The best interview I’ve ever done about Pac-Man

Pac-Man’s weird new game, a secret 5,610-year history, two surprisingly sensitive topics and a brief discussion about Pac-Man’s eighth fruit.

Shadow Labyrinth. Image: Bandai Namco

During a recent interview in a dark room in Los Angeles, I learned that I had a lot of blind spots about Pac-Man.

• I had only vaguely processed that Pac-Man is about three years younger than me.

• I did not know that his publisher, Bandai Namco, recognizes a shared universe for many of its games, one that puts Dig Dug, Ace Combat and Galaga on the same timeline—like a semi-secret Marvel Cinematic Universe.

• I did not spot that Pac-Man is hiding in the logo for Shadow Labyrinth, the how-is-this-real, upcoming gritty mash-up of Pac-Man and Metroid. See him in there? It’s like the FedEx arrow all over again!

• I did not know that Pac-Man’s movie was on hold.

• I also somehow missed that the third rail of interviewing a Pac-Man official about Pac-Man is asking about Ms. Pac-Man.

I pride myself on my interview prep, but I clearly had not prepped well enough for this one. Shame on me. But, hey, it led to some incredible discoveries. And I got to play a strange new game, too.