Pacman

A classic Pacman game clone built with modern C++20 and SDL3.

Features

• Classic Pacman gameplay
• Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Modern C++20 codebase
• SDL3 for graphics, audio, and input

Requirements

• CMake 3.25 or higher
• C++20 compatible compiler:
  • GCC 11+
  • Clang 14+
  • MSVC 2022+
• Git (for fetching dependencies)

All other dependencies (SDL3, SDL3_image, SDL3_ttf, SDL3_mixer) are automatically downloaded and built via CMake FetchContent.

Building

macOS

# Install build tools (if not already installed)
xcode-select --install

# Install CMake via Homebrew
brew install cmake

Release Build

# Configure
cmake --preset macos-release

# Build
cmake --build build/macos-release

# Run the game
./build/macos-release/pacman.app/Contents/MacOS/pacman

Debug Build

# Configure
cmake --preset macos-debug

# Build
cmake --build build/macos-debug

# Run the game
./build/macos-debug/pacman.app/Contents/MacOS/pacman

Linux

# Install build tools (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential cmake git

# Install SDL3 build dependencies
sudo apt install libx11-dev libxext-dev libxrandr-dev libxcursor-dev \
    libxi-dev libxss-dev libwayland-dev libxkbcommon-dev libegl-dev \
    libdrm-dev libgbm-dev libpulse-dev libasound2-dev libpipewire-0.3-dev

Release Build

cmake --preset linux-release
cmake --build build/linux-release

./build/linux-release/pacman

Debug Build

cmake --preset linux-debug
cmake --build build/linux-debug

./build/linux-debug/pacman

For Fedora/RHEL:

# Install build tools
sudo dnf install gcc-c++ cmake git

# Install SDL3 build dependencies
sudo dnf install libX11-devel libXext-devel libXrandr-devel libXcursor-devel \
    libXi-devel libXScrnSaver-devel wayland-devel libxkbcommon-devel \
    mesa-libEGL-devel libdrm-devel mesa-libgbm-devel pulseaudio-libs-devel \
    alsa-lib-devel pipewire-devel

Windows

Using Visual Studio 2022

# Configure (generates Visual Studio solution)
cmake --preset windows-vs2022

# Build Release
cmake --build build/windows-vs2022 --config Release

# Build Debug
cmake --build build/windows-vs2022 --config Debug

# Run the game
.\build\windows-vs2022\Release\pacman.exe
.\build\windows-vs2022\Debug\pacman.exe

Using Ninja (MSVC)

# Release
cmake --preset windows-release
cmake --build build/windows-release

# Debug
cmake --preset windows-debug
cmake --build build/windows-debug

CMake Presets

The project includes CMake presets for each platform and build type:

Preset	Description
macos-debug	macOS debug build
macos-release	macOS release build with optimizations
linux-debug	Linux debug build
linux-release	Linux release build with optimizations
windows-debug	Windows debug build (Ninja + MSVC)
windows-release	Windows release build (Ninja + MSVC)
windows-vs2022	Visual Studio 2022 solution

List available presets:

cmake --list-presets

IDE Setup

Zed

The project includes Zed editor configuration in .zed/. Open the project folder in Zed and use the task runner (cmd+shift+t) to access build tasks:

• Configure (Debug/Release) - Run CMake configuration
• Build (Debug/Release) - Build the project
• Run (Debug/Release) - Run the game
• Clean - Remove build directories
• Rebuild (Debug) - Clean and rebuild

VS Code

For VS Code, install the CMake Tools extension and select the appropriate preset from the CMake status bar.

CLion

CLion automatically detects CMake presets. Select the desired preset from the CMake profiles dropdown.

Project Structure

pacman/
├── CMakeLists.txt          # Main CMake configuration
├── CMakePresets.json       # CMake presets for different build configs
├── .zed/                   # Zed editor configuration
│   ├── settings.json       # LSP settings (clangd)
│   └── tasks.json          # Build/run tasks
├── src/
│   ├── main.cpp            # Application entry point
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── Game.hpp/cpp    # Main game loop and state
│   │   ├── Window.hpp/cpp  # SDL window wrapper
│   │   └── Renderer.hpp/cpp# SDL renderer wrapper
│   └── utils/
│       ├── Types.hpp       # Type aliases and common types
│       └── Constants.hpp   # Game constants and settings
├── assets/
│   ├── audio/              # Sound effects and music
│   ├── fonts/              # TTF fonts for text rendering
│   ├── maps/               # Level/maze data files
│   └── sprites/            # Game sprites and textures
└── build/                  # Build output (generated)

Controls

Key	Action
Arrow Keys	Move Pacman
ESC	Quit game

Debugging

macOS / Linux

Use LLDB or GDB with the debug build:

# macOS
lldb ./build/macos-debug/pacman.app/Contents/MacOS/pacman

# Linux
gdb ./build/linux-debug/pacman

Windows

Open the Visual Studio solution or use Visual Studio's debugger with the debug build.

License

This project is for educational purposes.