The familiar sounds of Pac-Man were heard echoing through one floor of the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) on Saturday afternoon. But instead of on a screen, adult players wearing glowing lights and carrying magnetic foam balls were chasing their children through an interactive version of the classic game.

It’s all part of AGO All Hours, a new event aimed at offering something for everyone from interactive installations to arcade games to live music.

“The team and I were really just brainstorming and thinking what would be as fun for adults as for young folks, and having a glass of wine while playing Tetris seemed like a good idea,”AGO’s Director of Programming Devyani Saltzman told CTV News Toronto.

And there were plenty of parents and children lighting up with smiles as they played together.

Mike Waldman brought his five-year-old son Patrick to the museum from East York. Holding his smiling son in his arms, Waldman said “he loves arcade cabinets now, which is a trip for me because I barely get a chance to play arcade cabinets anymore, and this is the most exciting thing in the world for him.”

Waiting in line for Pac-Man, Sugy Kodeswarn said she was excited to introduce her kids to a game that she grew up on. She said Pac-Man makes her heart swell that she brought her three children to the event to “show them they could have fun with old school games.”

The kids were enjoying themselves, as was game developer David Fono, who based his installation on the arcade classic.

“You do a lot of design in your head, but it’s impossible to know what it’s going to be like when people are doing it for real,” Fono said.

“This is the first time this game has actually been played, it’s fantastic.”

The All Hours event wraps up at 10pm and admission is free for anyone under 25.



Game developer David Fono watches his interactive Pac-Man game being played. (CTV News Toronto/Nick Dixon)