Mrs. Pac-Man: A Love Story Born Out of a Game

In the world of video games, few characters have captured our hearts like Pac-Man and his love interest, Mrs. Pac-Man. But did you know that Mrs. Pac-Man was not always part of the game? Her creation is a fascinating story that involves love, passion, and a dash of creativity.

When the original Pac-Man game became 'Super Pac-Man', Otto's love interest was replaced with a red-colored Pac-Man, leaving fans wondering what had happened to her character. The answer lay in Crazy Otto, a game developed by General Computer Corporation (GCC) and later modified to become Super Pac-Man.

The intermission animation of Crazy Otto featured Otto's love interest as a red-colored female counterpart, born out of the inspiration of programmer Mike Horowitz. He imagined a boy meeting a girl, chasing each other, and finding true love during a drive to a friend's wedding. This concept would later evolve into the character we know today as Mrs. Pac-Man.

The journey from Crazy Otto to Super Pac-Man was not without its challenges. GCC acquired the rights to Crazy Otto and worked with Namco's Japanese offices to rework the game for distribution. Rather than selling it as a conversion kit, Midway wanted to distribute Crazy Otto as a sequel to Pac-Man.

With the lawsuit between Atari and GCC already settled, the company decided to present the Crazy Otto modification kit to Bally Midway, the distributor for Pac-Man in North America. This decision avoided legal troubles and allowed GCC to develop games for Atari.

The story of Mrs. Pac-Man is a testament to the power of creativity and collaboration. From its humble beginnings as an intermission animation to its evolution into a beloved character, Mrs. Pac-Man has become an integral part of gaming history. And thanks to Google's Doodle, we can relive this love story once again.

Mrs. pac man google doodle