QWOP

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2008 video game

QWOP
DeveloperBennett Foddy
PublisherBennett Foddy[a]
DesignerBennett Foddy
EngineAdobe Flash, HTML5
PlatformsBrowser, iOS, Android
ReleaseBrowser
  • November 2008
iOS
  • December 13, 2010
Android
  • July 4, 2013
GenreSports
ModeSingle-player

QWOP () is a 2008 ragdoll-based browser video game created by Bennett Foddy, formerly the bassist of Cut Copy. Players control an athlete named "Qwop" using only the Q, W, O, and P keys. The game became an internet meme in December 2010.

QWOP's title refers to the four keyboard keys used to move the muscles of the sprinter avatar.[1]

QWOP is a ragdoll-based video game.[2] The player assumes in a role of an athlete named "Qwop", who is participating in a 100-meter event at the Olympic Games.[1][2][3] The player must control the movement of the athlete's legs to make the character move forward to reach the finish line, while trying to avoid falling over.[2][4]

By using the Q, W, O and P keys on a keyboard, the player can command movement of the runner's thighs and calves, with each part of both limbs are being controled individually.[1][2][5] They can also restart their current attempt by pressing the R key.[2]

For the mobile versions the player controls QWOP's legs and arms by moving their thumbs around in the diamonds on the screen.[6][7][8][9]

Development and release

[edit]

Bennett Foddy, QWOP's creator, at Fondation Brocher in October 2009.

QWOP was created and developed by Bennett Foddy,[10] who had played video games since he got his first computer (a ZX Spectrum 48K) at age 5.[11] Years later, he served as a deputy director and senior research fellow of the Programme on the Ethics of the New Biosciences, The Oxford Martin School, part of the University of Oxford.[12][13] He taught himself to make games while he was procrastinating from finishing his dissertation in philosophy.[11] Foddy stated that "One of the things I found with QWOP is that people like to set their own goals in a game. Some people would feel like winners if they ran 5 meters, and others would feel like winners if they inched all the way along the track over the course of an hour. If I had put a social leaderboard or par system in, those people would probably have all quit out of frustration, leaving only the most determined or masochistic players behind."[14]

The game was released in November 2008.[2][15][16] The iOS was released in December 13, 2010.[6] An Android version was announced in Februrary 2013,[17] and later released on July 4, 2013.[7][8][18] That same year, this version was also added as a bundle for a limited-time promotion live sevice, "Humble Mobile Bundle 2" on October 9.[19]

QWOP featured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in July 2011.[20]

Owen Good of Kotaku found the iOS version more difficult than the original game, multitouch and accelerometer controls.[21] Michael McWhertor also from Kotaku, described that "QWOP may not be fun in the traditional sense. It’s wacky. It’s challenging. But one can make the argument that, as video games go, this is a clumsy control scheme. As QWOP, “the local sporting hero of a prosperous country in the Scandinavian Alps,” even crossing the finish line isn’t easy. Taking control of QWOP’s legs and his sense of balance might test your patience—or even better the patience of your friends when you hand them this thing."[22] Justin McElroy included QWOP among "Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks of 2009".[23][24]

The game helped Foddy's site (Foddy.net) reach 30 million hits, by August of 2011.[4]

On July 27, 2011, QWOP was featured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and was part of an event called "Arcade" hosted by the video game art and culture company Kill Screen.[20] The game helped Foddy's site (Foddy.net) reach 30 million hits.[25] The Guinness World Records awarded Chintamani resident Roshan Ramachandra for doing the fastest 100m run on the game on April 10, 2013, doing it in 51 seconds.[26] QWOP also appeared on the season 9 premiere of the American sitcom The Office.[27]

A sequel to QWOP named 2QWOP, was released in February 16, 2012,[28][29] after being featured at an event in Austin named "The Foddy Winter Olympics" displaying a selection of Bennett Foddy's games, earlier that month.[30] Serving as a 2-player multiplayer version of the original game, it features vertical splitscreen, automatically assigning one player's thighs and calves to the Q, W, E, and R keys, while the other player uses the U, I, O, and P keys.[31][32][33]

Future games from Bennett Foddy

[edit]

The game's creator, Bennett Foddy, would later develop Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, released in 2017.[10]

  1. ^ The Android version was published by Noodlecake Studios
  1. ^ a b c Strom, Steven (April 25, 2018). "QWOP was proof that games can be slapstick comedy". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 30, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f W., Tim (November 7, 2008). "Browser Game Pick: QWOP (Benzido)". IndieGames. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
  3. ^ Beckett, Stephen (September 30, 2015). "Intelligent Machines: Can an AI run like Usain Bolt?". BBC News. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  4. ^ a b Benenson, Fred (August 2, 2011). "Meet Bennett Foddy: The man behind QWOP and GIRP". Wired UK. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  5. ^ Douglas, Ana (July 30, 2012). "This Could Be The Most Difficult Video Game In The World". Business Insider. Retrieved June 24, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b Brown, Mark (December 13, 2010). "Indie flash favourite QWOP sprints towards iPhone before Christmas". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved June 26, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b Slater, Harry (July 4, 2013). "Hilarious running simulator QWOP is finally available on Android". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on June 25, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  8. ^ a b Byford, Sam (July 4, 2013). "'QWOP' stumbles across the Android finish line over two years after iOS". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 6, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  9. ^ Hodapp, Eli (January 6, 2011). "'QWOP for iOS' – Walking In Real Life Seems So Easy". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  10. ^ a b Wood, Austin (September 27, 2017). "Getting Over It is a brutal new game from the maker of QWOP". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  11. ^ a b Rose, Mike (February 13, 2012). "Road to the IGF: Bennett Foddy's GIRP". Game Developer. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  12. ^ Foddy, Bennett. "Bennett Foddy". The Oxford Centre for Neuroethics. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  13. ^ Foddy, Bennett. "Dr Bennett Foddy". Insititue for Science and Ethics. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  14. ^ Brown, Mark (March 2011). "Games work "neurological magic," says QWOP creator". Wired Magazine. Ars Technica. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  15. ^ Gillen, Kieron (November 25, 2008). "Born To Run: QWOP". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved June 25, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ McWhertor, Michael (November 11, 2008). "QWOP: Why Rag Dolls Will Never Take Home The Gold". Kotaku. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  17. ^ Diener, Matthew (February 28, 2013). "The thigh's the limit: frustrating physics runner QWOP flailing over to Android soon". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on June 25, 2026. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
  18. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (July 3, 2013). "QWOP launching for Android devices July 4". Polygon.com. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  19. ^ Sarkar, Samit (October 2, 2013). "QWOP, Karateka Classic and more added to Humble Mobile Bundle 2". Polygon.com. Retrieved June 26, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ a b Chai, Barbara (July 28, 2011). "Kill Screen Hosts Game Night at the Museum". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  21. ^ Good, Owen (December 23, 2010). "Oh, Great, QWOP Just Got 4000 Percent More Impossible". Kotaku. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  22. ^ McWhertor, Michael (January 1, 2011). "QWOP For iPhone Is An Olympic Challenge For Thumbs". Kotaku. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  23. ^ Justin, McElroy (January 3, 2010). "Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks of 2009". Joystiq. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  24. ^ Justin, McElroy (January 3, 2010). "Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks of 2009". Engadget. Retrieved June 28, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ Benenson, Fred (August 2, 2011). "Meet Bennett Foddy: The man behind QWOP and GIRP". Wired UK. Wired Magazine. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  26. ^ "Fastest 100m run, QWOP (flash game)". Guinness World Record Challengers. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  27. ^ Purdom, Clayton (May 30, 2018). "QWOP turned failure into comedy and found viral immortality". AV Club. Archived from the original on May 31, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
  28. ^ Fletcher, JC (February 16, 2012). "Competitive bumbling now available in two-player QWOP". Joystiq. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  29. ^ Good, Owen (February 19, 2012). "The Sequel No One Wanted: 2QWOP". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  30. ^ Fletcher, JC (February 8, 2012). "Play GIRP on dance pads, two-player QWOP in Austin this weekend". Joystiq. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
  31. ^ Kayatta, Mile (February 16, 2012). "QWOP Gets Awkward Multiplayer Mode". Escapist Magazine. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  32. ^ Zivalich, Nikole (February 16, 2012). "2QWOP: Multiplayer QWOP Is Now Available". G4tv. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  33. ^ Heller (February 16, 2012). "QWOP gets majorly awkward with split-screen support". MMGN. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2012.