AI competition pits Ms. Pac-Man against ghosts in the Manichean struggle of our time (video)

While the world breathlessly awaits the Pac-Man reality TV show, the University of Essex held a programming competition starring that other yellow chomper. The Ms. Pac-Man vs. Ghost Team contest pitted 13 competitors from nine different countries against one another, to see who could create the most elusive Ms. Pac-Man or the wiliest ghost gang. The participants coded routines for the titular hero or Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Sue, with organizers then running the programs against one another on the Java-based playing field. The highest single-game score went to Atif, who racked up 69240 points versus DarkRodry's ghosts, while ghost team Legacy2TheReckoning held RandomMsPacMan to a mere 410 points. Another competition will take place in August, so limber up your coding fingers, Pac-Maniacs. In the meantime, strap on your headgear and cheer on your round yellow hero in the video below.