Class uses Life-size Pac-Man maze to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters
On Friday Nov. 13, CMUs very own RPO430 class, brought to life the classic arcade game, Pac-Man, by creating a life-size maze that allowed participants to compete as the role of Pac-Man himself.
The event was a class assignment aimed to help raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Great Lakes Bay Region.
The maze was set up at the Student Activity Center MAC Gym #1. Entry into the course was $3 per person. Boxes were used as barriers and glow sticks and decorative lights lit up the course. In the center was a caged that held the three volunteers that acted as the ghosts.
Senior Recreation and Event Management major Kaitlynn Temple explained her group’s choice of Pac-Man for their event theme.
“We were trying to think of something that might be a little more out-of-the-box and would target college students, something they think would be fun," Temple said. “We saw the Bud Light commercial that has the life-size Pac-Man and thought we could do that on a more college-level budget."
The objective of the game was to collect all six of the small balls placed within the maze within 60 seconds. A point system was also instituted to rank each participant. Five points were awarded for every ball collected. If the participant collected the balls with time to spare, every second left earned them one point. Penalty points were also a factor. One point was deducted for being tapped by a ghost, and there was a five point penalty for running within the maze.
The course was set up to be both adult and child friendly.
Participants with the highest scores by the end of the event had the chance of winning several prizes: 100 minutes at Maui Tanning, a $20 gift card to Crankers, a $10 gift card to iHop, two free pitas at Pita Pit, a free value basket from Culvers, a free You Pick Two from Panera or a free haircut at JR Haircuts.
Temple reached out to friends and other students to make the event a success. Illinois junior Jacob Soehlke heard about the event from Temple and volunteered to act as one of the courses three ghosts.
“A lot of people have played the video game before so it’s kind of cool to experience what it would be like to be Pac-Man," Soehlke said.
Junior Rachel Meinburg also came out to participate in the event.
“It was fun and cute, I think it would be great for kids”, said Meinburg after her run-through of the maze. “It is a cool concept because everyone knows about the game Pac-Man so people automatically get it”.
The groups goal was for at least 50 people to attend there event and to raise a minimum of $200 dollars to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
