8 Famous Video Game Characters Created By Accident

Having covered Mario's origins already, it probably won't be a shock to learn that his twin brother Luigi had just as unremarkable a beginning - arguably even more so, considering he's often the more neglected Mario Bro of the two anyway.

Mario's first solo outing, 1983's Mario Bros., featured a multiplayer mode in which Player 2 could take control of a palette-swapped version of Mario. This character wore a green cap and dungarees, with a black shirt underneath.

Obviously, given the title of the game, the green-clad Mario was always intended to be a separate entity from Mario himself, but only in later appearances did the character of Luigi develop his own identity and personality vastly different from that of his brother.

So, then, it's another case of what was once thought to be a technical restraint reimagined as a completely intentional story mechanic. As Luigi's physical appearance began to differ from Mario's, so did his character traits and gameplay mechanics, and today, the Luigi's Mansion series remains one of the most popular spin-offs of the entire Mario franchise.

In other words, all you budding game developers out there, if you're experiencing a bit of artist's block, try painting your main character a different colour and see if you accidentally change the face of gaming forever.