We are still working on the game and a new room will be released soon.

From its first day until its birthday the game has been downloaded more than 6 million times and has generated more than $800,000 (53% from IAPs and 47% from ads). In total, all users have played about 8 million hours, which is almost a thousand years.

We are very happy with the success that KleptoCats has had and in addition to putting HyperBeard on the map, it gives us the money to continue chasing crazy ideas. We are currently developing a couple of ideas and we are getting ready to be publishers for projects similar to ours.

If you read the whole post, thank you very much for your time. If you have any questions or comments, you can always go to my twitter (@fire_tony) or HyperBeard’s (@HyperBeard). On the HyperBeard website you can find more information about our other games and the contact information. Please follow our social networks, on there we are always sharing what we do.

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes

symbianosgames · 8 years ago

Link

By Jamey Pittman

[What design and AI lessons can we learn from Namco's seminal Pac-Man? From history through behavior, Gamasutra presents a comprehensive Jamey Pittman-authored guide to the classic game.]

In 1999, Billy Mitchell of Hollywood, Florida became the first person to obtain a perfect score of 3,333,360 at Pac-Man, eating every possible dot, energizer, ghost, and bonus on every level without losing a single life in the process.

But perhaps what is most amazing is the fact he can play without using any memorized routines widely known as "patterns".

Instead, he relies on his familiarity with how each ghost behaves as it moves through the maze, using that knowledge to keep Pac-Man one step ahead of his enemies at all times.

Unlike Mitchell, most players are only able to rack up high scores with the aid of multiple patterns that take advantage of the game's deterministic nature.

These patterns require perfect memorization and recall to be of any real use - a single hesitation or wrong turn during execution can make the remainder of a pattern useless.

Not surprisingly, an over-reliance on these routines leaves many a player clueless as to how to effectively avoid the ghosts and finish off the remaining dots in the higher levels once a mistake occurs.

Most Pac-Man strategy guides available on the internets today are very similar in content to the books that used to be sold back in the early 80s

A summary of gameplay and scoring is provided first, followed by a list of patterns to be memorized by the reader, but very little insight is offered on how the game works or how the ghosts make decisions.

Therefore, the purpose of this guide is to give the player and game designers a better design understanding of Pac-Man by taking a closer look at gameplay, maze logic, ghost personalities, and the mysterious "split screen" level.

All information provided has been extracted from or verified with the disassembly output from the Midway Pac-Man arcade ROMs along with controlled observations of actual gameplay. As such, I have a high confidence in its accuracy.

That said, if you notice an error or omission, please contact me so it can be corrected as soon as possible. I hope you find the information just as interesting and useful as I did for gaining a better understanding of this classic game.

Special thanks to Don Hodges (www.donhodges.com) whose invaluable contributions to this guide can be found in every chapter.

"I don't have any particular interest in [computers]. I'm interested in creating images that communicate with people. A computer is not the only medium that uses images; I could use the movies or television or any other visual medium. It just so happens I use the computer."-Toru Iwatani

It was 1977 when a self-taught, capable young man named Toru Iwatani came to work for Namco Limited, a Tokyo-based amusement manufacturer whose main product lines at the time were projection-based amusement rides and light gun shooting galleries.

He was just 22 years old with no formal training in computers, visual arts, or graphic design, but his creativity and aptitude for game design were obvious to the Namco executives that met with Iwatani. They offered to hire him-with assurances they would find a place for him in the company-and he accepted.

Iwatani eventually found his place designing titles for Namco's new video games division. His limited computer skills necessitated his being paired with a programmer who would write the actual code while Iwatani took on the role of game designer for the project.

This was a new job for the game industry in 1977 when most games were designed by the programmers who coded them. In addition to a programmer, Iwatani's team would usually include a hardware engineer to develop the various devices and components, a graphic artist to realize his visual ideas, and a music composer for any music and sound effects needed in the game.

Iwatani had initially wanted to work on pinball machines, but Namco had no interest in the pinball business. Perhaps as a concession, his first game design, called Gee Bee, was a paddle game similar to Atari's Breakout but with a decidedly pinball-inspired slant to the gameplay.

Released in 1978, it was Namco's first original video game-they had only ported existing Atari games to the Japanese market up to this point-and it enjoyed moderate success in the arcades.

But the paddle games were losing ground fast to a new genre. The unprecedented success of Taito's Space Invaders in 1978 caused an industry-wide shift toward space-themed, shoot-'em-up games (as well as a national coin shortage in Japan).

Game manufacturers scrambled to match Taito's success with space shooters of their own. Namco was quick to follow suit, assigning a team to start work on a Space Invaders clone at once. It was around this time that Toru Iwatani began thinking about designing a different kind of game. He felt the shoot-'em-up craze was destined to fade away like the paddle games before them.

Rather than make another space shooter, Toru wanted to take his game design in a completely new direction that did not focus on violence or conflict, and would appeal to both male and female audiences.

He took inspiration from a children's story about a creature that protected children from monsters by eating them. One of Iwatani's design methods included taking key words associated with a story to aid in developing his ideas. The kanji word taberu ("to eat"), became the premise for the game.

The word kuchi ("mouth") has a square shape for its kanji symbol and provided the inspiration for the game's main character-the better-known legend of Iwatani receiving his inspiration from a pizza pie with a slice missing was, by his own admission, not entirely correct:

"Well, it's half true. In Japanese the character for mouth (kuchi) is a square shape. It's not circular like the pizza, but I decided to round it out. There was the temptation to make the Pac-Man shape less simple. While I was designing this game, someone suggested we add eyes. But we eventually discarded that idea because once we added eyes, we would want to add glasses and maybe a moustache. There would just be no end to it.

Food is the other part of the basic concept. In my initial design, I had put the player in the midst of food all over the screen. As I thought about it, I realized the player wouldn't know exactly what to do: the purpose of the game would be obscure. So I created a maze and put the food in it. Then whoever played the game would have some structure by moving through the maze.

The Japanese have a slang word-paku paku-they use to describe the motion of the mouth opening and closing while one eats. The name Puck-Man came from that word."

-Toru Iwatani

The monsters from the children's story were included as four ghosts that chase the player through the maze, providing an element of tension. Attacks on the player were designed to come in waves (similar to Space Invaders) as opposed to an endless assault, and each ghost was given an unique personality and character.

The children's story also included the concept of kokoro ("spirit") or a life force used by the creature that allowed him to eat the monsters. Toru incorporated this aspect of the story as four edible power pellets in the maze that turn the tables on the ghosts, making them vulnerable to being eaten by the player.

With a name and a basic design in place, Iwatani was ready to begin work. The team Namco assigned Iwatani to bring Puck-Man to life included a programmer (Shigeo Funaki), a hardware engineer, a cabinet designer, and a music composer (Toshio Kai).

Development got underway in early 1979. In the course of that year, two new pinball-themed designs from Iwatani-Bomb Bee and Cutie Q-were both released during Puck-Man's development cycle. Both games were similar to Gee Bee but with stronger gameplay and improved visuals.

The Namco team working on the Space Invaders clone for the past several months had just achieved a technological coup for Namco: the first game to use a true, multi-colored, RGB display instead of the monochrome monitors with colored cellophane tape so prevalent at the time.

Thanks to the breakthrough of the other team, Iwatani now had the new promise of color to enhance his design. Mindful that he wanted the game to appeal to women, he immediately decided to use it on the ghosts, choosing pastel shades for the bodies and adding expressive, blue eyes. Dark blue was used for the maze itself, while Puck-Man was drenched in a brilliant yellow.

The look and feel of Puck-Man continued to evolve for over a year. A large amount of time and effort was put into developing the ghosts unique movement patterns through the maze and tweaking the game difficulty variables as boards were cleared.

Bonus symbols (including the Galaxian flagship) were added into the mix at some point, and the ghosts were finally given names: Akabei, Pinky, Aosuke, and Guzuta. Sound effects and music were some of the final touches added as development neared an end along with constant tweaking of the ghosts' behavior.

Puck-Man's creation was a year and five months in the making-the longest ever for a video game to that point. Finally, on May 22nd, 1980, it was released to arcades in Japan. Initially, the game did moderately well, but was no overnight sensation.

In fact, Namco's multi-colored Space Invaders clone, called Galaxian, was much more popular with the gaming public-the predominately male, game-playing audience in Japan was unsure what to make of Puck-Man with its cartoon-like characters, maze, and pastel colors, whereas Galaxian was more immediately familiar to them with its shoot-'em-up space theme.

Midway was a distributor of coin-operated video games in the U.S. that was always looking for the next big hit from Japan to license and bring to America. They opted for both Puck-Man and Galaxian, modifying the cabinets and artwork to make them easier to manufacture as well as providing a more American look and feel.

Puck-Man went through the majority of the changes: the cabinet was modified slightly, changing the color from white to a bright yellow to make it stand out in the arcade. The detailed, multi-colored cabinet artwork was replaced with cheaper-to-produce, three-color artwork illustrating an iconic representation of Puck-Man (now drawn with eyes and feet) and one blue ghost.

English names were given to the ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde), and the Namco title was changed to Midway. The most significant change to Puck-Man was the name. Midway feared it would be too easy for nasty-minded vandals to change the P in Puck-Man to an F, creating an unsavory epithet.

Not wanting their product associated with this word, Midway renamed the game Pac-Man before releasing it to American arcades in October 1980.

But the situation in America was reversed from Japan for these two titles. Galaxian got lost in the shuffle of the shoot-'em-up craze that blanketed America's arcades and, by the fall of 1980, it was already competing with more advanced video games like Defender.

In the end, Galaxian enjoyed moderate success in America and in Japan, but was never the smash hit the original Space Invaders was. Pac-Man was another story. There were no games to compare it to-it was in a genre all by itself. The bright yellow cabinet, visuals, and sounds drew a great deal of attention. No one had seen a game quite like this before.

The addictive gameplay and challenge of increasing levels of difficulty kept the die-hard gamers more than happy, while the simplicity of the game appealed to younger children. The lack of war-like motifs and violence did as Iwatani had hoped and attracted a sizable female audience-a first for a video game. Even the parents wary of the violence-themed arcade games had no problem with their kids playing as cute and innocuous a game as Pac-Man.

Pac-Man went on to capture the world's imagination like nothing before or since. It was a genuine phenomenon on a global scale, selling over 100,000 machines in its first year alone. Easy to learn but notoriously difficult to master, everyone from school children to Wall Street executives dropped quarter after quarter into an ever-increasing number of waiting Pac-Man machines.

By 1982, Pac-Man merchandise was literally everywhere: t-shirts, hats, keychains, wrist bands, bedsheets, air fresheners, wall clocks, drinking glasses, trading cards, stickers, cereal boxes, comic books-even a Saturday morning cartoon.

A novelty song called "Pac-Man Fever" received significant radio play, reaching number nine on the U.S. Billboard charts. Many books were written offering tips and tricks used by the best players to achieve high scores-the first-ever strategy guides published for a video game.

Fast-forward to nearly thirty years later: Pac-Man remains the best-selling coin-operated video game in history. Still considered the most widely-recognized video game character in the U.S., his likeness has been licensed to over 250 companies for over 400 products.

His namesake has been adopted by the business world to describe a way to defend against a hostile takeover (the defending company swallows up the larger company instead in a move known as the "Pac-Man defense"). There is even an upright Pac-Man machine on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Unlike the majority of his early-80s contemporaries, new Pac-Man games are still in development today. Most recently, Pac-Man Championship Edition was released in 2007 for the X-Box 360 console with the aid of Namco game designer Toru Iwatani.

Interest in the original coin-op title has never completely faded, thankfully. Thanks to Namco's re-release of Pac-Man and other arcade classics for modern home consoles, new generations of Pac-addicts have worn their hands out playing a game often older than themselves.

Many classic titles are also kept alive thanks to the advent of high-quality arcade emulators available for the home computer (like MAME) that use a software copy of the arcade ROM chips to recreate the game with 100% accuracy. Several web pages with information about the original Pac-Man arcade game can be found online including Wikipedia and the Killer List Of Video Games.

"As Pac-Man was originally conceived to appeal to women players, it is a very easy and approachable game. I believe that is an ingredient in the longevity of the game."-Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man

The Basics

The premise of Pac-Man is delightfully simple: using a four-way joystick, the player guides Pac-Man-up, down, left, and right-through a maze filled with dots for him to gobble up. Four ghost monsters are also in the maze and chase after our hero, trying to capture and kill him.

The goal is to clear the maze of dots while avoiding the deadly ghosts. Each round starts with the ghosts in the "monster pen" at the center of the maze, emerging from it to join in the chase.

If Pac-Man is captured by a ghost, a life is lost, the ghosts are returned to their pen, and a new Pac-Man is placed at the starting position before play continues. When the maze is cleared of all dots, the board is reset, and a new round begins. If Pac-Man gets caught by a ghost when he has no extra lives, the game is over.

There are 244 dots in the maze, and Pac-Man must eat them all in order to proceed to the next round. The 240 small dots are worth ten points each, and the four large, flashing dots - best known as energizers - are worth 50 points each.

This yields a total of 2,600 points for clearing the maze of dots each round. Players have two ways to increase their score beyond what is earned from eating dots:

The first way to increase your score each round is by turning the tables on your enemies by making them your prey. Whenever Pac-Man eats one of the four energizer dots located in the corners of the maze, the ghosts reverse their direction and, in early levels, turn the same shade of blue for a short period of time before returning to normal.

While blue, they are vulnerable to Pac-Man and can be gobbled up for extra points providing they are caught before the time expires. After being eaten, a ghost's eyes will return to the monster pen where it is resurrected, exiting to chase Pac-Man once again.

The first ghost captured after an energizer has been eaten is always worth 200 points. Each additional ghost captured from the same energizer will then be worth twice as many points as the one before it-400, 800, and 1,600 points, respectively. If all four ghosts are captured at all four energizers, an additional 12,000 points can be earned on these earlier levels. This should not prove too terribly difficult to achieve for the first few rounds as the ghosts initially remain blue for several seconds.

Soon after, however, the ghosts' "blue time" will get reduced to one or two seconds at the most, making it much more problematic to capture all four before time runs out on these boards. By level 19, the ghosts stop turning blue altogether and can no longer be eaten for additional points.

The second way to increase your score each round is by eating the bonus symbols (commonly known as fruit) that appear directly below the monster pen twice each round for additional points. The first bonus fruit appears after 70 dots have been cleared from the maze; the second one appears after 170 dots are cleared.

Each fruit is worth anywhere from 100 to 5,000 points, depending on what level the player is currently on. Whenever a fruit appears, the amount of time it stays on the screen before disappearing is always between nine and ten seconds. The exact duration (i.e., 9.3333 seconds, 10.0 seconds, 9.75 seconds, etc.) is variable and does not become predictable with the use of patterns. In other words, executing the same pattern on the same level twice is no guarantee for how long the bonus fruit will stay onscreen each time.

This usually goes unnoticed given that the majority of patterns are designed to eat the bonus fruit as quickly as possible after it has been triggered to appear. The symbols used for the last six rounds completed, plus the current round are also shown along the bottom edge of the screen (often called the fruit counter or level counter). See Table A.1 in the appendices for all bonus fruit and scoring values, per level.

Ghosts have three mutually-exclusive modes of behavior they can be in during play: chase, scatter, and frightened. Each mode has a different objective/goal to be carried out:

CHASE - A ghost's objective in chase mode is to find and capture Pac-Man by hunting him down through the maze. Each ghost exhibits unique behavior when chasing Pac-Man, giving them their different personalities: Blinky (red) is very aggressive and hard to shake once he gets behind you, Pinky (pink) tends to get in front of you and cut you off, Inky (light blue) is the least predictable of the bunch, and Clyde (orange) seems to do his own thing and stay out of the way.

SCATTER - In scatter mode, the ghosts give up the chase for a few seconds and head for their respective home corners. It is a welcome but brief rest-soon enough, they will revert to chase mode and be after Pac-Man again.

FRIGHTENED - Ghosts enter frightened mode whenever Pac-Man eats one of the four energizers located in the far corners of the maze. During the early levels, the ghosts will all turn dark blue (meaning they are vulnerable) and aimlessly wander the maze for a few seconds. They will flash moments before returning to their previous mode of behavior.

Reversal Of Fortune

In all three modes of behavior, the ghosts are prohibited from reversing their direction of travel. As such, they can only choose between continuing on their current course or turning off to one side or the other at the next intersection. Thus, once a ghost chooses which way to go at a maze intersection, it has no option but to continue forward on that path until the next intersection is reached.

Of course, if you've spent any time playing Pac-Man, you already know the ghosts will reverse direction at certain times. But how can this be if they are expressly prohibited from doing so on their own? The answer is: when changing modes, the system can override the ghosts' normal behavior, forcing them to go the opposite way. Whenever this happens, it is a visual indicator of their behavior changing from one mode to another.

Ghosts are forced to reverse direction by the system anytime the mode changes from: chase-to-scatter, chase-to-frightened, scatter-to-chase, and scatter-to-frightened. Ghosts do not reverse direction when changing back from frightened to chase or scatter modes.

When the system forces the ghosts to reverse course, they do not necessarily change direction simultaneously; some ghosts may continue forward for a fraction of a second before turning around.

The delay between when the system signals a reversal and when a ghost actually responds depends on how long it takes the ghost to enter the next game tile along its present course after the reversal signal is given (more on tiles in Chapter 3). Once the ghost enters a new tile, it will obey the reversal signal and turn around.

Scatter, Chase, Repeat...

Ghosts alternate between scatter and chase modes during gameplay at predetermined intervals. These mode changes are easy to spot as the ghosts simultaneously reverse direction when they occur. Scatter modes happen four times per level before the ghosts stay in chase mode indefinitely.

Good players will take full advantage of the scatter periods by using the brief moment when the ghosts are not chasing Pac-Man to clear dots from the more dangerous areas of the maze. The scatter/chase timer gets reset whenever a life is lost or a level is completed. At the start of a level or after losing a life, ghosts emerge from the ghost pen already in the first of the four scatter modes.

For the first four levels, the first two scatter periods last for seven seconds each. They change to five seconds each for level five and beyond. The third scatter mode is always set to five seconds. The fourth scatter period lasts for five seconds on level one, but then is only 1/60th of a second for the rest of play. When this occurs, it appears as a simple reversal of direction by the ghosts.

The first and second chase periods last for 20 seconds each. The third chase period is 20 seconds on level one but then balloons to 1,033 seconds for levels two through four, and 1,037 seconds for all levels beyond-lasting over 17 minutes! If the ghosts enter frightened mode, the scatter/chase timer is paused.

When time runs out, they return to the mode they were in before being frightened and the scatter/chase timer resumes. This information is summarized in the following table (all values are in seconds):

Mode

Level 1

Levels 2-4

Levels 5+

Scatter

Chase

Scatter

Chase

Scatter

Chase

1033

1037

Scatter

1/60

Chase

indefinite

Frightening Behavior

Anytime Pac-Man eats one of the four energizers on the level, the ghosts reverse direction and, on earlier levels, go into frightened mode. Frightened ghosts turn dark blue and wander about the maze for a few moments, flashing briefly as a warning before returning to normal. Ghosts use a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) to pick a way to turn at each intersection when frightened.

The PRNG generates an pseudo-random memory address to read the last few bits from. These bits are translated into the direction a frightened ghost must first try. If a wall blocks the chosen direction, the ghost then attempts the remaining directions in this order: up, left, down, and right, until a passable direction is found. The PRNG gets reset with an identical seed value every new level and every new life, causing predictable results.

This is why the frightened ghosts' movements are repeatable in the context of a memorized pattern or sequence. As the levels progress, the time ghosts spend in frightened mode grows shorter until eventually they no longer turn blue at all (they still reverse direction). Refer to Table A.1 in the appendices for the frightened time in seconds and number of flashes, per level.

Speed

The game starts with Pac-Man at 80% of his maximum speed. By the fifth level, Pac-Man is moving at full speed and will continue to do so until the 21st level. At that point, he slows back down to 90% and holds this speed for the remainder of the game. Every time Pac-Man eats a regular dot, he stops moving for one frame (1/60th of a second), slowing his progress by roughly ten percent-just enough for a following ghost to overtake him.

Eating an energizer dot causes Pac-Man to stop moving for three frames. The normal speed maintained by the ghosts is a little slower than Pac-Man's until the 21st level when they start moving faster than he does. If a ghost enters a side tunnel, however, its speed is cut nearly in half.

When frightened, ghosts move at a much slower rate of speed than normal and, for levels one through four, Pac-Man also speeds up. The table below summarizes the speed data for both Pac-Man and the ghosts, per level. This information is also contained in Table A.1 in the appendices.

PAC-MAN SPEED

GHOST SPEED

LEVEL

NORM

NORM DOTS

FRIGHT

FRIGHT DOTS

NORM

FRIGHT

TUNNEL

80%

71%

90%

79%

75%

50%

40%

2 - 4

90%

79%

95%

83%

85%

55%

45%

5 - 20

100%

87%

100%

87%

95%

60%

50%

21+

90%

79%

95%

50%

Cornering

Pac-Man is able to navigate the turns in the maze faster than his enemies. He does not have to wait until he reaches the middle of a turn to change direction as the ghosts do (see picture below). Instead, he may start turning several pixels before he reaches the center of a turn and for several pixels after passing it.

Turns taken one or more pixels before reaching the center are "pre-turns"; turns taken one or more pixels after are "post-turns". Players learn to consistently move the joystick in the direction Pac-Man should go well before arriving at the center of a turn, ensuring each pre-turn is started as many pixels away from center as possible.

This technique is known as cornering and is one of the first skills a new Pac-Man player should master. For every successful pre-turn maneuver, Pac-Man puts a little more distance between himself and any ghosts following close behind.

Such a small gain in distance may not seem terribly significant at first, but cornering through a quick series of turns will shake off even the most determined pursuer. It is a vital tool for survival in the higher levels of the game.

Whenever Pac-Man makes a pre-turn or post-turn, his orientation changes, and he starts to move one pixel in his new direction for every pixel traveled in his old direction, effectively doubling his speed as he moves at a 45 degree angle. Once he reaches the centerline of the new direction's path, he starts moving purely in that direction and his speed returns to normal.

The greatest distance advantage is thereby gained by making the earliest pre-turn possible. The illustration below shows the layout of pre-turn pixels (shown in green), center point pixels (shown in yellow), and post-turn pixels (shown in red) for each of the four possible directions a turn can be approached. Each example shows Pac-Man entering the same four-way intersection from a different direction.

When entering from the left, there are three pre-turn pixels before the center of the turn, and four post-turn pixels. Conversely, entering the same intersection from the right yields four pre-turn pixels and three post-turn ones. Entering from the top as opposed to the bottom exhibits the same property.

For any turn that is made later than the earliest possible pre-turn, Pac-Man will be one frame behind where he would be for every pixel of "lateness" in the turn. Basically, it pays to move the joystick well before reaching a turn to maximize your speed.

(click image for full size)

Turning at the earliest pre-turns possible is also required to successfully execute most any pattern. Patterns are meant to be played with perfect cornering because it removes the human element of uncertainty as to when Pac-Man will turn. Without cornering, it would be nigh-impossible to reproduce the exact timing of every turn as made by the pattern's author, thereby increasing the possibility of unpredictable ghost behavior due to Pac-Man not being in the exact same tile at the exact same time anymore.

Typically, the most popular patterns have been those that tend to "hold together" well when small input timing flaws occur (turning three pixels away from center instead of four when approaching a turn from the right is a timing flaw, for example). Other patterns-especially those that bring Pac-Man very close to the ghosts late in the sequence-tend to "fall apart" unless every turn is perfectly cornered.

During a long Pac-Man session, even the best players will make occasional timing mistakes during a fast series of turns and have to deal with the possible consequences. As such, one should aim for perfect cornering at all times but remain alert for unexpected ghost behavior from subtle input timing flaws creeping into the pattern.

Home Sweet Home

Commonly referred to as the ghost house or monster pen, this cordoned-off area in the center of the maze is the domain of the four ghosts and off-limits to Pac-Man.

Whenever a level is completed or a life is lost, the ghosts are returned to their starting positions in and around the ghost house before play continues-Blinky is always located just above and outside, while the other three are placed inside: Inky on the left, Pinky in the middle, and Clyde on the right.

The pink door on top is used by the ghosts to enter or exit the house. Once a ghost leaves, however, it cannot reenter unless it is first captured by Pac-Man-then the disembodied eyes can return home to be revived. Since Blinky is already on the outside after a level is completed or a life is lost, the only time he can get inside the ghost house is after Pac-Man captures him, and he immediately turns around to leave once revived.

That's about all there is to know about Blinky's behavior in terms of the ghost house, but determining when the other three ghosts leave home is an involved process based on several variables and conditions. The rest of this section will deal with them exclusively. Accordingly, any mention of "the ghosts" below refers to Pinky, Inky, and Clyde, but not Blinky.

The first control used to evaluate when the ghosts leave home is a personal counter each ghost retains for tracking the number of dots Pac-Man eats. Each ghost's "dot counter" is reset to zero when a level begins and can only be active when inside the ghost house, but only one ghost's counter can be active at any given time regardless of how many ghosts are inside.

The order of preference for choosing which ghost's counter to activate is: Pinky, then Inky, and then Clyde. For every dot Pac-Man eats, the preferred ghost in the house (if any) gets its dot counter increased by one. Each ghost also has a "dot limit" associated with his counter, per level.

If the preferred ghost reaches or exceeds his dot limit, it immediately exits the house and its dot counter is deactivated (but not reset). The most-preferred ghost still waiting inside the house (if any) activates its timer at this point and begins counting dots.

Pinky's dot limit is always set to zero, causing him to leave home immediately when every level begins. For the first level, Inky has a limit of 30 dots, and Clyde has a limit of 60. This results in Pinky exiting immediately which, in turn, activates Inky's dot counter. His counter must then reach or exceed 30 dots before he can leave the house.

Once Inky starts to leave, Clyde's counter (which is still at zero) is activated and starts counting dots. When his counter reaches or exceeds 60, he may exit. On the second level, Inky's dot limit is changed from 30 to zero, while Clyde's is changed from 60 to 50. Inky will exit the house as soon as the level begins from now on.

Starting at level three, all the ghosts have a dot limit of zero for the remainder of the game and will leave the ghost house immediately at the start of every level.

Whenever a life is lost, the system disables (but does not reset) the ghosts' individual dot counters and uses a global dot counter instead. This counter is enabled and reset to zero after a life is lost, counting the number of dots eaten from that point forward.

The three ghosts inside the house must wait for this special counter to tell them when to leave. Pinky is released when the counter value is equal to 7 and Inky is released when it equals 17. The only way to deactivate the counter is for Clyde to be inside the house when the counter equals 32; otherwise, it will keep counting dots even after the ghost house is empty.

If Clyde is present at the appropriate time, the global counter is reset to zero and deactivated, and the ghosts' personal dot limits are re-enabled and used as before for determining when to leave the house (including Clyde who is still in the house at this time).

If dot counters were the only control, Pac-Man could simply stop eating dots early on and keep the ghosts trapped inside the house forever. Consequently, a separate timer control was implemented to handle this case by tracking the amount of time elapsed since Pac-Man has last eaten a dot. This timer is always running but gets reset to zero each time a dot is eaten.

Anytime Pac-Man avoids eating dots long enough for the timer to reach its limit, the most-preferred ghost waiting in the ghost house (if any) is forced to leave immediately, and the timer is reset to zero. The same order of preference described above is used by this control as well. The game begins with an initial timer limit of four seconds, but lowers to it to three seconds starting with level five.

The more astute reader may have already noticed there is subtle flaw in this system resulting in a way to keep Pinky, Inky, and Clyde inside the ghost house for a very long time after eating them. The trick involves having to sacrifice a life in order to reset and enable the global dot counter, and then making sure Clyde exits the house before that counter is equal to 32.

This is accomplished by avoiding eating dots and waiting for the timer limit to force Clyde out. Once Clyde is moving for the exit, start eating dots again until at least 32 dots have been consumed since the life was lost. Now head for an energizer and gobble up some ghosts. Blinky will leave the house immediately as usual, but the other three ghosts will remain "stuck" inside as long as Pac-Man continues eating dots with sufficient frequency as not to trigger the control timer.

Why does this happen? The key lies in how the global dot counter works-it cannot be deactivated if Clyde is outside the house when the counter has a value of 32. By letting the timer force Clyde out before 32 dots are eaten, the global dot counter will keep counting dots instead of deactivating when it reaches 32. Now when the ghosts are eaten by Pac-Man and return home, they will still be using the global dot counter to determine when to leave.

As previously described, however, this counter's logic only checks for three values: 7, 17, and 32, and once those numbers are exceeded, the counter has no way to release the ghosts associated with them. The only control left to release the ghosts is the timer which can be easily avoided by eating a dot every so often to reset it. Click on the YouTube video below to see a demonstration of this curious behavior:

The last thing to mention about the ghost house is how to determine whether a ghost will move right or left after exiting the home. Ghosts typically move to the left once they get outside, but if the system changes modes one or more times when a ghost is inside, that ghost will move to the right instead of the left upon leaving the house.

Areas To Exploit

The illustration above highlights four special "zones" in the maze where ghost behavior is limited by certain conditions which can be exploited to the player's advantage. The two red zones represent the areas where ghosts are forbidden to make upward turns. Once a ghost enters either of these two zones, it may only travel from right-to-left or left-to-right until exiting the area.

Thus, only Pac-Man has access to these four, upward-facing tunnel entrances. It will serve the player well to remember the ghosts can still access these tunnels from the other end! The red zone restrictions are enforced during both scatter and chase modes, but in frightened mode the red zones are ignored temporarily, allowing the ghosts to turn upwards if they so choose.

The pink zones are in the two halves of the connecting side-tunnel. As mentioned previously, any ghost that enters the tunnel will suffer an immediate speed penalty until leaving the zone. This slow-down rule is always enforced and applies to ghosts only-Pac-Man is immune.

We need to take a look at how ghosts are able to move through the maze in pursuit of a goal. All pathfinding logic described in this chapter is shared by the four ghosts - it is important to understand what they have in common before we get into what makes them different.

Before we proceed, let's see how the game tracks the location of Pac-Man and the four ghosts (herein referred to as actors for brevity's sake). The visible game screen should be thought of as a regular grid of tiles, each eight pixels square.

The actual pixel dimensions of the screen are 224 x 288, so dividing each value by eight yields a grid that is 28 x 36 tiles in size.

Each tile is either in legal space or dead space. In the picture above, legal space is shown as the gray-colored tiles; all other tiles are considered dead space.

Actors only travel between the tiles in legal space. Each dot sits in the center of a tile, meaning they are exactly eight pixels (one tile) apart-this is useful for estimating distances during gameplay:

What Tile Am I In?

As the actors move through the maze, the game keeps track of the tile each one occupies. An actor is only associated with a single tile at a time, although its graphic will overlap into the surrounding tiles. The location of the actor's center point is what determines the tile it occupies at any given time. As the actors can move at pixel-level precision, they are often not centered directly on top of the tile they are in. Consider the following example:

(click image for full size)

The transparent red ghost is moving left-to-right across a row of tiles in legal space. In frame one, its occupied tile (shown in bright red) is near the left side of the picture. It does not matter that some of the ghost's graphic is not in the tile-what matters is that the ghost's center point is in the tile.

By frame two, it has moved far enough for its center point to be in the adjacent tile to the right and its occupied tile is updated accordingly. The ghost continues to be associated with the same tile until frame six where its center point has now crossed over into the next one.

The underlying concept of tiles is essential for understanding the ghosts' pathfinding logic as it only cares about the tile an actor occupies-not its per-pixel location within that tile. To the logic routines, the five actors look very much like the picture below.

Each actor is defined by the tile it presently occupies along with its current direction of travel. Distances between actors are also measured in tiles (the pink ghost is five tiles away from Pac-Man horizontally and one tile away vertically, for example).

Just Passing Through

It wasn't too long after the release of Pac-Man when word began to spread of players occasionally passing straight through a ghost unharmed, seemingly at random. This rumor turned out to be completely true as most die-hard Pac-Man players can attest.

If you play the game long enough, you will eventually see Pac-Man run into one of the ghosts and come out unscathed on the other side-it doesn't happen very often so enjoy it when it does! Some players have even gone so far as to incorporate this mysterious pass-through oddity into their patterns.

The root cause of this elusive peculiarity lies in the way the game detects collisions between Pac-Man and the four ghosts. Any time Pac-Man occupies the same tile as a ghost, he is considered to have collided with that ghost and a life is lost.

It is irrelevant whether the ghost moved into Pac-Man's tile or Pac-Man into the ghost's-the result is the same either way. This logic proves sufficient for handling collisions more than 99% of the time during gameplay, but does not account for one very special case:

The above picture illustrates the conditions necessary to produce this curious behavior. There are five consecutive frames showing Blinky and Pac-Man passing through each other. Below each frame is the same scene represented by the tiles they currently occupy and the per-pixel location of their center points. Pac-Man and Blinky are at just the right position and speed relative to one another to cause them to swap tiles with each other simultaneously.

In other words, Pac-Man's center point moves upwards into Blinky's tile in the same 1/60th of a second that Blinky's center point moves downwards into Pac-Man's tile, resulting in them moving past each other without colliding. Note that Pac-Man's origin point is centered on the top edge of his tile in frame four; this is still considered to be inside the bottom tile, but moving up one more pixel will push him over the edge into the next one.

Pac-Man and Blinky have now swapped tiles with each other in frame five, and Pac-Man can go on his merry way because he never "collided" (i.e., shared the same tile) with Blinky at all! Click on the YouTube video below to see an example of the pass-through bug (it happens 40 seconds after playback begins):

Target Tiles

Whenever a ghost is in chase or scatter mode, it is trying to reach a target tile somewhere on (or off) the screen. A target tile is merely a way to describe the tile a ghost would like to occupy at any given moment.

This tile can be fixed in place or change location frequently. Whenever the ghosts scatter to the corners of the maze, for example, each ghost is striving to reach a fixed target tile located somewhere near its home corner.

In chase mode, the target tile is usually (but not always) related to Pac-Man's current tile which changes often. Although it may not be obvious at first, the only difference between chase and scatter mode to a ghost is where its target tile is located. The same pathfinding logic applies in either case.

Looking Ahead

Ghosts are always thinking one step into the future as they move through the maze. Whenever a ghost enters a new tile, it looks ahead to the next tile along its current direction of travel and decides which way it will go when it gets there.

When it eventually reaches that tile, it will change its direction of travel to whatever it had decided on a tile beforehand. The process is then repeated, looking ahead into the next tile along its new direction of travel and making its next decision on which way to go.

When a ghost looks ahead into the upcoming tile, it must examine the possible exits from that tile to determine a way to proceed. In the picture below, the red ghost has just arrived at tile A and is moving right-to-left. It immediately looks ahead to tile B (the next tile along its direction of travel).

Each tile has four potential exits to be considered: right, left, up, and down. In the case of tile B, the up and down exits are blocked by walls and must be discarded as potential candidates. The right exit is also discounted because it would only take the ghost back to tile A again, and ghosts never voluntarily reverse direction. With three of the four possible exits eliminated from tile B, moving left is the only remaining choice.

This example is the most simple to explain as the ghost has but one way it can legally move. As such, we did not have to worry about where its target tile was located. The majority of game tiles in legal space are similar to this one, but things get more interesting when a ghost approaches a tile with more potential exits to choose from.

Intersections

When a ghost arrives one tile away from an upcoming intersection, it must choose between several possible directions in which to proceed. Consider the following example:

(click image for full size)

In the first picture, the red ghost has just reached tile A and is seeking its target (shown as the green tile). It immediately looks ahead to the subsequent tile along its present direction of travel (up). In this case, that tile is a four-way intersection. As this intersection tile has no walls blocking off any of the exits, the ghost can only discard his reverse direction (down), leaving three exits open for travel.

It looks one tile beyond the intersection in each of the three remaining directions, collecting "test tiles" (shown as the tiles with dashed, white lines). In the middle picture, the ghost triangulates the distance from each of these test tiles to its target tile.

Whichever direction's test tile has the shortest distance to the target becomes the direction the ghost will take upon reaching the intersection tile. In this case, the right test tile has the shortest distance to the target, and the ghost updates its chosen direction for the intersection tile accordingly.

Sometimes a ghost is presented with two or more test tiles that have the same distance to the target tile. In the example below, the red ghost must choose between moving down or left at the upcoming intersection tile. Unfortunately, both test tiles have the same distance to the target (bottom left).

To break the tie, the ghost prefers directions in this order: up, left, down, right. Up is the most preferred direction; right is the least. Therefore, the ghost chooses to go left at the intersection because left precedes down in the preference list. Although it may seem obvious to a person that going down was the better choice to reach the target, ghosts are not that smart. They cannot see more than a few tiles ahead and, as a consequence, cannot recognize the disparity between these two options.

Scatter Targets

As mentioned before, each ghost has a fixed target tile it is trying to reach in scatter mode. The picture below shows the actual tile used by each ghost. Notice each target tile is in dead space on either the top or bottom edge of the screen. As such, the ghosts will never be able to reach them.

Luckily, a ghost does not care if its goal is attainable or not-the A.I. routines are very short-sighted. All a ghost cares about is following the pathfinding logic described above to make the best choice it can on which way to turn at the next tile.

As a result, it will simply make circles in the area of the maze nearest its target tile until the target is set to some other location. That's all scatter mode really is. The only reason a ghost has a "favorite corner" of the maze at all is due to the location of a target tile it will never reach.

"First, you've got to learn how to control the monsters. See how the red, pink and blue are grouped together? It's easier to control two monsters than four."-Billy Mitchell, champion Pac-Man player

In the last chapter, we learned how a ghost follows a target tile through the maze. Now we will take a closer look at Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde to better understand why they behave so differently when in chase mode. They all share the same pathfinding logic for chasing a target tile, so how is it each one behaves differently when following Pac-Man?

The answer is delightfully simple: Pac-Man's tile is not always the target. Every ghost has a distinct method for calculating its target tile in chase mode, resulting in their unique personalities. Some of the ghosts use Pac-Man's actual tile as the target; others only use it as an intermediate step to find another tile.

Sometimes a ghost is targeting a tile that has absolutely nothing to do with Pac-Man at all! Regardless of where a ghost's target tile is at the time, Pac-Man will still be killed if he gets in that ghost's way.

Rumor has it Toru Iwatani and his team spent months doing nothing but tweaking and refining the ghost A.I. routines before releasing Pac-Man to the world. Their efforts show in the final product: Itawani's team created the illusion of complex pathfinding by using very simple logic and very little code.

Blinky: The red ghost's character is aptly described as that of a shadow and is best-known as "Blinky". In Japan, his character is represented by the word oikake, which means "to run down or pursue". Blinky seems to always be the first of the ghosts to track Pac-Man down in the maze. He is by far the most aggressive of the four and will doggedly pursue Pac-Man once behind him.

Of all the ghosts' targeting schemes for chase mode, Blinky's is the most simple and direct, using Pac-Man's current tile as his target. In the pictures above, we can see Blinky's target tile is the same as Pac-Man's currently occupied tile. Targeting Pac-Man directly in this way results in a very determined and tenacious ghost who is tough to shake when he's right behind you.

All ghosts move at the same rate of speed when a level begins, but Blinky will increase his rate of speed twice each round based on the number of dots remaining in the maze. While in this accelerated state, Blinky is commonly called "Cruise Elroy", yet no one seems to know where this custom was originated or what it means.

On the first level, for example, Blinky becomes Elroy when there are 20 dots remaining in the maze, accelerating to be at least as fast as Pac-Man. More importantly, his scatter mode behavior is also modified to target Pac-Man's tile in lieu of his typical fixed target tile for any remaining scatter periods in the level.

This causes Elroy to chase Pac-Man while the other three ghosts continue to scatter as normal. As if that weren't bad enough, when only 10 dots remain, Elroy speeds up again to the point where he is now perceptibly faster than Pac-Man.

If a life is lost any time after Blinky has become Elroy, he will revert back to his normal behavior and speed when play resumes, heading for his home corner during the initial scatter period. But once the last ghost (Clyde) has left the ghost house in the middle of the board, he will turn back into Elroy again.

Keep in mind: he is still in scatter mode the entire time. All that has changed is the target tile-he will still reverse direction when entering and exiting scatter mode as before. As the levels progress, Blinky will turn into Elroy with more dots remaining in the maze than in previous rounds. Refer to Table A.1 in the appendices for dot counts and speeds for both Elroy changes, per level.

Pinky: Nicknamed "Pinky", the pink ghost's character is described as one who is speedy. In Japan, he is characterized as machibuse, meaning "to perform an ambush", perhaps because Pinky always seems to be able to get ahead of you and cut you off when you least expect it.

He always moves at the same speed as Inky and Clyde, however, which suggests speedy is a poor translation of the more appropriate machibuse. Pinky and Blinky often seem to be working in concert to box Pac-Man in, leaving him with nowhere to run.

In chase mode, Pinky behaves as he does because he does not target Pac-Man's tile directly. Instead, he selects an offset four tiles away from Pac-Man in the direction Pac-Man is currently moving (with one exception). The pictures below illustrate the four possible offsets Pinky will use to determine his target tile based on Pac-Man's orientation:

If Pac-Man is moving left, Pinky's target tile will be four game tiles to the left of Pac-Man's current tile. If Pac-Man is moving right, Pinky's tile will be four tiles to the right. If Pac-Man is moving down, Pinky's target is four tiles below.

Finally, if Pac-Man is moving up, Pinky's target tile will be four tiles up and four tiles to the left. This interesting outcome is due to a subtle error in the logic code that calculates Pinky's offset from Pac-Man. This piece of code works properly for the other three cases but, when Pac-Man is moving upwards, triggers an overflow bug that mistakenly includes a left offset equal in distance to the expected up offset (we will see this same issue in Inky's logic later).

Don Hodges' website has an excellent article giving a thorough, code-level analysis of this bug, including the source code and a proposed fix-click here to go there now.

Pinky is the easiest ghost to exert control over thanks to his targeting scheme. By changing direction, you can dictate where Pinky will turn next when he is nearby (see above picture). If you are facing off closely with Pinky, he will turn before he reaches you if he can. This happens due to the fact Pac-Man has come close enough to Pinky for Pinky's target tile to now be behind him.

In the picture above, Pinky chooses to turn up at the intersection because moving left would have taken him further away from his target tile. The longest-lived example of this is the technique known as "head faking". This is where the player shakes the joystick to cause Pac-Man to rapidly change direction back and forth, hopefully causing a ghost to change course in the process.

As it turns out, the shaking is not necessary-one well-timed, quick reversal of direction towards Pinky just before he decides what to do at an upcoming intersection is all that is needed to get him off your tail.

Inky: The light-blue ghost is nicknamed "Inky" and his character is described as one who is bashful. In Japan, he is portrayed as kimagure, meaning "a fickle, moody, or uneven temper". Perhaps not surprisingly, Inky is the least predictable of the ghosts.

Sometimes he chases Pac-Man aggressively like Blinky; other times he jumps ahead of Pac-Man as Pinky would. He might even wander off like Clyde on occasion!

In fact, Inky may be the most dangerous ghost of all due to his erratic behavior. Bashful is not a very good translation of kimagure, and misleads the player to assume Inky will shy away from Pac-Man when he gets close which is not always the case.

Inky uses the most complex targeting scheme of the four ghosts in chase mode. He needs Pac-Man's current tile/orientation and Blinky's current tile to calculate his final target. To envision Inky's target, imagine an intermediate offset two tiles away from Pac-Man's tile in the direction Pac-Man is moving (shown as the dashed, green tile in the picture above), then draw a line from Blinky's tile to that offset. Now double the line length by extending the line out just as far again, and you will have Inky's target tile as shown above.

For the same reasons already discussed in Pinky's case, Inky's offset calculation from Pac-Man is two tiles up and two tiles left when Pac-Man is moving up (shown above). The other three orientations have the expected offset of two tiles in the direction Pac-Man is moving.

Inky's targeting logic will keep him away from Pac-Man when Blinky is far away from Pac-Man, but as Blinky draws closer, so will Inky's target tile. This explains why Inky's behavior seems more variable as Pac-Man moves away from Blinky. Like Pinky, Inky's course can often be altered by Pac-Man changing direction or "head-faking". How much or how little effect this will have on Inky's decisions is directly related to where Blinky is at the time.

Clyde: The orange ghost is nicknamed "Clyde" and is characterized as one who is pokey. In Japan, his character is described as otoboke, meaning "pretending ignorance", and his nickname is "Guzuta", meaning "one who lags behind".

In reality, Clyde moves at the same speed as Inky and Pinky so his character description is a bit misleading. Clyde is the last ghost to leave the pen and tends to separate himself from the other ghosts by shying away from Pac-Man and doing his own thing when he isn't patrolling his corner of the maze.

Although not nearly as dangerous as the other three ghosts, his behavior can seem unpredictable at times and should still be considered a threat.

In chase mode, Clyde's target differs based on his proximity to Pac-Man. When more than eight tiles away, he uses Pac-Man's tile as his target (shown as the yellow target above). If Clyde is closer than eight tiles away, he switches to his scatter mode target instead, and starts heading for his corner until he is far enough away to target Pac-Man again.

In the picture above, Clyde is stuck in an endless loop thanks to his targeting scheme. Outside of the dashed area, Clyde acts exactly as Blinky would, heading straight for Pac-Man, but upon entering the dashed area, Clyde will change his mind and head for his scatter target instead.

Leaving the eight tile perimeter surrounding Pac-Man causes his target to change back to Pac-Man's tile and results in Clyde circling the island indefinitely until Pac-Man moves elsewhere or a mode change occurs.

Clyde's targeting method results in him not being particularly dangerous unless you get in his way as he runs back to his corner or before he can reach an intersection to turn away. Extra care should be taken when Pac-Man is in Clyde's home corner as Clyde is less likely to get out of the way.

"This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but with a whimper." —T. S. Eliot

On The Edge Of Forever

Pac-Man was always meant to be a game with no ending. The developers at Namco mistakenly assumed the game's increasing difficulty was sufficient to prevent anyone from playing indefinitely. Of course, within a few years of Pac-Man's release, players had discovered that every level beyond the 21st was identical.

Patterns were quickly created to exploit this fact and, for any player able to get past the first 20 levels, the game now became a test of endurance to see how many points you could rack up before losing focus and making a mistake. High scores soared into the millions and most players agreed the game simply went on forever.

Eventually, a few highly-skilled players were able to complete 255 consecutive levels of play (scoring over three million points and taking several hours to accomplish) and found a surprise waiting for them on level 256. It was a surprise no one knew about-not even the developers at Namco.

The 256th level displays the left half of the maze correctly, but the right half is a jumbled mess of randomly colored letters, numbers, and symbols. Notice the bonus counter in the lower-right of the screen is also malfunctioning.

The left side of the maze plays normally, but the right side is a different story. Although both the player and the ghosts can navigate through the right half of the screen, the original maze walls no longer apply.

Instead, Pac-Man must be guided through a confusing series of open areas, tunnels, one-way intersections, lone walls, and pass-throughs-all invisible to the player-while four ghosts are in hot pursuit.

Why does this broken level happen in the first place? The culprit is the routine responsible for drawing the bonus symbols along the bottom edge of the screen. Here's what happens: when level 256 is reached, the internal level counter is incremented to 255 (the level counter starts at zero - not one) and the routine for drawing the bonus symbols is called.

The routine loads the current level counter value (255) into a CPU register and increments that register by one. Unfortunately, 255 is the largest number that can fit in a single byte which is the size of the Z-80 CPU registers, so when the value is incremented the overflow is discarded leaving a zero in the register instead of the expected value of 256. This zero value leads the routine to believe this is an early level since its value is less than seven.

The routine starts drawing bonus symbols using the confused register as a counter. At the end of every drawing loop, the register is decreased by one and then checked to see if it is zero (the signal for the routine to stop drawing symbols). Since the register already has a zero in it to start, the first decrement will roll the value back to 255. It will keep decrementing the register and drawing symbols until the register is reduced to zero again, causing the loop to run a total of 256 times.

This means that memory locations outside the bounds of the bonus symbol table are drawn to the screen at increasing locations in video memory. This half-broken level was named the "split screen" by players; developers refer to it as a "kill screen".

Playing The Level

There are 114 dots on the left half of the screen, nine dots on the right, and one bonus key, totaling 6,310 points. When all of the dots have been cleared, nothing happens. The game does not consider a level to be completed until 244 dots have been eaten, so there is nothing left to do but sacrifice Pac-Man to a hungry ghost.

Interestingly, every time a life is lost, the nine dots on the right half of the screen get reset and can be eaten again, resulting in an additional 90 points per extra man. In the best-case scenario (five extra men), 6,760 points is the maximum score possible, but only 168 dots can be harvested-not enough to change levels-so we are stuck. There are no more dots to gobble or energizers to eat.

There is no final victory waiting for Pac-Man, only an empty half-maze full of ghosts. The game has an ending after all-just not a very happy or exciting one.

Four of the nine dots on the right half of the screen are invisible, but can be heard when eaten. The picture on the left shows all nine dot locations. Dots 1, 5, 6, and 9 are invisible; the rest can be seen but some are a different color than normal.

Anyone reaching this level quickly realized: to safely map out the right side of the screen something had to be done about the ghosts. After much tinkering, it was discovered that a ghost would get "trapped" on the right edge of the screen if he got too close to it.

Once trapped, a ghost can only move up or down but never right or left again. By leading ghosts near the edge of the screen, a skilled player could eventually get the ghosts out of the way and concentrate on exploring the right half of the maze and collecting the dots.

There are many methods for trapping the ghosts. One of the easiest ways to trap the three important ghosts is shown in the picture to the right. The yellow line shows Pac-Man's path from the start of the level to a spot near the bottom-right.

The exact instructions are as follows: begin by going right until you reach a blue letter 'N', then go down. Keep going down until you reach a blue letter 'F', then go right. Keep going right until you reach a yellow 'B', then go down again. When executed properly, Pac-Man will hit an invisible wall almost immediately after the last turn is made. Now we wait.

The red ghost will get stuck first. The pink ghost follows a few seconds later. The blue ghost will continue to move freely for several moments until the next scatter mode occurs. At that point, it will try to reach some location near the right edge of the screen and get stuck with the pink and red ghost instead.

Now the orange ghost is the only one still on the loose (bottom-right). Clyde is no real threat, however, since he runs to his corner whenever Pac-Man gets close (see Chapter 4), making it relatively easy to clean up all the dots. Be sure to take care around the lower-left corner of the maze-the orange ghost will have nowhere left to run to and will be much more aggressive.

Click on the YouTube video below to watch this ghost-trapping method in action:

Believe It Or Not

Some versions of the Pac-Man ROMs have a "rack test" feature, allowing the cabinet owner to skip ahead to the next level of play whenever they want. To date, the only known way to legitimately get past level 256 is by using the rack test switch inside these machines.

The result is that the game loops back around to the first board, but with the score intact and the ghosts still behaving as though it were level 21 or above. Many of the Pac-Man ROMs available for use with the MAME emulator also have this rack test feature, making it relatively easy for those without an arcade version handy to quickly get to the split-screen and beyond.

For decades, Pac-Man enthusiasts worldwide have heard the whispers about a "secret trick" allowing a player to get past level 256 and continue playing without using the aforementioned rack test. Several players have boasted having acquired this holy grail of Pac-Man knowledge over the years, but no one has been able to make good on their claims by actually proving it.

This topic became so hotly debated in the upper echelons of the arcade gaming community that Billy Mitchell-who was convinced it was impossible-offered a $100,000 cash prize to the first player to prove they could legitimately get past level 256, leaving the challenge open for a full year. The prize money went unclaimed.

In spite of the evidence against there being a way to get past level 256, rumors still persist and can occasionally be found in classic gaming forums online, yet no one has been able to back up their words with indisputable proof. It's hard to imagine why anyone who could legitimately get past the level did not collect Mr. Mitchell's prize money to be sure.

Still the occasional whispers can be heard. Perhaps it is simply natural for people to want to believe in the possibility as opposed to not-like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. Then again, maybe there is some middle-aged Pac-Man junkie out there who is withholding secrets to a 30 year-old amusement device for his or her own unfathomable reasons. Stranger things have happened. You be the judge.

Splitting Apart The Split Screen, Don Hodges

Pac-Man's Ghost Behavior Analyzed And Fixed, Don Hodges

Pac-Man Source Code With Comments, Chris Lomont

Pac-Man Emulation Guide, Chris Lomont

The Virtual Pac-Man Museum, Chuck and Vicki Gill

Pacman: The Phenomenon - Part 1, Marty Goldberg

The History of Pac-Man, Doug Trueman

Pac-Man Entry At Arcade History, Alexis Bousiges

Pac-Man ghost behavior revealed, Twin Galaxies forum topic

Pac-Man ghost AI question, AtariAge forum topic

Reawakening The Sleeping Giant: The Pac-Man CE Interview, Christian Nutt

(click image for full size)

Table A.2 - Difficulty Specifications

There is a small spot on the Pac-Man PCB where you can solder two pads together to set the game to "hard" difficulty. The only difference in hard difficulty is that five of the levels (1, 3, 6, 19, and 20) are eliminated from play. The system does not eliminate any of the bonus symbols, however, causing much confusion as to what level you're really playing.

Level two is the first board in hard difficulty for example, but the cherry symbol is used instead of the strawberry. It's still level two in terms of gameplay, but with cherry symbols in place of the usual strawberries. Also, the bonus point values are changed to match the current symbol being used. You can determine the difficulty setting of a machine by observing which ghost kills Pac-Man during the attract mode demo game.

In normal difficulty, Pac-Man gets captured by Inky in the lower-left area of the maze. If the difficulty jumper has been connected, however, he is captured by Clyde near the same location.

Normal

Normal Bonus

Hard

Hard Bonus

Cherries

Strawberry

Cherries

Peach 1

Peach 2

Strawberry

Apple 1

Peach 1

Apple 2

Grapes 1

Peach 2

Grapes 2

Apple 1

Galaxian 1

Apple 2

Galaxian 2

Grapes 1

Bell 1

Grapes 2

Bell 2

Galaxian 1

Key 1

Galaxian 2

Key 2

Bell 1

Key 3

Bell 2

Key 4

Key 1

Key 5

Key 2

Key 6

Key 3

Key 7

Key 8

21+

Key 9

21+

Key 4+

This section is meant to contain not only the easter egg below, but also tricks-interesting ways players have found to create unexpected behavior in Pac-Man. I have seen a few of these curious abuses of a Pac-Man machine before, but I don't know how to recreate them.

As such, I am asking for any help the readers of this guide can provide towards expanding this section. Please send any Pac-Man tricks you may know me for inclusion in the guide; full credit will be given for your altruism and ingenuity.

NAMCO Easter Egg

There is a secret message hidden in Pac-Man by the developers at Namco. To see it, put the machine into service mode and wait for the settings screen to appear. Now quickly toggle service mode off and on (an alignment grid will appear on the screen).

While holding down the player 1 and player 2 buttons, toggle service mode off and on again very quickly (if done properly, the grid will stay on the screen), and then push the joystick in the following directions: UP x 4, LEFT x 4, RIGHT x 4, DOWN x 4. The message "MADE BY NAMCO" will appear sideways on the screen, spelled out using energizers.

Specifications:

Platform - NAMCO 8-bit PCB

CPU - Z80A at 3.072 MHz

ROM - 16K in four, 4K chips

RAM - Almost 2K

Display - Raster

Orientation - Vertical

Resolution - 224x288

Colors - 16

Attributes - Eight 16x16 hardware sprites

Refresh rate - 60.61 Hz

Sound - Custom monophonic 3-voice waveform sound generator chip

Controls - One 4-way leaf joystick, 1P/2P buttons

Models - Upright, Mini, and Cocktail

Midway Operator's Reference Books:

apple: The bonus symbol for levels five and six. Worth 700 points.

bell: The bonus symbol for levels eleven and twelve. Worth 3,000 points.

Blinky: The red ghost. Also known as “Akabei” or “Macky” in Puck-Man.

bonus symbol: The often fruit-related symbol that appears twice per level below the ghost house and can be eaten for additional scoring. The point-value depends on the specific symbol and can range anywhere from 100 to 5,000 points each. Also known as fruit.

cherries: The bonus symbol for the first round of play. Worth 100 points.

Clyde: The orange ghost. Also known as “Guzuta” or “Mocky” in Puck-Man.

cornering: The technique of moving the joystick in the direction one wishes to go well before reaching the center of a turn, ensuring Pac-Man will take the turn as quickly as possible.

Cruise Elroy: When a certain number of dots are all that remain in a level, Blinky (red ghost) will change “gears”, speeding up as well as chasing Pac-Man even in scatter mode. He speeds up yet again when half the dots remain from the first change.

dots: The 244 objects in the maze Pac-Man must eat to move on to the next round. There are 240 small dots worth 10 points each, and 4 energizer dots worth 50 points each. Also known as pills.

energizer: One of four, large, flashing dots located near the corners of the maze worth 50 points each. When Pac-Man eats an energizer, the ghosts simultaneously reverse direction and, on earlier levels, turn dark blue. Pac-Man can then eat the blue ghosts for additional points, scoring more for each consecutive ghost eaten from one energizer: 200, 400, 800, and 1,600 points respectively. Also known as a power pills, fuel tanks, and vitamins.

flipping: “Flipping the machine” refers to when a player earns one million points. The game is unable to display a score larger than 999,999, so the score readout “flips” over to zero and keeps counting. Also known as rolling the machine.

fruit: See bonus symbol.

galaxian: The bonus symbol for levels nine and ten. Also known as a tulip or a thunderbird. Worth 2,000 points.

ghost house: The rectangular area in the middle of the maze where the ghosts start each new level and new life, returning to the house whenever they are captured by Pac-Man. Also known as the monster pen.

ghosts: Pac-Man's four enemies in the maze are typically referred to as ghosts or monsters.

grapes: The bonus symbol for levels seven and eight. Also known as a grenade. Worth 1,000 points.

grenade: See grapes.

head faking: Changing Pac-Man's direction back and forth in quick succession in an attempt to affect the turning logic of one or more ghosts in play. Blinky and Clyde do not use Pac-Man's current direction in their chase logic, so they are unaffected by head faking.

Inky: The blue ghost. Also known as “Aosuke” or “Mucky” in Puck-Man.

intersection: Anywhere pathways in the maze intersect, yielding more than one option on which way to proceed.

key: The bonus symbol for levels 13 and above. Worth 5,000 points.

monster pen: See ghost house.

monsters: See ghosts.

orange: See peach.

pattern: A memorized series of turns associated with a particular level or levels that, when repeated, clears the maze of dots without getting Pac-Man captured by any of the ghosts. Also known as a routine.

peach: The bonus symbol for levels three and four. Also known as an orange. Worth 500 points.

pills: See dots.

Pinky: The pink ghost. Also known as “Micky” in Puck-Man.

power pill: See energizer.

routine: See pattern.

side tunnel: The connecting tunnel between the right and left edges of the screen. Entering this tunnel will “wrap” the player around to the other side of the screen. The monsters always suffer a speed penalty while in the tunnel while Pac-Man does not. Also known as The Tube, The Time Warp, and The Scoot.

split screen: The 256th level of the game, where the right half of the screen is filled with garbage instead of the usual maze.

strawberry: The bonus symbol for level two. Worth 300 points.

thunderbird: See galaxian.

tulip: See galaxian.

Q: How do I get past the split screen?

A: The only known way to get past the split screen is via the “rack test” feature available on some Pac-Man ROMs (see Chapter 5).

Q: What is a “perfect score”?

A: A perfect score in Pac-Man is 3,333,360 points, which can only be attained by playing a perfect game. This requires catching all four ghosts at every energizer, gobbling down every bonus fruit, and never once losing a life for 256 consectutive levels of play.

All extra lives are needed once the split screen is reached to eat the nine dots hidden on the right side of the screen the maximum number of times—they respawn every time a life is lost. This was first achieved by Billy Mitchell of Hollywood, Florida in 1999.

Q: Is it true that some of the ghost A.I. routines examine the joystick directly to make decisions?

A: This is false. The memory-mapped IN0 joystick port is completely removed from the pathfinding and logic routines in the code.

Q: What other games from the Pac-Man family will this ghost logic work with?

A: Pac-Man Plus and Ms. Pac-Man both use the same basic pathfinding/targeting logic as the original Pac-Man. Many popular bootleg ROMs like the Atlantic City Chip and Hanglyman also use this logic.

Q: Why are all of the bonus symbols food-related except for the galaxian, the bell, and the key?

A: The galaxian was added as a nod to the Namco space-shooter title, Galaxian, which was under development at the same time as Pac-Man. No one knows why Toru Iwatani chose a bell and a key for the final two bonus symbols.

It has been theorized the bell may actually be some sort of food like an Asian cashew or even a blancmange dessert, which would make it consistent with the food theme. The bell at least has the possibility of being something else—no one has any theories on the key being anything but ... well ... a key.

Q: Why are some members of the NAMCO development team listed by name but not others in Chapter 1?

A: I have not been able to find out these persons' names—I'm sure they are documented somewhere but I have yet to find that information. If you know of any reliable sources for the names of the full NAMCO development team, please let me know ([email protected]).

[NOTE: The latest version of the Pac-Man Dossier is available at Jamey Pittman's website, and he can be contacted at [email protected] with questions, comments, and updates. Gamasutra will be working with Jamey on new dossiers for other games to be published in the future.]

#IFTTT #Blogger

0 notes