Culture

Hacked Ms. Pac-Man ROM Wins Hand In Marriage

There seems to be no end to the ways gamers propose to their brides. A North Carolina man successfully popped the Q with using a hacked Ms. Pac-Man ROM and a modded cocktail table cabinet.

This came from Kotaku reader Daniel, who is friends with Chad H., a librarian at the U. of North Carolina. Chad and his girlfriend, Melissa, recently constructed an arcade cocktail table using IKEA furniture and an old laptop. Building on that success, and his girl’s love for Ms. Pac-Man, Chad set out to make an in-game proposal.

First he intended to create a custom level, with the dots spelling out the question. “I quickly realised this was essentially impossible – I’d have to learn how to hex edit a level by hand, from the ground up. So I turned to altering the graphics somewhere in the game.”

But his searching turned up an old ROM editing program called Turaco, which hadn’t been updated since 2000 and only runs in MS-DOS (and not at all in Vista.) Using that, he edited the “Act 1″ scene board to spell out the proposal.

Chad writes that, for all the work, the message itself was only on the screen briefly and could easily be missed. So he talked Melissa into playing the game, and told her to pay special attention during the first intermission. Good news, it worked! And you can see it here.

Congratulations Chad and the future Mrs. Chad! Now, just remember what happened in Act. 3 …

Ms. Pac-Man Engagement
[Hidden Peanuts, thanks Daniel]

Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)

  • SnprSlick

    Did anyone look at her fingers? Jesus!

    SnprSlick

  • Ninja Tree

    @6ironmaiden9: O.o :(

  • KenseiKitsune

    @Thunderclap8:

    Well, congratulations, man. :D

    KenseiKitsune

  • Dav1dC

    thanks so freakin much terebi

    Dav1dC

  • terebi

    @[ruse.us.ubi.com] R.U.S.E

    terebi

  • Kiri Komori

    @Hellrazerhd: hmmm... an Eternal Darkness hack you say

    Kiri Komori

  • Dav1dC

    hey guys need some serious help.

    there was a game featured on this site. a rts game that was based off trickery. it was a video where these two dudes were playing at this glass table with like cards or something and one guy went to attack the other dudes base with tanks card and it was like all of a sudden they disapeared because the guy used trickery and turned them into airplanes. anyone remember the game or link to post on kotaku please do it. i would love you so much.

    Dav1dC

  • 6ironmaiden9

    @Andrew Wimpy: Im proposing that she doesn't divorce me ='(

  • Whydoesthisalwayshappentome

    @Snacky_Smores: I'm going with option number 5.

  • Mad-Hobo

    Not bad, But i like the Chrono Trigger proposal more. :3

    Mad-Hobo

  • LiC

    @Snacky_Smores: Ouch! :(

    LiC

  • McDollar

    @Ted:

    my girlfriend needs to be able to beat super ghouls n ghosts without cheats before i consider marriage.

  • Snacky_Smores

    @LiC:
    4) most likely not attractive if you are into video games and posting on this site or
    5) not even female at all.

  • Hellrazerhd

    @PhoenixAzure: Yeah I'm pretty sure "Marry me sweetheart" Written in blood will steal her heart.......and her sanity.

  • LiC

    *cough*

    I would just like all the geeks here to know that I am 1) female and 2) a huge fan of classic games such as Pac-Man, Tetris, Mario, Donkey-Kong, hell Pong, etc. and 3) am accepting of all sorts of gaming addictions

    LiC

  • Ted

    If I were to do this, I'd make my girlfriend get a ridiculously high score in a game. Only then would I know she is ready.

  • Andrew Wimpy

    @Mornings was hashbrowns: There's several things that are horribly wrong about this situation, besides being rejected by your fiance, obviously!

    1. One of the commmentators says, "I'm waiting once for the gal to say no!" Then, she says no!
    2. The mascot gives a shocked/confused gesture, as if to say, "Dude! That's cold!"
    3. After that, that same commentator says to the other commentator, "...You know I was just joking, right?" *both men laugh at the rejected man*
    4. The other commentator says, "He'll probably get over it in 10-12 years." If this wasn't on the internet, or in public, he'd probably be over her in a few months; but, I don't see how he'll ever live this down!
    5. The mascot puts his arm around the rejected guy, and walks him off the court. He's probably thinking, "Get off me, you stupid, animal person!"

    Yes, this is a classic Internet video, yet for the man involved, I'm sure it's something he's still trying to forget! He'll probably rush into new relationships to make everyone forget about this, but it won't work. I feel sorry for him!

    Andrew Wimpy

  • Grahamunculus

    @Mornings was hashbrowns: Oh my god. Oh my god. I would have just died right in the middle of the court. Thank jebus my fiance said yes.

  • LandMineLandSnake

    @6ironmaiden9: Sorry Mario, but your wife is in another castle.

  • PhoenixAzure

    I wonder if i can work a marriage proposal in Manhunt 2 somehow.

  • Emulated

    @WolfmanWalt: it makes things a little smoother if you ask, if the answer is 'no' there is always that other option

  • cfive3

    I never actually got to act 3. Only in original Pac-Man.

    cfive3

  • Thunderclap8

    Hi all, I'm the lucky guy in question who put the proposal together. It's really weird to see it all summarized here, heh! The link to the video in this post is wrong, though. Here's the corrected one:

    [www.flickr.com]

  • bigman88zz

    now i have the music from act 1 stuck in my head.

  • MtlAngelus

    @Michael Ortega: There it is!

    ... man I can't get that stupid song out of my head now...

  • Go Go Gadget: Thugmunk

    @Sonira - I am old news.: Perhaps it's possiblly perposterous a purple propellor plunked a platonic pac-person's poop.

  • lolgreg

    @6ironmaiden9: By that he means he'll be sitting on the couch playing Mario... "Hey lets get married!"

    ...then pop a few more cheetos in his mouth

    lolgreg

  • RyuuzakiBjorn

    the "Can watch it Animated Here" link redirects to the Kotaku Page...

  • D Mitsuki : Gotta have guts kid!

    I should really do something like this sometime D:

    Peeps showing me up...

  • Sonira - I am old news.

    @Go Go Gadget: Thugmunk: Preposterous!

  • Go Go Gadget: Thugmunk

    @Thomas Henry Ward: You could propose a proposal of a proportioned proposition.

  • Michael Ortega

    Meh, not impressed. Wake me when that kid Milo from project natal asks people's girlfriends for their hand in marriage. Ever wonder what the bottom of Milo's shoe looks like? Well BAM!

    Michael Ortega

  • Invisible-Echidna

    Hey... you. Yeah, you... fuck you!
    You're making the rest of us look bad. Lol.
    But, seriously, congrats. Great idea. :)

    Invisible-Echidna

  • ILoveTRex

    Maybe I'm blind, but where in the video is the proposal?

  • Thomas Henry Ward

    @6ironmaiden9: NOW WAIT, hold on a second...

    How can one propose to their "WIFE"?

    Thomas Henry Ward

  • Thomas Henry Ward

    @Mornings was hashbrowns: Oh, oh wow. That's a major loss right there. Ouch.

    Thomas Henry Ward

  • WolfmanWalt

    @Emulated: You mean you have to ask for such things when you're married? I thought they were implied.

  • Mornings was hashbrowns

    @6ironmaiden9: You may remember to keep it private.

  • buckeyes75

    @6ironmaiden9: im gona propose to her with gta. arrange the dead prostitute bodies to spell out "will you ignore the dead hookers and marry me?"

    buckeyes75

  • Emulated

    @WolfmanWalt: maybe he wants to propose something besides an engagement, perhaps simply making him a sandwich or sexytime perhaps?

  • Go Go Gadget: Thugmunk

    Congrats to Chad! Now go have little pac-babies that eat everything in site!

    (<......... o

    PEELZ HERE!

  • WolfmanWalt

    @6ironmaiden9: Isn't that abit redundant?

  • 6ironmaiden9

    I'm going to propose to my wife with mario :D

  • Thomas Henry Ward

    These are getting increasingly clever by the second.

    Thomas Henry Ward

  • SigmundTheSeaMonster

    [achievements.schrankmonster.de]

    SigmundTheSeaMonster

  • High Speed Indeed

    @Michael Ortega: Enough already with the bottom of different things' shoes...

    Ugh...

    High Speed Indeed

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