Miss Cooney asked Mr Stone to write a pilot script for something called the Children's Television Workshop, which she had recently helped to set up and was designed to go out on the state-subsidised Public Broadcasting Service.

ECONOMIST: Jon Stone

However, rather than write for an established character, Moore and his script team Clare Spencer and Phil Johnston set about creating a fictional game in the 1980s' 8-bit universe, with an all-new cast.

BBC: How Wreck-It Ralph recruited Sonic, Pac-Man and Bowser