Ha, they are naughty indeed. Eric Zimmerman certainly tried to lasso them and get them into their individual corals (ok couldn't pass that western USA metaphor). The four he discussed, and commented on, "Play. Games. Narrative. Interactivity. What a motley bunch. " Are just that. It reminds me of the old accounting joke, where a businessman asked three really bright accountants he was thinking of hiring, "How would you get to my bottom line?" The first three gave good solid accounting practices. The fourth, an old man with the green visor, and the sleeve protectors, wrung his hands back and forth, leaned in closely and said, "What number did you have in mind Sir?" He got the job. LOL
So sometimes these terms can mean what we want them to mean, they are so open to interpretation. Zimmerman points that out as well as giving us some examples, Ms PacMan, "there are many story elements to Ms. Pac-Man which are not directly related to the gameplay." It is after all a struggle about life and death, about running for your life and turning to fight or devour those threatening you. The "hunter becomes the hunter," and he argues that is something only a game could tell.
Ms PacMan is also a character that has jumped medias, to t-shirts, collectable items, such as throw pillows. In case you have forgotten, you can play it on line, it originally came out in 1981. Play it and then comment here regarding Zimmerman's observations and yours about those four comments.
Play Ms PacMan for Free OnlineIn case anyone forgot here is that "unforgettable" screen.
ms pacman by
grasshopper98, on Flickr