It seems like a rather odd oversight that it took Nintendo so many years to finally put out a level editor for the Super Mario series, but when it finally got around to it, the final result was something to remember. Super Mario Maker was a fantastic success on the Wii U (and on the 3DS to a certain extent), offering gamers the chance at putting their creative skills to use in the production of unique levels. The idea could certainly extend to other franchises within Nintendo's possession, but it seems that Namco may be jumping on the bandwagon now.
Namco recently filed a patent with the European Union Intellectual Property Office for a "Pac-Man Maker". No more details are available at the present, but the name certainly seems to indicate a similar approach to what Nintendo did with Super Mario Maker. Granted, there's a chance that this is just being filed as a preemptive measure and nothing else will come of it, but still, imagine the possibilities.
What do you think? Would you buy a Pac-Man Maker? What kind of features do you think it would implement? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source modojo.com]
Comments 41
As I said in the thread, I was really hoping for a Zelda or Pikmin Maker, but oh well.
Seriously though, Pikmin Maker, being able to make your own caves based on Pikmin 2. owo
It's easy to assume that it's a video game based on the licence and the fact that we associate the "Maker" moniker with Super Mario Maker that preceded it, but it could very well be (for example) a LEGO-style game/toy where you can assemble actual physical parts in order to construct a Pac-Man-style board. It's worth considering that this patent may not be video-game related at all.
Apart from forming mazes, what else is there to "make" in Pac-Man? Unless they also allow for other styles of gameplay, including first-person and birds-eye perspectives, I can't see this working as a full-fledged concept. I don't know. I'll reserve judgement until an official announcement is made.
No. Way. XD
I do wonder how this would be pulled off though. Worldsbiggestpacman.com already has a very full featured maze editor and online database of mazes.
Maybe there will be implementations of items unique to games like Pac & Pal and Super Pac-Man. Who knows?
Now THIS is interesting!
Sonic Maker coming soon!
As long as it comes to the Switch that's cool lol
Eh. I can't think of anything this would be that would interest me. And if it's literally "build your own Pac-man maze"... okay? Doesn't mix things up much in my opinion, Pac-man fever is a bit too far gone imo...
Cool
It's harder to make a viable pac-man course than a SMB one, no ?
As there is less variability, you can't make the board too big or people will get bored, and if you can move walls, you could create labyrinths with only one possible exit (to the cherry). And that changes the gameplay beyond recognition.
I wonder what they'll do with that (if they do anything)
@Joeynator3000 ya a pikmin maker would be amazing but something of that magnitude would take a very long time, not just for design but also due to the fact the series is more of a niche (albeit a gaining popularity niche) series, but i would prefer them to make a much longer pikmin series first so we could have some new pikmin to add even more variety to the levels. Wouldn't you agree?
oops double post
@neufel not to mention the only enemy's are ghosts albeit differently colored ghosts but i guess it could be fun if we gave each ghosts varying degree's of intelligence, though i think everyone would just aim for max.
I would buy the heck out of this if it came to the Switch.
@Joeynator3000 Modding the caves in Pikmin 2 seem fairly easy (relatively), but of course Nintendo doesn't allow you to mod their games and it would never be official like Super Mario Maker is. I was hoping they'd add a cave maker into the main series, but with Pikmin 3 they moved away from the whole cave idea. It really feels like the caves in Pikmin 2 were a unique decision of the times; many of the floors were randomly generated, and that hardly seems like a system Nintendo would use now. With the shift to HD, everything in Pikmin seems much more carefully planned and designed; something hard to fit into a cave editor. TL;DR Nintendo probably won't make a Pikmin maker because Pikmin as a series has shifted away from that design philosophy.
But, I guess we'll see what Pikmin 4 brings. A cave builder would sure be exciting though.
There was some indie project for a Dungeon Maker that would mimic Zelda style, but who knows if the project fell through or what the progress is. I always forget its name.
I mean, we don't even know what "Pac-Man Maker" necessarily means. It could even be a toy. It would be a fun thing to play but this doesn't mean anything yet.
I'm not sure if this would be great or needed.
PacMan Maker ?
Next, Super Mario 3D Maker
Animal Crossing Maker
Kirby Maker
Boxing Maker
Nintendo Music Maker
Zelda Maker
Money Maker
(Whatever) Maker
XD
Pacman maker! I'm sold!
@MasterWario I think Legend Maker is still going, haven't checked on it lately, but it seems like it'll release this Summer. (I think)
Pac-Man Maker sounds like a terrible idea.
I'm sure there are a few people who would love this, but there's just not enough to Pac-Man for it to appeal to the vast majority of people.
I mean... what would it even consists of? Dots, walls and cherries? Hardly enough there to make it worthwhile. Even if they allowed you to set custom behaviour patterns for the ghosts, that probably wouldn't help much.
The only way I can really see it being worthwhile for them would be as a free-to-play smartphone app to get people interested in the franchise ahead of the release of a proper game... a marketing tool.
Of course, there's also the possibility that the idea of it being a stage builder is just a mis-association due to Mario Maker... it may actually be something completely different... maybe Pac-Man will be going to meet his maker in a new game.
I wanna be able to switch between Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Jr. (from Pac-Man 2), and Pac-Mania.
@Anti-Matter You missed out RPG Maker FES (coming to 3DS in June)
The patent title alone has me onboard.
Wait................. why would they need to patent a video game concept??? I don't think it's for a video game.....
Make it Pac-Land Maker and I'm in!
Maker Maker - allows you to make your own maker game.
Pacman levels would be lots of fun to make so hopefully it's something similar to Mario Maker.
If this is just a game like Super Mario Maker then how would you exactly patent it? Game mechanics are not protected by patent or even copyright law:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/06/texas_court_ruling_states_that_game_mechanics_cant_be_protected_by_copyright
So surely anyone could just make the same game but without the copyrighted Pac-Man imagery, which would make the patent relatively worthless as copyright already protects the physical Pac-Man design and that kind of stuff.
Surely this has to be more than just Pac-Man with some ability to edit/customize levels and that kind of thing.
I wish they would make another Pac-Man Adventures gsme like the one on PS. the mazes were cool, the game was nice.
I would buy Pac-man maker sure, if it came to Switch. I think it could be a Pac-man game where you can create the levels and play other people's levels too.
@Joeynator3000 I am expecting the sequel to have a non Mario theme tbh.
Donkey Kong maker anyone?
Could be an interesting experiment.
I guess they got inspired by the many Pac-Man stages in Super Mario Maker.
If it's like Mario Maker, I hope they put in some styles in there: One set of styles can use the assets from the original Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Jr., Super Pac-Man (because they are similar to each other and they'd have a nice varied collection of objects) then obviously the style to transform it all into the isometric Pac-Mania, and hopefully more styles, like the innovative Pac-Pix style, FPS-Pac-Man style, Pac-Man DX style, Pac 'n Roll style, and "New Pac-Man HD" (something along the lines of New Super Mario Bros. U) style.
If they pack Pac-Man Maker full of options it's obviously still more limited than Mario Maker, but it would be great fun for hours nevertheless. With a classic like this, it's sure to have thousands of interesting, fun levels online.
I have literally nothing against this at all.
@Anti-Matter That was amusing Thank you
As I said in the thread, Google Maps has technically already beaten Bandai-Namco to the punch, in a sense.
This would be an interesting concept.
I doubt that this is what it sounds like. Pac-Man isn't a series that lends itself well to level editing, considering how mazes are superficially similar and there isn't the aesthetic variety of Super Mario's types of locations and recognizable games across eras. Though as a minor release, it could work.
Really, I'd have thought the most likely "Maker" games would be Mega Man, except that series isn't doing great at the moment. Which is a shame, since you'd have lots of assets to work with. Not to mention an existing community that produces various rom hacks, indicating interest.
As for what else would work... Sonic would be the best candidate I think. Popular series, platforming levels that are more intuitive to make, a strong community, plenty of older games to use, etc.
I'd be all over this. They need to include all Pacman versions.
@GrailUK
Ooh! Sounds amazing! Tell me more.
Meh, there's already a PAC-MAN maze editor called "Worlds Biggest Pac-Man" so I can't really be hyped for this if this is true.
Personally, I would like another 3D platformer. Something like Pac-Man World 4 or hell, even a Ghostly Adventures 3 (Say what you will about the designs, but I thought those games were fun)
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