Caterpillar Revives Popular Video Series with Trial 9: PAC-MAN

In this video, operators use remote controls to navigate skid steers around a life-size PAC-MAN™ board, showing how Cat equipment and services are there to help customers around every corner

During the video, the five players race their machines around the exact 3D replica of the iconic PAC-MAN™ board to simulate gameplay of the original arcade game. The movement is all done through remote control operation far above the constructed maze, utilizing 236D3 Skid Steer loaders from The Cat Rental Store.
During the video, the five players race their machines around the exact 3D replica of the iconic PAC-MAN™ board to simulate gameplay of the original arcade game. The movement is all done through remote control operation far above the constructed maze, utilizing 236D3 Skid Steer loaders from The Cat Rental Store.
Caterpillar, Inc.

Most people in the construction industry are familiar with Caterpillar’s popular video series: The Cat Trials. Caterpillar launched the series in 2014 and used each of the previous eight videos to highlight the power, versatility and precision their products are capable of. 

The videos place Cat equipment in the most extreme conditions with intense pressure to perform while giving viewers a light-hearted and enjoyable viewing experience. The Trials have been quiet for a few years now, but to celebrate Cat’s 95th year in business, they’ve brought them back in a BIG way. 

Trial 9: PAC-MAN™ is not only fun to watch, it also highlights how Cat equipment and services are there to help customers whenever they inevitably encounter a challenge, in this case there’s one around every corner. 

In The Cat Trial #9: PAC-MAN™, the concentration is on Caterpillar’s services in the form of in-game power pellets representing Cat Customer Value Agreements, Repair Options, Cat Financial and the Cat App, while appealing to the next generation of operators.  Watch the video below:

“In an industry that is struggling to find skilled operators right now, we wanted to showcase what work will look like in the future for the construction industry,” said Victoria Keese Morrissey, global marketing and brand director at Caterpillar Inc. “Our future operators and technicians are people who play video games today. We wanted to show them that what you can do in the virtual world, you can do in the real world—and that’s going to help bring in the next generation of workers to the industry.”  ‘

Building the PAC-MAN™ Board

The idea to merge Caterpillar products and PAC-MAN™ came from the success of previous trials. 

“This is our 95th anniversary year,” said J. Archie Lyons, brand strategy and activation creative director of The Cat Trials. “We looked back and said, what do our fans really love? The Cat Trials program. Automation and services were key topics people wanted to see, so what better way to show automation than PAC-MAN™. It’s been fun to integrate the two brands together.”  

With the help of skilled operators, Cat built a life-sized PAC-MAN™ game board using the latest Cat machines, attachments and technology. The players in the video (including Cat customers, expert operators and gamers) used remote controls to operate the giant PAC-MAN™ and the ghosts.

Watch How the PAC-MAN™ Gameboard was Built

During the video, the five players race their machines around the exact 3D replica of the iconic PAC-MAN™ board to simulate gameplay of the original arcade game. The movement is all done through remote control operation far above the constructed maze, utilizing 236D3 Skid Steer loaders from The Cat Rental Store.  

It took a Caterpillar 336 Next Gen Excavator 70 man-hours to dig the actual gameboard, utilizing 6,880 yards of cut dirt to dig the maze and berm for a total of 5,300 tons of earth. The inside height of the walls measure 4 ft. high with an overall gameboard size of 162.4 by 180.4 ft. 

It took a Caterpillar 336 Next Gen Excavator 70 man-hours to dig the actual gameboard, utilizing 6,880 yards of cut dirt to dig the maze and berm for a total of 5,300 tons of earth. The inside height of the walls measure 4 ft. high with an overall gameboard size of 162.4 by 180.4 ft.It took a Caterpillar 336 Next Gen Excavator 70 man-hours to dig the actual gameboard, utilizing 6,880 yards of cut dirt to dig the maze and berm for a total of 5,300 tons of earth. The inside height of the walls measure 4 ft. high with an overall gameboard size of 162.4 by 180.4 ft. Caterpillar, Inc.

“We look at PAC-MAN™ as a construction site,”  Lyons said.  “The ghosts are the challenges our customers face every day, you never know what is around the corner, just like PAC-MAN™ doesn’t. He [PAC-MAN™] uses power pellets to take on the challenges, and we [Caterpillar] offer up  CAT dealer services.”  

Players for Trial 9 included: 

  • PAC-MAN™: Customer – Jim Kosner, JIMAX – Landscaping & Demolition/Operates Cat Remote Equipment 
  • Blinky: NASCAR/RCR eSports – Joey Stone – Drives the #8 Cat Car on the virtual track  
  • Inky: Customer – Alfonso Farjardo of Horsepower Site Survey – Global Operator Challenge Regional Finalist 
  • Pinky: Social Influencer – BLITZ – YouTube Gaming Content Creator and Civil Engineer 
  • Clyde: Social Influencer/Customer – Tom Gardocki – The Dirt Ninja 

See Behind the Scenes Footage of Trial 9: PAC-MAN™ Gameplay 

Other Gameboard Build Facts

  • Cat Grade 3D – Technology used to dig precise gameboard
  • Field Prep Machines: D6, D6XE, D8T, D9T, D11, 825K & 773G Water Wagon
  • Build Machines all equipped with Cat Grade 3D: 336, 323, D6XE, 150. 
  • 70 Man hours to dig the actual gameboard
  • 6,880 yards of cut / fill dirt to dig the maze and berm / 5,300 tons of dirt
  • 1% grade from top right to lower left for drainage. That means the top of the gameboard is about 3.5’ taller than the bottom.
  • 4’ – Height of the walls inside the gameboard
  • 162.4’ x 180.4’ dimensions of the actual gameboard (Outside the berm 246.4’ x 264.4’).
  • It's 19,040% of original scale of the classic arcade screen.

Video: Time lapse of PAC-MAN™ Gameboard Build

Game Play Facts

  • 5 - 236D3 Remote Controlled Skid Steer Loaders from The Cat Rental Store
  • Power Pellets / Services featured: 
    • Customer Value Agreements, Repair Options, Cat Financial, Cat App
  • Additional Services Featured:
    • Fruit Bonuses appear on Cat Part Boxes – fruit is how PAC-MAN™ gets more life the same way parts give Cat equipment more lives
    • All machines are from The Cat Rental Store fleet – marked with rental store magnets
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