How ‘PAC-MAN: Snack Breaks’ Gives the Arcade Icon a New 2D Bite

PAC-MAN is back, man! And he’s ready to chow down. 

Bandai Namco Entertainment partnered with animation studio Cartuna to produce PAC-MAN: Snack Breaks, a series of animated shorts that follow PAC-MAN as he leaves PAC-Village for the fast-paced, neon sprawl of New PAC-City, where everyday life bursts into high-speed, snack-fueled adventures. 

Check out the first episode:

The series, now available on YouTube, is adapted from Namco’s classic ’80s arcade game icon. Despite its simple concept—a yellow circle tries to eat all the dots and escape a maze before being caught by colorful ghosts—PAC-MAN remains one of the highest-grossing and best-selling video games of all time. 

AWN talked with Susan Tran, Sr. Director of Brand Development for PAC-MAN at Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., and Noah Pardo, Cartuna director of PAC-MAN: Snack Breaks, about the process of adapting this historic character, how they landed on the Snack Breaks storyline, secret easter eggs, new settings, as well as the many, many references used to develop PAC-MAN’s new look.

Victoria Davis: How did this shorts project come about? Where did the idea come from?

Susan Tran: We celebrated PAC-MAN’s 45^th anniversary last year, honoring the impact the brand has made over the years. As we looked toward the future, we wanted to explore new ways for fans to connect with PAC-MAN on a deeper level. With a multi-generational fanbase in mind, we wanted to delve into storytelling and world-building beyond our games. We saw growth and a community forming on PAC-MAN’s YouTube channel, so it made sense for us to produce an animated YouTube series and share these snack-sized stories for a broad digital audience.

Noah Pardo: Bandai Namco approached Cartuna about developing a digital series starring PAC-MAN. We were thrilled at the chance to work with such an iconic IP, not to mention working with Bandai Namco, who has published some of the greatest games of all time. I’m personally a big fan of the Souls series, so it was an especially exciting partnership for us creatively.

From the start, there was a shared interest in exploring a new urban environment in PAC-Land. We pitched several fun routes the series could take, but kept coming back to the idea that we’d center the series around PAC-MAN adjusting to life in the bustling and colorful New PAC-City, brimming with zany characters, some familiar and some brand new. 

VD: How did you land on this specific storyline? What adventures can viewers expect to see? 

NP: The move from small-town PAC-Village to the bigger, busier New PAC-City gives our hero endless opportunities for adventure. We’re especially excited to explore our four favorite ghosts—Blinky, Inky, Pinky, and Clyde—further developing their personalities and diving deeper into the inner dynamics of TEAM GHOST. Some of our favorite episodes center around the Ghosts, giving them the main-character energy they so deserve. 

ST: We worked closely with Cartuna to establish a brand-new setting for PAC-MAN as he embarks on life in New PAC-City. Our collective goal for the series is to bring joy and smiles to fans of all ages. We wanted to create something that people who grew up playing the original PAC-MAN at the arcades can watch and enjoy alongside younger audiences who are just discovering PAC-MAN for the first time. Cartuna is able to capture the right amount of humor and playfulness that resonates across generations.

The premiere episode centers around PAC-MAN celebrating his birthday in the new town. That’s why we chose to debut the series on PAC-MAN Day, May 22, as a gift to fans.

VD: How did you land on the 2D animation style? What adjustments did you make to the character design to fit this more modern rendition?  

NP: If you don’t know our character design lead Ricardo Scioville yet, you will soon! He is a creative force, an incredible artist, and utterly hilarious. We wanted to pay homage to PAC-MAN’s classic 2D style while updating it for modern audiences. For PAC-MAN’s new look, we aimed to strike a balance between retro and modern.

We referenced the rubber hose foundations of PAC-MAN’s earliest designs by giving him chunky gloves, thin bendy limbs, and a bold, textured line style. We also took inspiration from modern chibi design, softening his features for a more rounded and approachable look. His eyebrows now float above his head for maximum character expression potential! PAC-MAN still sports red shoes, but we’ve opted for modern high-tops in lieu of his classic boots.

In terms of movement, character animation takes a modern approach, featuring snappy key poses, sticky in-betweens, and comedic timing. We’ve also leaned in on character model breaks with references from modern anime and dozens of our favorite modern animated shows. Over the decades, PAC-MAN has constantly evolved alongside gaming itself, from simple 2D arcade sprites to bolder 3D interpretations and everything in between. By allowing his design to occasionally shift, stretch, or “break” across different styles, we pay tribute to those many eras of PAC-MAN while giving the series a playful visual language that feels modern, unpredictable, and uniquely suited to animation.

We’ve had the privilege of working with incredible board artists Jennifer Cao and Kaden Westbrook, as well as our insanely talented Creative Director Vitor Campos, all of whom bring unique personality and comedy to the production and make all of this possible. 

VD: In what ways did you want to celebrate the original PAC-MAN games within this universe with the animation and the easter eggs you’ve put into the short? 

NP: Creatively, this was a really fun sandbox to play in. Together with Bandai Namco, who are, of course, the experts on all things PAC-MAN, we were excited to dive into all the ways that PAC-MAN has appeared in content over the decades. We drew inspiration from pinball machines, 3D renderings in the PAC-Land series, the earliest top-down arcade cabinets, and more. Between prop, environment, and character designs, the PAC-MAN: Snack Breaks series is ripe with visual easter eggs.

Working alongside the music composition team at PlusWav, we’ve had a blast weaving sonic references into the score for the show, pulling from dozens of classic PAC-MAN music and sound effects over the years. The PlusWav team is unbelievably talented and a joy to collaborate with, having contributed to some of the most exciting game scores in recent years, including Celeste and Casual Birder. We’re excited to see how many musical easter eggs fans notice throughout the series! 

ST: Fans can also expect to see some of their favorite characters from PAC-MAN’s universe pop in, as well as surprise cameos from other legendary Bandai Namco IPs. 

VD: What were the biggest challenges of this project? Either in the animation production or narratively in the script? 

NP: As a digital shorts series, finding the right balance between energy, pacing, and storytelling was incredibly important to us. We never wanted the series to feel frantic or overloaded with ideas, although a little chaos now and then is just what the doctor ordered. That framework shaped how we wrote, boarded, and edited the series. Working on the edit with real-life wizard and associate creative director Ben Bishop, every beat had to earn its place, and we were intentionally selective so the storytelling stayed clean and focused.

VD: What’s been the most rewarding part of this project? 

NP: The collaboration has easily been the most rewarding part of the project. From ideation and design to storyboarding, voice records, animation, and beyond, every stage of the process has created opportunities for artists and creatives to riff, experiment, and put their own unique stamp on the series. I think the final product really reflects how artist-driven the production has been from start to finish. 

ST: Fans have responded so positively to the series. From the animation style to the voice casting and character personas, it’s been great to see all the incredible feedback and fans asking for more! We’re already seeing Snack Breaks fan art and memes. It gives us the confidence to really push the brand further, both from a narrative and creative standpoint.   

VD: We’ve seen stellar game adaptations and terrible ones. But PAC-MAN is by far one of the simplest characters to adapt. Did you find that the simplicity of PAC-MAN offered more opportunities in the adaptation process and made production a bit more forgiving? Or was it actually harder than anticipated? 

NP: Part of the beauty of PAC-MAN is the simplicity of the main character. That’s not to say we didn’t have our fair share of deep conversations concerning the rules of PAC-Land, our character’s motivations, and the broader lore of the series. In many ways, we had more creative freedom than we initially expected working with such established IP. That freedom was exciting, but it also came with a responsibility to exercise restraint, building depth without overcomplicating what makes PAC-MAN instantly recognizable and universal.

Our lead writer Annie Nishida and story supervisor Garrett Beltis have done an incredible job building a version of PAC-MAN’s world that feels vibrant and original while still remaining approachable for viewers with no prior familiarity with PAC-MAN media. 

VD: Can we expect Bandai Namco and Cartuna to create more PAC-MAN shorts together in the future? 

ST: The Cartuna team brings so much creativity and passion to this project. Collaborating with them has been a seamless process, and it also gives us the opportunity to highlight all the amazing creative talent and artists who have touched every aspect of the series. We’re excited about what the future brings for PAC-MAN and to continue working with Cartuna as our creative partner.

Victoria Davis is a full-time, freelance journalist and part-time Otaku with an affinity for all things anime. She's reported on numerous stories from activist news to entertainment. Find more about her work at victoriadavisdepiction.com.