Count Pacula (found design documents for unproduced "Pac-Man" spin-off game; 1983): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:01, 27 May 2023

Game design document for Count Pacula, containing a maze layout and character designs.

Status: Found

Date found: 3 Jun '20

Found by: 365ofPac, Sharron Symonds, The Strong National Museum of Play

When Namco's Pac-Man was first released to American shores in October 1980, it was licensed for publishing to the US-based amusements company Bally Midway - along with this came full intellectual property rights for Pac-Man in the US and Europe, which Midway used to create multiple sequels featuring original Pac-Man characters - the most successful of which being Ms. Pac-Man in 1982. On December 9, 1983, a year after the success of Ms., a pitch was created for another spin-off titled Count Pacula, featuring a character who made his debut earlier that year in Hanna-Barbera's Pac-Man cartoon (and would go on to appear in Pac-Man games and cartoons long afterwards). The pitch never made it past the conceptual stage, likely due to its macabre tone and villainous protagonist.^[1]

Gameplay

The player would have taken control of Count Pacula, an estranged member of the Pac-Man family, and - in place of ghosts - have to avoid family members bearing stakes, traveling through 4 floors of his mansion, with higher floors being harder to navigate and lower floors being smaller. The game would've featured a similar pinball functionality to that of Baby Pac-Man for the first floor of the mansion.

Upon collecting a moon, Count Pacula would've scared the family members into dropping their stakes and become capable of biting their necks. When bitten, the now-vampiric family members would join his side and help chase down other family members before reverting to normal.

Unlike in other Pac-Man games of the time, ghosts would appear as allies to Pacula, informing him of secret entrances to the pinball basement.

Pacula could also collect a "bat pill", that activates a bat button which could be pressed to transform into a bat, giving Pacula temporary invincibility.

The bonus fruit would be activated through the pinball playfield by spelling "B-O-N-U-S", to which the bonus fruit (a Bloody Mary cocktail being named as one) would appear on the game screen.

The game would've featured 4 enemies:

Mr. Pac-Man, the smartest of the AI enemies who would always be following Pacula, could anticipate his moves, and would never hide.
Mrs. Pac-Man, described as being smart but not as much so as Mr. Pac-Man, would be easily frightened and have a tendency to hide in very open spots that leave her vulnerable.
Baby Pac-Man, now a teenager who completely lacks experience. While he'd be very hasty if easily outsmarted when Pacula is vulnerable, he would also be very quick to frighten and try to hide while shaking when Pacula gains his moon powers.
Cousin Six-Pac, a new character described as a mountain guide and former movie star who got his nickname from his favorite beverage. He is the fastest of the AI enemies, and would dash forwards when he spots Pacula, leaving him vulnerable after crashing into a wall should Pacula outmaneuver in time

Gallery

The cast of Count Pacula
The backstory of Count Pacula.
A game design document for Count Pacula

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@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 |datefound=2020-06-03
 |foundby=365ofPac, Sharron Symonds, The Strong National Museum of Play
-|category=Found video games
+|category=Found video games; Found literature
 }}
-When Namco's ''Pac-Man'' was first released to American shores in October 1980, it was licensed for publishing to the US-based amusements company Bally Midway - along with this came full intellectual property rights for Pac-Man in the US and Europe, which Midway used to create multiple sequels featuring original ''Pac-Man'' characters - the most successful of which being ''Ms. Pac-Man'' in 1982. On December 9, 1983, a year after the success of ''Ms.'', a pitch was created for another spin-off titled '''''Count Pacula''''', featuring a character who made his debut earlier that year in Hanna-Barbera's ''Pac-Man'' cartoon. The pitch never made it past the conceptual stage, likely due to its macabre tone and villainous protagonist.<ref>[https://twitter.com/365ofpac/status/1268272886000820225]</ref>
+When Namco's ''Pac-Man'' was first released to American shores in October 1980, it was licensed for publishing to the US-based amusements company Bally Midway - along with this came full intellectual property rights for Pac-Man in the US and Europe, which Midway used to create multiple sequels featuring original ''Pac-Man'' characters - the most successful of which being ''Ms. Pac-Man'' in 1982. On December 9, 1983, a year after the success of ''Ms.'', a pitch was created for another spin-off titled '''''Count Pacula''''', featuring a character who made his debut earlier that year in Hanna-Barbera's ''Pac-Man'' cartoon (and would go on to appear in ''Pac-Man'' games and cartoons long afterwards). The pitch never made it past the conceptual stage, likely due to its macabre tone and villainous protagonist.<ref>[https://twitter.com/365ofpac/status/1268272886000820225]</ref>
 ==Gameplay==
 The player would have taken control of Count Pacula, an estranged member of the Pac-Man family, and - in place of ghosts - have to avoid family members bearing stakes, traveling through 4 floors of his mansion, with higher floors being harder to navigate and lower floors being smaller. The game would've featured a similar pinball functionality to that of ''Baby Pac-Man'' for the first floor of the mansion.
-Upon collecting a moon, Count Pacula would scare the family members into dropping their stakes and become capable of biting their necks. When bitten, the now-vampiric family members would join his side and help chase down other family members before reverting to normal.
+Upon collecting a moon, Count Pacula would've scared the family members into dropping their stakes and become capable of biting their necks. When bitten, the now-vampiric family members would join his side and help chase down other family members before reverting to normal.
 Unlike in other ''Pac-Man'' games of the time, ghosts would appear as allies to Pacula, informing him of secret entrances to the pinball basement.
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 The game would've featured 4 enemies:
-*Mr. Pac-Man, the smartest of the AI enemies who is always following Pacula, can anticipate his moves, and will never hide.
+*Mr. Pac-Man, the smartest of the AI enemies who would always be following Pacula, could anticipate his moves, and would never hide.
-*Mrs. Pac-Man, described as being smart but not as much so as Mr. Pac-Man, is easily frightened and tends to hide in very open spots that leave her vulnerable.
+*Mrs. Pac-Man, described as being smart but not as much so as Mr. Pac-Man, would be easily frightened and have a tendency to hide in very open spots that leave her vulnerable.
-*Baby Pac-Man, now a teenager who completely lacks experience. While being very hasty if easily outsmarted when Pacula is vulnerable, he is very quick to frighten and will try to hide while shaking when Pacula gains his moon powers.
+*Baby Pac-Man, now a teenager who completely lacks experience. While he'd be very hasty if easily outsmarted when Pacula is vulnerable, he would also be very quick to frighten and try to hide while shaking when Pacula gains his moon powers.
-*Cousin Six-Pac, a new character described as a mountain guide; former movie star; and beverage consumer. He is the fastest of the AI enemies, and would dash forwards when he spots Pacula, leaving him vulnerable after crashing into a wall should Pacula outmaneuver in time
+*Cousin Six-Pac, a new character described as a mountain guide and former movie star who got his nickname from his favorite beverage. He is the fastest of the AI enemies, and would dash forwards when he spots Pacula, leaving him vulnerable after crashing into a wall should Pacula outmaneuver in time
 ==Gallery==