A developer on Hacker News reimagined the classic arcade title Pac‑Man by swapping roles. Players now chase the familiar yellow hero through the maze, turning the game’s original AI on its head. The twist mirrors the original: when the hero consumes a power pellet, the roles reverse and the ghost becomes the hunted.

The project showcases how simple rule changes can invert gameplay dynamics and expose hidden AI behavior. By leveraging the existing maze layout and path‑finding algorithms, the creator keeps rendering costs low while adding a new layer of strategy. Players must anticipate the hero’s power‑up windows to survive the brief chase.

The game runs directly in the browser, allowing anyone to try it without downloads. It demonstrates how nostalgic IP can be repurposed for fresh experiences, highlighting the flexibility of web‑based game engines. The implementation also serves as a quick demo for teaching AI path‑finding techniques in interactive settings.

Developers can copy the source, tweak the maze size, or swap the AI logic to create variants. This simple experiment underlines how altering core rules reshapes player perception and can inspire new indie projects that breathe new life into classic mechanics.