Something for the weekend: Ragdoll Cannon

Iain Simons

Published 18 July 2008

Using just your mouse, fire a ragdoll from the cannon and make him/her land on the mat using the fewest attempts possible - our weekly game suggestion...

The Ragdoll has a particularly special place in videogame heritage. Whilst on one hand, this simplistic rendition of human anatomy stands in as an all-purpose avatar - it’s when combined with realistic(ish) physics that they can be transformed from childishly simple icons to bodies feeling hurt. The sublime dismount series demonstrated just how much we can feel the pain of the pixellated, and it was the subtle work of the Euphoria engine which really breathed life into GTA VI’s living city.

Today then, we thought we’d look to the hand-drawn strain of the ragdoll family and the deceptively simple Ragdoll Cannon. Using just your mouse, fire a ragdoll from the cannon and make him/her land on the mat using the fewest attempts possible. The chain reaction puzzles will often demand that you sacrifice some of your stickmen to reach your goal, but there’s apparently no gain without a little pain. It takes a few minutes to get used to the trajectories (remember, distance = force), but once you’ve done so you’ll find this to be a addictive little game with a charmingly homespun, pencil-drawn aesthetic.

Play Ragdoll Cannon

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About the writer

Iain Simons

Iain Simons writes, talks and tweets about videogames and technology. His new book, Play Britannia, is to be published in 2009. He is the director of the GameCity festival at Nottingham Trent University.

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