QWOP
Four keys, four thigh and calf muscles, one hundred metres. Nearly everyone falls over before they reach five.
Bennett Foddy released QWOP in 2008 and it became a phenomenon by being almost unplayable on purpose. You control an Olympic sprinter, but not by running. Q and W drive his thighs and O and P drive his calves, independently, and nothing else is automatic.
The result is that walking has to be invented from first principles by every player. Most runs end in the first few metres with the athlete face down on the track. The hundred metre record is held by people who found a sort of lurching kneeling shuffle, which is the honest answer to how the game is beaten. It is a joke that happens to be a real physics problem.
Controls
Q and W control the thighs, O and P control the calves
Tips
- Do not try to run. A slow deliberate kneeling shuffle covers more ground than any attempt at a stride.
- Press one key at a time and let the body settle. Mashing combinations throws the centre of mass forward instantly.
- Keep the torso upright above the hips. Once he leans past the point of recovery the run is already over.