Video Game T-Shirt #3: Pac-Man

Availability: Currently For Sale on eBay

Available to Play Online: Yes

Released: 1980

Platforms: Every platform in existence.

Gameplay: Waka Waka Waka Waka Waka Waka Waka Waka Waka. Go through a maze gobbling up Pac-dots and avoiding the ghosts: Blinky, Pinky, Inky and…Clyde? Use the four power pellets to make ghosts digestible, otherwise contact with them will cost you a life.

My mom ended up getting addicted to this game because they had a table top version at her place of work. She ended up buying me the Atari 1200 version and played it more than I did. It was quite common to come home from a hard day at school and find her playing it in my room.

“Computer games don’t affect kids, I mean if Pac Man affected us as kids, we’d all be running around in darkened rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive music.” – M. Brigstocke

Facts: Rumor has it in 1982 Ronald Reagan wrote a letter to an 8-year old boy congratulating him on his Pac-Man high score. A score that was only possible if he passed through the split screen mode (video below) which is caused by a programming glitch at the highest level. The very idea of this has caused a heated debate in video game circles because no player has ever demonstrated the feat is possible.

• Check out and play our last video game t-shirt Centipede.

Video Game T-Shirt #2: Centipede

Availability: Currently For Sale on eBay

Available to Play Online: Yes

Released: 1980

Platforms: Stand-up Arcade, Atari Systems, Apple II, Commodore 64

Gameplay: Place your hand on the trackball to scroll the humanoid head around the bottom of the screen. Your nemesis appears at the top of the screen and starts winding down one level every time it encounters a mushroom. The fire button was automatic which would shoot quickly if the round struck a target. The novice player (me) would destroy the body one segment at a time which caused the insect to split and each new segment had a mind of its own. The trick was to use the ’shrooms to strategically to line up the ‘pede and make use of the quick auto-fire to annihilate every piece of its body in one fell swoop. Spiders, scorpions and fleas also join the action to really bug you.

Facts: This game was very popular with the ladies and it was developed by one of the only women in the business at the time. The “high tech” Centipede sound effects made their way in to Knight Rider when K.I.T.T. was running a scan.

• Check out and play our last video game t-shirt Leisure Suit Larry.

Video Game T-Shirt #1: Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of Lounge Lizards

Availability: Currently For Sale on eBay

Available to Play Online: Yes

Released: 1987

Platforms: Commodore 64, Atari ST, TRS-80, Amiga

Gameplay: This is a comedic/erotic adventure game played with joystick and keyboard. You’re Larry the lovable loser in a leisure suit and looking to get laid. Prostitutes, blow-up dolls, no female in the game is safe from Larry’s mojo. I first played this on my Commodore 64 when I was 13. I remember having to answer a series of questions at the beginning of the game to prove I was 18 years old….or 13 years old with a lot of patience. I still remember the password found written on the washroom stall door: “Ken Sent Me.” It allowed passage by the protective pimp to the prostitute’s lair. Distract the pimp by turning on the TV with the remote control so Larry could go upstairs and get it on. The game also contained messages of safe sex. If there’s no jimmy used when you’re with the lady of the night, things get scary for poor Larry. Classic.