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https://github.com/haschka/xchomp

A PacMan clone originally written by Jerry J. Shekhel
https://github.com/haschka/xchomp

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A PacMan clone originally written by Jerry J. Shekhel

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README 

        

			Xchomp, Version 1.0

			-------------------



INTRODUCTION



Hello, and welcome to xchomp.  Xchomp is a game closely patterned after

Pac-Man(tm) that runs under the X window system.  I've tried to make the

game as close as possible to the original Pac-Man.  However, I have not

seen a Pac-Man arcade machine for years, so all the elements of the game

have been recalled from memory.  Also, I've added something which I

always felt was missing from Pac-Man, namely several different mazes.



INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING



The point of this game, as in all arcade-style games, is to amass the

highest possible score.  However, some may find that the fun in the game

is in trying to reach the highest possible level.  At least, that's what

I thought was fun about the original.  You, the player, are the circular

mouth moving around the maze.  Your opponents are the four ghosts following

you around.  Touching a ghost will cost you a life.  When you start each

level, the maze is filled with dots.  Eating these dots (by simply going

over them), gives you 10 points for each.  You must eat all the dots on a

maze to advance to the next level.



On each maze, you will also find several large flashing dots; these are

the power-dots.  Eating one of these will add 50 points to your score,

and temporarily give you the ability to eat the ghosts.  While the ghosts

can be eaten, they are white (transparent), they move at a reduced speed,

and they try to run away from you.  When they turn back to a solid color,

they are back to their normal state, and they return to following you

around.  They won't become solid suddenly; they will flash for a couple

of seconds to warn you.  While they're flashing, you can still eat them.



Eating a ghost adds points to your score, and the number of points is

momentarily displayed on the screen.  This action turns the ghost into

a harmless pair of eyes.  In this state, the ghost moves very quickly,

seeking return to the ghost box in the center of the maze.  Once it gets

there, it is "reborn", and goes back to chasing you around the maze.



The levels of the game are designated by symbols.  The first few levels

are "fruit" levels, that is, they are designated by little pictures of

fruit on the bottom of the xchomp window.  For example, the first level

is the "cherry" level.  Once in a while (twice on every level), the

symbol corresponding to the current level appears in the maze.  It will

stay there only for a few seconds; eating it adds a number of points to

your score.  At the higher levels, this is a very significant number.

In any case, when you eat a fruit, or other such symbol, the corresponding

point value is briefly displayed on the screen.



Reaching a score of 10,000 awards you an extra life.



GAME CONTROLS



This is strictly a keyboard-controlled game.  The arcade game had very

simple controls -- one four-directional joystick.  In xchomp, all control

is through the arrow keys.  Hitting an arrow key in xchomp is equivalent

to pushing the joystick in the corresponding direction and holding it down;

the player on the screen will continue moving in its current direction

until motion in the specified direction is possible, in which case it will

switch to that direction, or until it hits a wall, in which case it will

stop and wait for a key press corresponding to a valid direction.  If this

sounds complex, forget it, and just play the game.  I believe you'll find

the controls pretty natural.  It can be thought of like this: the player

on the screen will always try to move in the direction of the last key

pressed, and if it can't, it'll keep moving in the direction it's moving

until it can.  Only one key press is remembered -- the last one.  Don't

hold down the keys; just hit them; otherwise, there may be times when

you're pressing two keys at a time and the second one won't register.



The game can be paused by pressing the space bar or by iconifying the xchomp

window (the latter definitely works on Sun and DECwindows servers).  While

the game is paused, you can abort it by pressing 'R'.  This will return

you to the title screen.  Pressing 'Q' will cause xchomp to terminate.  If

you iconify the xchomp window, the game will be in the paused state when

you de-iconify it.



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+--------------------+-----------------------+-------------------------------+

|                    |  Polygen Corporation  |           UUCP:               |

|  Jerry J. Shekhel  |   Waltham, MA 02254   |  {princeton, mit-eddie,       |

|                    |    (617) 890-2888     |  buita, sunne}!polygen!jerry  |

+--------------------+-----------------------+-------------------------------+