10 Things You Won't Believe Inspired Iconic Video Games

Pac-Man is the most recognizable video game ever (sorry Mario). According to an American study, 94% of the people polled knew who Pac-Man was.

Weirdly, Pac-Man was meant to look drastically different. The creator, Toru Iwatani, wanted Pac-Man to drive a craft to move around the mazes in the game. While looking at a pizza that was missing one slice, Iwatani thought it resembled a face with the mouth open. He believed this simple design was easier to animate than a craft and thus, the Pac-Man that we all know was born.

Another important factor that people forget about Pac-Man is that it was the first game to have a power-up. In every level, Pac-Man is chased by four Ghosts. If he eats the Energizer power-up, he will be able to eat the Ghosts to earn bonus points.

According to Iwatani, he came up with the idea for the power-up by watching Popeye the Sailor Man. In the show, the title character would be beaten to a pulp by Bluto. But the second Popeye downed a can of spinach, he became invincible, allowing him to wail on his enemies.

Iwatani wanted the game to focus on strategy (which was a rare idea at the time) and thought the power-up was a perfect way to implement this concept since the player had to decide the best time to use the Energizer to complete the level.