Cat plays giant game of PAC-MAN

After setting several world records for its creative building feats, which included a giant game of Jenga about six years ago, Caterpillar is back at it again - this time with a life-sized game of much-loved video game, PAC-MAN.

The project was part of Cats’ Trials series of videos which showcases Caterpillar products take on some incredible tasks around the world, such as building the world’s largest sandcastle in Brazil and powering over 8000 lanterns in rural China with one Cat generator set.

To celebrate Caterpillar’s 95th anniversary and PAC-MAN’s 40th anniversary, both parties have teamed up to build and play the iconic video game using Caterpillar’s range of products and technology.

The game plays out on a 49.5m x 55m version of the iconic PAC-MAN game board— 19,040 percent larger than the original scale of the maze on the classic arcade screen.

According to Cat, the giant PAC-MAN game represents Cat’s company ethos and commitment to product quality and customer service.

“Challenges the ghosts pose to PAC-MAN strike a unique metaphor for obstacles lurking around each corner of the jobsite," said Caterpillar global marketing and brand director, Victoria Keese Morrissey. “POWER PELLETS represent the role Cat dealer services play in helping our customers overcome these challenges.”

Head of PAC-MAN Licensing & Branding for BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc, Yutaka Fuse, said the company appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with Caterpillar to celebrate the game’s 40th birthday.

“It’s amazing how Caterpillar’s equipment was able to precisely recreate the iconic PAC-MAN maze in the real world on such a grand scale. We were astonished by the final product.”

The original PAC-MAN game board design was loaded into the Cat GRADE with 3D system on a 336 Next Gen excavator that eliminates the need for stakes and grade checkers, hence saving time in construction, Cat said. In total, the 336 used 70 labor hours to create the life-size game board.

Roughly 195 cubic-metres of dirt was removed to build the maze that comprised 151 corners and 1.2m high walls.

Support equipment to construct the game board included multiple field prep Cat dozers, Cat wheel loaders, a 323 excavator, trucks and water wagons that were all equipped with Cat GRADE with 3D to ensure they followed the same plan.

“Cat GRADE with 3D enabled the workers to only handle material one time for digging, loading, hauling and dumping,” said Caterpillar global brand strategy and activation creative director, J. Archie Lyons.

“Reducing material handling is just one of the challenges our customers face, and Cat Grade technology greatly enhances jobsite efficiency.”

Five Cat 236D3 remote controlled skid steer loaders, rented from The Cat Rental Store, were used for play to represent PAC-MAN and the four ghosts –  BLINKY, INKY, CLYDE and PINKY. PAC-MAN and ghost avatars placed atop the Cat loaders could be seen above the maze walls.

The four corner POWER PELLETS that put PAC-MAN on the offensive represent Cat dealer services— Customer Value Agreements, Repair Options, Cat Financial and Cat App.

Caterpillar also stayed true to the original game by including fruit bonuses, represented by Cat parts boxes. Fruit is how PAC-MAN earns points and in turn, additional lives; signifying Genuine Cat Parts helping customers get more life out of their machines, Caterpillar explained.

Cat also added a little surprise at the end as a homage to the original game.

“Due to available memory at the time, level 256 experiences an integer overflow, and the right side of the board can’t be rendered,” Lyons said.

“We have duplicated the original screen’s look of level 256 with our real-life PAC-MAN game, using four Cat dozers to create the effect.”

To bring the game to life, Cat and BANDAI NAMCO have enlisted the help of people from all walks of life to get involved in the game play.

The participants controlling the Cat 236D3 skid steers using line-of-sight remote control systems were:

PAC-MAN– Jim Kosner of JIMAX Landscaping & Demolition, Peoria, Ill.

BLINKY – Joey Stone, NASCAR/Richard Childress Racing (RCR) eSports driver of the #8 Virtual Cat car

INKY – Alfonso Farjardo of Horsepower Site Services, Charlotte, N.C., a Caterpillar Global Operator Challenge regional finalist

CLYDE – Tom Gardocki, The Dirt Ninja, social media influencer, professional heavy equipment operator in landscaping and construction

PINKY – BLITZ, social media influencer, YouTube gaming content creator and civil engineer

The video has attracted over 87,000 views on Youtube at time of writing.