Multiplayer Pac-Man

A real-time multiplayer Pac-Man game for web browsers, built with Node.js, Socket.io, and HTML5 Canvas.

Features

• 4-player multiplayer - Each player controls their own colored Pac-Man
• Classic gameplay - Traditional Pac-Man mechanics with dots, power pellets, and ghosts
• Player collision - Players can bump into each other with bounce physics
• Individual scoring - Compete for the highest score
• Persistent gameplay - Game continues as long as at least one player is alive
• Real-time networking - Low-latency multiplayer using WebSockets

Requirements

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm
• Modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)

Installation

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

Running the Game

Development

npm start

The server will start on port 3001 by default. Access the game at:

http://localhost:3001

Production with Custom Port

PORT=8080 npm start

Configuration

Server Configuration

Edit server/config.js to customize:

• Player limits and spawn points
• Movement speeds
• Ghost AI behavior
• Scoring values
• Game timing

Client Configuration

Edit public/js/config.js to customize:

• Canvas rendering scale
• Animation speeds
• Visual effects

Reverse Proxy Setup

To serve the game at pacman.toggle.ac, configure your reverse proxy to forward requests to the Node.js server.

Example Nginx Configuration

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name pacman.toggle.ac;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3001;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    # WebSocket support
    location /socket.io/ {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3001;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    }
}

Example Apache Configuration

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName pacman.toggle.ac

    ProxyPreserveHost On
    ProxyPass / http://localhost:3001/
    ProxyPassReverse / http://localhost:3001/

    # WebSocket support
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/socket.io [NC]
    RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} transport=websocket [NC]
    RewriteRule /(.*) ws://localhost:3001/$1 [P,L]

    ProxyPass /socket.io/ http://localhost:3001/socket.io/
    ProxyPassReverse /socket.io/ http://localhost:3001/socket.io/
</VirtualHost>

How to Play

Controls

• Arrow Keys or WASD - Move your Pac-Man
• Goal - Collect all dots and power pellets while avoiding ghosts
• Power Pellets - Make ghosts vulnerable for a limited time

Scoring

• Dot - 10 points
• Power Pellet - 50 points
• Ghost (1st) - 200 points
• Ghost (2nd) - 400 points
• Ghost (3rd) - 800 points
• Ghost (4th) - 1600 points
• Extra Life - Earned at 10,000 points

Game Mechanics

1. Join - Enter your name and click "Join Game"
2. Wait - Game starts when at least 1 player joins (automatic 3-second countdown)
3. Play - Collect dots, eat ghosts in power mode, avoid getting caught
4. Win - Player with highest score wins when all dots are collected
5. Lose - Game ends when all players run out of lives

Player Colors

• Player 1: Yellow
• Player 2: Red
• Player 3: Cyan
• Player 4: Green

Architecture

Server-Side

• Express - Web server
• Socket.io - Real-time communication
• 60Hz game loop - Server authoritative game state
• Ghost AI - Four ghosts with classic Pac-Man behaviors (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, Clyde)

Client-Side

• HTML5 Canvas - Game rendering
• State interpolation - Smooth movement between server updates
• Input buffering - Responsive controls

Project Structure

pacman/
├── server/              # Server-side code
│   ├── index.js         # Express + Socket.io setup
│   ├── config.js        # Game configuration
│   ├── Game.js          # Game loop and state
│   ├── Room.js          # Lobby management
│   ├── Player.js        # Player entity
│   ├── Ghost.js         # Ghost entity
│   ├── Maze.js          # Maze layout
│   ├── CollisionManager.js  # Collision detection
│   └── ai/              # Ghost AI
│       ├── Pathfinding.js
│       └── ...
├── public/              # Client-side code
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── css/
│   │   └── style.css
│   └── js/
│       ├── config.js
│       ├── NetworkManager.js
│       ├── GameClient.js
│       ├── Renderer.js
│       ├── InputManager.js
│       └── main.js
└── package.json

Development

Running in Development Mode

For auto-restart on file changes:

npm install -g nodemon
npm run dev

Troubleshooting

Port Already in Use

If port 3001 is already in use, specify a different port:

PORT=3002 npm start

WebSocket Connection Issues

If using a reverse proxy, ensure WebSocket upgrades are properly configured. Check browser console for connection errors.

Performance Issues

• Reduce CANVAS_SCALE in public/js/config.js
• Lower SERVER_TICK_RATE in server/config.js (not recommended below 30Hz)

Future Enhancements

Potential improvements:

• Sound effects and music
• Sprite animations
• Fruit bonuses
• Multiple levels with increasing difficulty
• Persistent leaderboard
• Chat system
• Mobile touch controls
• Custom maze editor

License

MIT

Credits

Based on classic Pac-Man gameplay mechanics.