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Nov. 3rd, 2002
More about Ms. Pac-Man.
Nov. 3rd, 2002 09:06 pmEarlier, I could routinely get to the fourth level on one life. Now, I'm lucky to make it out of the first.
Why? Because I started worrying about that worthless cherry that jumps in and does laps around the ghost pen.
One of the biggest favors I'd done myself was to consciously decide to ignore the fruit until it was worth at least a thousand points. I could keep my mind on my own survival instead. And that's really what counts in Pac-Man. How many points can you score, how many mazes can you clear in a single life? The answer to that question is what you lose when you lose a life. And it's a hell of a lot more than 100 points.
Oddly enough, the old Buddha nature kicked in when I did that, and I often got the cherry without even thinking about it; I only saw it if it was safe to see it. And if the fruit escaped, I didn't notice, because I was busy chowing down on Sue's sweet ass.
Then I thought about how the amount of points in a level are finite, how there are only so many dots, and so many energizers, and so many monsters with which to rack up points. So I decided it might not hurt to chase down that 100 points, because when it's gone I might never get it back.
And suddenly, I started to notice when the cherry was thump-thump-thumping its way out of the escape tunnels. I started to chase after it as soon as it showed up, and as a consequence I usually ended up with Pinky all over me. Damn you, Pinky!
And even though I've identified the problem, I can't get my zen back. This always happens when I lose my zen.
I think it's time to switch to Donkey Kong a little.
Why? Because I started worrying about that worthless cherry that jumps in and does laps around the ghost pen.
One of the biggest favors I'd done myself was to consciously decide to ignore the fruit until it was worth at least a thousand points. I could keep my mind on my own survival instead. And that's really what counts in Pac-Man. How many points can you score, how many mazes can you clear in a single life? The answer to that question is what you lose when you lose a life. And it's a hell of a lot more than 100 points.
Oddly enough, the old Buddha nature kicked in when I did that, and I often got the cherry without even thinking about it; I only saw it if it was safe to see it. And if the fruit escaped, I didn't notice, because I was busy chowing down on Sue's sweet ass.
Then I thought about how the amount of points in a level are finite, how there are only so many dots, and so many energizers, and so many monsters with which to rack up points. So I decided it might not hurt to chase down that 100 points, because when it's gone I might never get it back.
And suddenly, I started to notice when the cherry was thump-thump-thumping its way out of the escape tunnels. I started to chase after it as soon as it showed up, and as a consequence I usually ended up with Pinky all over me. Damn you, Pinky!
And even though I've identified the problem, I can't get my zen back. This always happens when I lose my zen.
I think it's time to switch to Donkey Kong a little.