QACMAN Turns Any Text Into a Playable Pac-Man Maze That Still Scans
ezshine · x · 2026-09-09
An indie developer launched QACMAN, which converts text or a URL into a QR code that doubles as a playable Pac-Man-style maze (arrow keys/WASD/swipe, ghosts, embeddable).
- How it works: Uses QR Level-H error correction, protects finder patterns and essential modules, then carves connected paths only through modules that tolerate controlled changes.
- The hard part: Balancing fun (avoiding dead-end mazes) with scannability — the dev missed his one-hour launch promise wrestling with this tradeoff.
- Lesson: Figure out the product's core value proposition first; subtracting features is harder than adding.
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