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Munchkin (Videopac game)
Encyclopedia
Munchkin is cartridge number 38 in the official Magnavox/Philips line of games for the Philips Videopac
. In North America for the Odyssey² it was called K.C. Munchkin!, an inside reference to then president of Philips Consumer Electronics Kenneth C. Menkin.
Designed and programmed by Ed Averett, Munchkin is very heavily based on Namco's
1980 arcade game Pac-Man
, but not a direct clone. It was however, similar enough for Atari
to sue Philips and force them to cease production of Munchkin. Atari was exclusively licensed to produce the first play-at-home version of Pac-Man, but Munchkin hit store shelves in 1981, a year before Atari's game was ready. Atari initially failed to convince a U.S. district court to halt the sale of Munchkin, but ultimately won its case on appeal. In 1982, the appellate court found that Phillips had copied Pac-Man and made alterations that "only tend to emphasize the extent to which it deliberately copied the Plaintiff's work." The ruling was one of the first to establish how copyright
law would apply to the look and feel
of computer software.
After Munchkin was forced off the market, Philips released a sequel called Crazy Chase (K.C.'s Krazy Chase! in the U.S.) which implicitly depicts the conflict between Phillips and Atari by pitting the Munchkin character against an insect-like, tree-eating opponent called the Dratapillar, which very strongly resembles the antagonist of Atari's Centipede
. In Crazy Chases maze, the Munchkin character powers up and advances not by eating pills, but by devouring the Dratapillar's segmented body. Redesigned to avoid another copyright dispute, the Munchkin character rolls through Crazy Chase's mazes without the continuous chomping motion characteristic of Pac-Man.
Magnavox Odyssey²
The Magnavox Odyssey², known in Europe as the Philips Videopac G7000, in Brazil as the Philips Odyssey, in the United States as the Magnavox Odyssey² and the Philips Odyssey², and also by many other names, is a video game console released in 1978.In the early 1970s, Magnavox was an innovator in the...
. In North America for the Odyssey² it was called K.C. Munchkin!, an inside reference to then president of Philips Consumer Electronics Kenneth C. Menkin.
Designed and programmed by Ed Averett, Munchkin is very heavily based on Namco's
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
1980 arcade game Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
, but not a direct clone. It was however, similar enough for Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
to sue Philips and force them to cease production of Munchkin. Atari was exclusively licensed to produce the first play-at-home version of Pac-Man, but Munchkin hit store shelves in 1981, a year before Atari's game was ready. Atari initially failed to convince a U.S. district court to halt the sale of Munchkin, but ultimately won its case on appeal. In 1982, the appellate court found that Phillips had copied Pac-Man and made alterations that "only tend to emphasize the extent to which it deliberately copied the Plaintiff's work." The ruling was one of the first to establish how copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
law would apply to the look and feel
Look and feel
In software design, look and feel is a term used in respect of a graphical user interface and comprises aspects of its design, including elements such as colors, shapes, layout, and typefaces , as well as the behavior of dynamic elements such as buttons, boxes, and menus...
of computer software.
Gameplay differences
Munchkin plays much like Pac-Man, with the following key differences:- There are only 12 pills (called munchies) in each maze, which begin in four groups of three but move through the maze independently and at speeds that increase as each one is eaten. The final munchie moves at the same speed as the Munchkin and must be intercepted rather than followed.
- The super-pills are called blinking munchies because they flash and change colour.
- Some of the mazes become invisible as soon as the player starts moving.
- It has a programmable mode, where the player can create mazes.
- It has a random mode, where a new map is generated each time the game is played.
- The box where eaten ghosts regenerate rotates, so the ghosts may exit from any side. Also, the player character is free to enter the box and, if powered up, can consume new monsters at the moment they regenerate. Although the box is always at the center of any maze, maze design allows walls to be placed against the box so it doubles as a revolving door and danger zone to pass through.
- The ghost monsters are called munchers, and your character is called Munchkin.
- There are three munchers rather than four ghost monsters.
- Compared with the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man, Munchkin has fewer objects on the game board but renders them with more color and animation.
After Munchkin was forced off the market, Philips released a sequel called Crazy Chase (K.C.'s Krazy Chase! in the U.S.) which implicitly depicts the conflict between Phillips and Atari by pitting the Munchkin character against an insect-like, tree-eating opponent called the Dratapillar, which very strongly resembles the antagonist of Atari's Centipede
Centipede (video game)
Centipede is a vertically-oriented shoot 'em up arcade game produced by Atari, Inc. in 1980. The game was designed by Ed Logg along with Dona Bailey, one of the few female game programmers in the industry at this time. It was also the first arcade coin-operated game to have a significant female...
. In Crazy Chases maze, the Munchkin character powers up and advances not by eating pills, but by devouring the Dratapillar's segmented body. Redesigned to avoid another copyright dispute, the Munchkin character rolls through Crazy Chase's mazes without the continuous chomping motion characteristic of Pac-Man.
See also
- List of Videopac games
- Stern Electronics Inc. v. Kaufman, in which the 2nd Circuit reached the same decision
External links
- http://www.videopac.org/database/index.php?id=43 - Videopac Database Entry at Videopac.org
- http://www.gamespy.com/articles/488/488692p1.html - GameSpy review of Munchkin
- http://www.patentarcade.com/2005/04/case-atari-v-north-american-phillips.html - Summary of Atari lawsuit
- http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/AVERETT.HTM - Interview with programmer Ed Averett
- http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3456 - A flash movie tribute to the game