milzer - good link! Geoff Howland makes a number of excellent points in that article.

asdasd12345 - I''d be glad to send you a copy of my PacMan if you promise not to laugh. 8^) Send me an e-mail - you can find my e-mail address in my profile.

-Kirk

quote:Original post by kirkd
Pac-Man is a challenging start. Not impossible, but certainly a challenge. I would say that the graphics, movement, etc. etc. are very similar to what you'll see with Tetris or Pong with a few idiosyncracies. I've just finished a PacMan close myself.

People seem to be missing an important point - ghost AI. Random moving ghosts are very boring, and ghosts that just move toward the PacMan are very boring. Giving the ghosts a bit of a personality through their behaviors is much harder. Plus you have to throw in things like pathfinding, and differential behaviors. Ghosts that are blue behave differently from non-blue ghosts behave differently from ghost that are in the cage. Once a ghost has been eaten, it has to find its way back to the cage. Lots more to think about than meets the eye.

Just my $0.02.

-Kirk

Call me crazy, but didn't the ghosts in the original Pac Man just move towards you?



[edited by - xegoth on February 10, 2004 3:32:38 PM]

Nope. If that were the case, the ghosts would eventually all pile up on each other and follow you around the maze as one unit. You could very easily avoid them assuming you''re faster. Read milzer''s post and check the link he suggested. Each ghost has a unique personality and they change from level to level.

-Kirk

<< the ghosts would eventually all pile up on each other and follow you around the maze as one unit >>

True, however the way to fix this is to make some ghosts more "random" than others. For example, I have three colors. Red Ghost is least random (90% chance of always chasing), Green is somewhat random (80% chance of always chasing), and Blue is most random (70% chance of always chasing). Looks like they follow different paths with different "personalities" but programming that would be difficult. Occasionally they do follow the same path, but you can make one ghost more random than another to fix that.

Example: my pacman which you all might have seen

VazPac.cpp | EXE

Working on design doc for a side/vertical scrolling platform game similar to Super Mario Bros, so I guess I''m following Geoff Howland''s advice. Its a good path to take....

A Path to Game Development

VazGames.com

Phil P

Here''s an interesting link that describes the ghost AI.
http://jongy.tripod.com/GhostPsychology.html

Vaz,

I''ve seen your site and it is quite impressive. Your games are very nice too. Regarding the PacMan, your approach is definitely one very good way to go and plays well.

I''m taking a different approach for different reasons. The Pac-Man I made represents my simulator. I''m going to use Genetic Programming to evolve the AI for the ghosts and the PacMan simultaneously. I''m hopeful that the coevolution will yield some interesting results. I''ve just finished the simulator and am just starting to work on the AI site. I''m more interested in the evolutionary computation than the game. Lots left to be done.

You also mentioned the "path" that Howland outlines. I''m on the same exact path. First run was breakout. Very boring but taught me the very basics. I skipped Tetris and jumped up to PacMan where architecture became much more important. Next I''m hoping to do a side scroller much like Mario Bros - Pitfall is my choice. I also want to do a top down scroller like Galaga. Interesting how we''ve all converged on similar paths, eh?

-Kirk

<< I also want to do a top down scroller like Galaga. Interesting how we''ve all converged on similar paths, eh? >>

Yeah, a Galaga would be cool. I think after my side scroller Super Vaz Brothers I''ll do 3D only, OpenGL to start. I figured out how to play MIDI and WAV with Fmod which is so easy. Goodbye DirectSound (which can''t play MIDI).

Good luck on the A.I., its one of the most complex parts of game programming (or so I''ve read).

Phil P

No!! Not 3D!! Don''t do it!! 8^) Seriously, I look forward to seeing a 3D post on your web site. The others you''ve done are quite good and 3D should be interesting.

I find it interesting the evolution of games. What''s the difference between Pitfall (from the good old Atari 2600 days), Mario Bros., and Quake? Degrees of freedom - 1D, 2D, 3D.

I just get a kick out of the simple ones. I could still play Galaga (or R-type or Parsec or Munch Man ...) for hours, but I get bored with 3D stuff. Just different preferences, really. Or maybe I''m just getting old. 8^)

Sorry to go off topic...

-Kirk