Pac-Man is the philosophy of the dog-eat-dog, work-a-day world. The constant repetitive struggle to earn one’s keep, that keeps repeating endlessly until the ghosts of the world get the better of you.
That’s all there is to it. And in that, such a simple game becomes so profound as to be a timeless classic.
But let’s get beyond the maddeningly unphilosophical lesson of it all and have fun with some of the music, shall we? The jingle in particular. It’s a staccato rhythm, C5, C#5, C5, ascension to C. That’s the gyst of it. Even the chords are maddening. No chord progressions, no higher chords, just the basic C, and it never gets more than a half-note away. The C5 is the home page of chord theory. The C#, its next of kin that may struggle for something higher, but is still intimately tied with it. And even then, it leads right back to C, its struggle hilariously futile. With a finish-off that all notes lead to C.
And that’s your game of Pac-Man. Your goal isn’t to beat the bad guy, it isn’t to live happily ever after, it’s just to survive. Avoid the myriad of ghosts that can trip you up in this world. Even if they will ultimately pronounce your doom. Occasionally, and it only happens so often, you get on a trump, and that’s where you feel invincible. And just maybe you are. But those moments only happen so often, don’t think you’re naturally invincible, learn to treasure those moments and use them to your advantage, if possible.
Because soon enough, it’s right back to where you were.