The most tearjerking, hilarious, satisfying, and shocking death scenes in 2,500 years of culture, chosen by Slate editors and contributors. Needless to say, this piece contains spoilers:
Pac-Man in Pac-Man
Author: Toru Iwatani
Year: 1980
Original medium: Video game
What fictional entity has as much experience with death as an arcade character, for whom existence is but a never-ending cycle of death and reincarnation? Pac-Man wants only to eat delicious dots, but he is always hunted and he’s always, eventually, caught. And when he dies, he doesn’t simply bounce off the screen, like Mario, or curse his bad luck, like Q*bert. Instead, Pac-Man’s mouth expands and consumes his entire body. Horrifying! What really cements Pac-Man’s death as iconic, though, is the sound effect that plays when he meets this end, an electronic wail followed by two splats. You’re hearing it in your head right now, and you know what it means: The End, unless you can dig another quarter out of your pocket.
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