MegaStorm Systems

Game modes

• Standard: built-in mazes with traditional ghost behavior rules.
• Evolution: procedurally generated mazes with cooperative, neural network-driven ghosts.

Visual presentation

• Top-down view with rounded maze corners and neon wall glow.
• Experimental orthographic view with elevated walls, depth shading, ambient occlusion and floor-anchored actor shadows.
• Level-based wall colors in both views.
• Power-pellet sparkle bursts and smooth interpolated movement.

Neural network AI

• 4 trained ghost agents with distinct behaviors and strategies.
• 400 generations of genetic algorithm training.
• Cooperative hunting patterns designed to corner the player.
• Ghost brains stored as external XML files.

Procedural generation

• Built-in static mazes in Standard mode.
• Procedurally generated mazes in Evolution mode.
• Maze algorithm adapted from Shaun LeBron’s JavaScript implementation.

Classic gameplay

• High score tables for both player-facing modes.
• Power pellets, vulnerable ghosts and combo scoring.
• Faithful movement and gameplay mechanics.
• Pause and resume support.

Technical foundation

• Modern C++17 codebase using CRM64Pro GDK.
• Hardware-accelerated top-down and orthographic rendering.
• 60 FPS rendering target with a fixed 40 Hz gameplay update rate.
• A* pathfinding, genetic algorithms and feedforward neural networks.
• Complete source code available under the zlib license.

Configuration

Pac-Man Evolution uses the CRM64Pro ConfigSetup feature for video, audio and special game settings. Selecting enableDebug makes the F1 debug interface available, and the startup log reports whether debug access is enabled.

The debug interface includes controls for rounded corners, wall glow and the experimental orthographic view.

Controls

• Arrow keys: move Pac-Man.
• Space: pause or resume the game.
• Escape: abort the current game.
• F1: open the debug interface when enabled through ConfigSetup.