Maze chase
You move through a single-screen maze collecting every dot while enemies chase you down the same corridors; you win by reading their routes and using the items that briefly let you turn the tables.
Also known as: maze chase game, dot eat game, Pac-Man clone
This is a basic entry: it has the definition and the classification. Full entries add history, games and a demo.
History
- 1979OriginHead On
Head On (Sega/Gremlin) introduced collecting dots to clear a level; in Japan it is considered the forerunner of the 'dot-eating game'. Pac-Man (1980) cemented the format.
Maze game (Wikipedia) - 1980Pac-Man
Pac-Man adds a likeable hero and hunting ghosts; magazines of the time such as Electronic Games call games in its style 'maze chases'.
Maze game (Wikipedia) - 2007
Pac-Man Championship Edition shows the formula is still alive decades later.
Maze game (Wikipedia)
Reference games
1979
Head On
You drive a car around concentric lanes collecting dots while another car comes the opposite way; you can only change lanes at certain gaps. It was the first maze game whose goal is to run over dots.
1980
Pac-Man
You eat the dots in a maze while four ghosts chase you, each with its own way of hunting you down. The power pellets in the corners frighten them and let you eat them for a while.