Google Maps Adds 'Ms. Pac-Man' Feature

An anonymous reader quotes a blog post by Google Maps: Starting now until April 4, you can chomp fruit, avoid ghosts, and collect PAC-Dots along city streets in Google Maps worldwide -- all as Ms. PAC-Maps. Just tap on the Ms. PAC-Maps icon on iOS and Android, or click the Ms. PAC-Maps button at the bottom left on desktop, to enter the maze and start chompin'. Sign in to save your top score on the leaderboard and share with friends.
A playable Google doodle commemorated Pac-Man's 30th anniversary in 2010 -- and was estimated to have cost the IT sector (and other workplaces) 4.8 million hours in lost productivity.

Re:

[colin_faber]

I sure hope so, the new UI barely functions for me on the latest FF and if the goal is to be more like fark, well, fark is a fail onto itself. This UI (color schema and design) makes the horrible mobile interface look half way usable.

Re:

[antdude]

Whoosh!

Re:

[Carewolf]

This is OT, but is the Slashdot redesign an April Fool's joke? It used to be grey but now all of the sudden everything is orange. Is this a new design after so many years or a prank?

Slacker News? Yes it is a joke.

Re:

[Cramit]

You have to click a button to trigger it. It doesn't randomly turn into Pacman.

Re: Not good. Maps is a tool not a toy

[pollarda]

I should point out that as funny as it may be Ms Pac-Man on Google Maps is real and not a April Fools Joke....

Re: Not good. Maps is a tool not a toy

[Zero__Kelvin]

Well ... That's half right. It is both real and an AF joke actually.

Re: Not good. Maps is a tool not a toy

[Zero__Kelvin]

I know what you mean. I haven't figured out how they forced us to click on the Ms. Pac-Map icon to start the game, but it sure was insidious and I don't know it's I'll ever recover from being forced to play it by Google!

Re: Not good. Maps is a tool not a toy

[Nyckname]

You would have abhorred the video game I wrote in Lotus 1-2-3 back in the day.

Gobble this

[markdavis]

Google, instead of wasting tons of hours programming a silly temporary game in a MAP program, how about using those resources to have freaking reminders on the Google Calendar for birthdays? People have only been asking for this for what, 5 years now?? Yeah, really, it is still impossible for the calendar to send notifications so users don't miss peoples' birthdays!

I could go down the list of dozens of important things that people have been waiting for in Android, Maps, Chrome, ChromeOS, etc. But this is a great example.

Re:

[ptaff]

Feeling entitled because...?

Re:

[markdavis]

I wouldn't say "entitled", just frustrated. And I am certainly not alone in that regard.

Re:

[93 Escort Wagon]

"Why is it always Ms. Pac-Man?" Because it's not always Ms. Pac-Man. Google already did regular Pac-Man seven years ago [google.com] as a Google Doodle in celebration of Pac-Man's 30th anniversary.

Re: Why not regular Pac Man??

[Anonymous Coward]

Well he IS running down the middle of a public street, being chased by ghosts... so there's that.