Pac Man is 30.

If you’re over 35, chances are you remember seeing the arcade game and you probably played at least a couple times. The game seemed to be everywhere, from the encased screens at video arcades to tabletop games in pizza parlors.

Within two years the game had spawned spinoff games, pop songs and even a Saturday morning cartoon. Whether that was a good thing is debatable.

The game’s influence is indisputable. And in just a couple weeks Pac Man will become a member of the International Video Game Hall of Fame. He will be joined by Masaya Nakamura, founder of Namco, the company that released Pac Man.

The inductions are part of Big Bang 2010, the International Video Game Hall of Fame’s biggest effort to date. The multi-day event will also include tournaments and world record attempts for some games. But Pac Man, granddaddy of them all, will be a major presence.

“We’re going to be focusing a ton on Pac Man,” said Dan Canny, vice president of the IVGHOF board.

Nakamura, 84, won’t be attending his induction, but Namco is sending a delegation to accept the honor in his name. Canny said the delegation will likely include officials from corporate offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Tokyo.

“A team of corporate folks from Namco [are coming],” he said. “We’re still working out their schedule.”

Big Bang 2010 runs Aug. 5-8, with a setup day on Aug. 4. Organizers are asking children from the area to come from 9 a.m. to noon on Aug. 6 to take part in creation of sidewalk chalk “birthday cards” for Pac Man. If the schedules work out, Namco’s delegation will pass the well-wishes as they go to Bridge View Center.

Ottumwa’s government is also getting into the act. White dots similar to the ones Pac Man consumed on-screen will run between Bridge View Center, home of the event, and Central Park. The ghosts from the game will mark intersections. And the city has agreed to temporarily rename the park “Pac Man Park” for the event.

Hours run from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Aug. 5, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Aug. 6-7, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 8. Each evening will wrap up with concerts. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster outlets and online.

Other events scheduled for the weekend include tournaments for classic games, Halo 3, Mario Kart and others. Yes, Pac Man is included.

A full schedule is available at http://ivghof.com/schedule