10 Completely Shameless Video Game Rip-Offs
2. Ms. Pac-Man - Pac-Man
Strangely, it wasn't Midway's idea to give us Ms. Pac-Man. Instead, two MIT students had gotten their hands on a Pac-Man arcade cabinet and hacked their way around the software to produce their own version - Crazy Otto.
Basically, Pacman with legs, but Midway shut them down in one fell swoop. Initially, anyway.
Staff at Midway booted the Crazy Otto machine and were astounded at the changes the students had made. The enemy AI was far smarter and the characters moved faster, making the game exponentially better and tougher to play. One big cheque later, and the game belonged to Midway as the students washed their hands of it.
Rather than destroy the evidence of Crazy Otto's brilliance, Midway chopped Paccers' legs off and gave him a bow to create Ms. Pacman. That's exactly how it happened, surprisingly enough.