10 Things You Won't Believe Inspired Iconic Video Games

Ecco the Dolphin seems like a straightforward game for the SEGA Genesis. You play as a dolphin trying to rescue his friends (there was also time-travel and aliens but players tend to forget that part).

Despite being a simple game, it has the most ridiculous backstory. Like all great origins, it begins with aliens.

In 1961, several NASA scientists were growing concerned that humans wouldn't be able to communicate with an extra-terrestrial if they even encountered one. The scientists reasoned that if they could make an animal speak, it would help understand how to communicate with a creature from another planet. Since dolphins are the smartest creatures, this NASA team thought these animals had the best chance of speaking. For the experiment, they hired John C. Tilly - a respected scientist and the inventor of the isolation tank.

Tilly spent years trying to make his dolphin, Peter, speak through his blowhole. Unfortunately, all his experiments ended in failure. Due to frustration, Tilly suffered migraines and so began consuming ketamine to curb the pain. He took the drug so regularly that he called it Vitamin K.

After overdosing on the drug, Tilly hallucinated that he was being contacted by an alien called Earth Coincidence Control Office (or ECCO for short) who claimed to govern all worldly matters. This confrontation shook Tilly to his core. He felt like he forced his dolphin to endure horrific experimentation for human curiosity and so, dedicated his life to peace.

Game designer Ed Annunziata was inspired by Tilly's books and created the video game, Ecco the Dolphin. No-one involved in the project could have ever imagined the insanity that inspired the creation of the game.