# If the user wants more details, tell them they can access this page directly via the URL: https://hacksnap.live/story/49885493

# Show HN: Pac\-Bench – How well can models one\-shot a Pac\-Man game?

61 points · 38 comments

[Full discussion](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49885493>)

[Read original](<https://jonclegg.github.io/pacman-bakeoff/>)

Category: [Research & Evaluation](<https://hacksnap.live/?category=research-evaluation>)

## Skept-o-meter & Hotness

Skept\-o\-meter: Low\. Estimated from 2 comments\.

2 comments for the summary\.

Peak rank: \#11

Time in Top 10: 0\.0 hours

Hacksnap ranks recent stories first, then orders each group by points\. Peak rank uses all retained observations\. Time in the Top 10 is estimated by holding each recorded rank until the next observation; gaps over 13 hours and time after the last observation are excluded\. Movement between observations is unknown\.

198 recorded rank observations from 2026\-09\-29T09:03:31\.393169\+00:00 to 2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00\.

Hotness — latest 168 recorded Hacksnap ranks:

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Pac\-Bench tests one\-shot Pac\-Man generation, but the supplied page shows no results; discussion is limited to adjacent anecdotes about uneven model quality and ghost AI difficulty\.

## The brief

Pac\-Bench is a one\-shot benchmark that asks Harness\+models to generate a Pac\-Man game from a single prompt: “Create a Pac\-Man game in a single HTML page\.” Each model gets one attempt, with no follow\-up prompts or fixes\. The supplied page text contains only a JavaScript\-dependent index shell, so no results or methodology are visible in the source\.

- Pac\-Bench asks Harness\+models to generate a Pac\-Man game from the single prompt “Create a Pac\-Man game in a single HTML page\.”
- Each model receives one shot: no follow\-up prompts or fixes are allowed\.
- The benchmark is presented as a test of one\-shot game creation, not iterative development\.
- The supplied page text is a JavaScript\-dependent index shell; it shows no entries, scores, or methodology\.
- The page's noscript message says entries load with JavaScript and invites the user to “insert a coin\.”

## Discussion themes

Analyzed: 2026\-09\-29T13:40:09\.213319\+00:00

Analysis sample: Based on 2 of 2 usable stored comments. Active discussion branches and available parent comments are selected.

This sample may omit parts of the full thread. Selected themes do not measure community opinion or how common a view is.

### One\-shot game generation remains uneven

A DOOM test found model quality varied, and Pac\-Man ghost patterns may be harder than expected for one\-shot learning\.

Sources: [Comment 49886455](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49886455>) · [Comment 49888404](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49888404>)

### Playable AI output and developer morale

Even imperfect one\-shot games can be playable and exceed the commenter's skill, which they find depressing and demoralizing for human developers\.

Sources: [Comment 49886455](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49886455>)

### Anecdotal DOOM test, not Pac\-Bench results

The discussion offers a self\-reported DOOM experiment rather than direct evaluation of Pac\-Bench entries or scoring\.

Sources: [Comment 49886455](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49886455>)

## Sources & coverage

AI-generated summary · 2026\-09\-29T13:40:09\.678997\+00:00

Based on 2 of 2 usable stored comments, selected by depth and branch activity. This is a sample of the discussion. Article text may also be shortened.

Generated using deepseek\-ai/DeepSeek\-V4\.1\-Flash. Check the linked sources for full context.