Bennett Foddy

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Bennett Foddy
Video game designer
Known forQWOP, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy

Bennett Foddy is an Australian

platform game
released in 2017.

Early life and education

Bennett Foddy was born in Australia in 1978.[1] His parents were academics.[2] He studied philosophy in college and was working as a research assistant in the field when his childhood friend, Dan Whitford, started the Australian electronic group Cut Copy.[3] Whitford was the sole writer for the first album but reached out to friends to expand the band. Foddy played bass, despite having little experience. When his duties to the band conflicted with his philosophy studies, he chose the latter. Foddy enrolled in a doctoral degree in philosophy in late 2003 at the University of Melbourne with an interest in cognitive science and human addiction and left Cut Copy in 2004. On the topic of leaving the band, he stated that the "touring life of waiting and partying did not fit my personality".[4]

Career

Foddy has said that his best design work happened while procrastinating on other work. He taught himself to program and design games starting in 2006 from online tutorials while working on his philosophy dissertation. In his first

Flash game, Too Many Ninjas (2007), players defended their immobile ninja avatar against oncoming ninjas. The game mainly relies on reflexes and a small set of buttons. Its positive press encouraged Foddy to continue the pursuit. Still, Foddy hid this hobby from his colleagues to avoid the philosophy field's stigma against philosophers who do not wholly dedicate themselves to their philosophy work.[4]

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

He moved to the United States as a postdoctoral researcher at

Oxford University's Institute for Science and Ethics.[5]

Foddy did not intend for QWOP to connect with his philosophy work,

difficulty of games from his youth and the range of emotions they pique. He also wanted to create the "immediacy" of direct-to-TV video game appliances, which lacked the software load times characteristic of console games.[4] Though several of his games prominently feature rhythm, it was not a consideration in his design.[2]

NYU Game Center
's 2013 No Quarter exhibition.
In Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, the player-character ascends a mountain using only a rock climbing hammer.
Foddy receiving the 2018 GDC Independent Games Festival Nuovo Award

His next game,

online leaderboard.[5]

As

Game Center into Brooklyn in late 2013, Foddy taught his first studio class in game design. A colleague highlighted Foddy's expertise on "game feel": his use of in-game physics to create tension.[4] Foddy created many other small games, including a 16-player chess deathmatch (Bennett Foddy's Speed Chess, 2013)[6][7] and a maze of optical illusions (Zebra, 2016).[8]

Foddy also expressed an interest in games history, particularly the English and European games not widely known in the United States.

Fantastic Arcade, and will not receive a public release to avoid legal issues.[10]

video game streamers and nominated for the Independent Games Festival's top prize.[11]

Personal life

Foddy is married and lives in New York City as of 2018.[3] His wife designs hats.[4]

Games

References

  1. ^ Wiltshire, Alex (January 5, 2018). "Designer Interview: The aesthetics of frustration in Getting Over It". Game Developer. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Beilin, Jonathan (May 25, 2011). "Profile: Bennett Foddy". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Purdom, Clayton (May 30, 2018). "QWOP turned failure into comedy and found viral immortality". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Dornbush, Jonathon (October 7, 2013). "The appropriately strange journey of QWOP's creator from philosopher to game professor". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Brown, Mark (March 29, 2011). "Games Work 'Neurological Magic,' Says QWOP Creator". Wired. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  6. ^ Pitcher, Jenna (May 31, 2013). "Bennett Foddy's Speed Chess and three new titles to debut at South by No Quarter". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  7. Gamasutra. Archived
    from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  8. ^ Priestman, Chris (February 12, 2016). "The creator of QWOP now wants to mess with your eyes". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  9. Gamasutra. Archived
    from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  10. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (October 17, 2016). "Introducing Multibowl!: QWOP creator Bennet Foddy's private game that will never be released". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  11. ^ a b Muncy, Julie (January 8, 2018). "The Guy Who Made 'QWOP' Is Back To Infuriate You All Over Again With 'Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy'". Wired. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  12. ^ Polansky, Lana (April 28, 2011). "Review: GIRP". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  13. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived
    from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  14. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (August 3, 2012). "Play this: 'QWOP' creator tackles unicorn locomotion with 'CLOP'". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  15. ^ Fletcher, JC (August 3, 2012). "QWOP creator demystifies unicorns with CLOP". Engadget. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  16. ^ Warren, Jamin (December 18, 2012). "Bennett Foddy's take on sumo wrestling will leave you in stitches". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  17. ^ "LA Game Space: Experimental Game Pack 01 - Windows".
  18. ^ "Experimental Game Pack 01". gamepacks.net. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  19. ^ "Baby Steps - Reveal Trailer | PS5 Games" on YouTube

Further reading

External links

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