Why your character ideas won't make the cut

It seems like everyone is suggesting ideas for characters in the Happy Wheels forums. Some of them are funny and would make sense with the current character lineup and some of them are just silly and illogical. Based on the current set of characters, here are some guidelines you can expect future characters to follow.

First off, the character must follow most of the laws of physics. Happy Wheels uses the physics engine Box2D. It's mentioned in the game's credits. Many other games use this engine. It's efficient, relatively easy to use, and pretty realistic. All of the current characters follow Netwon's first law of physics: shi* don't move unless something makes it move. The wheelchair guy is propelled by a jet engine, the dad pedals his bicycle, the segway has a motor, and so on. So it's pretty safe to say that future vehicles must have something pushing them forward. The upcoming character is on a moped which is powered by an engine.

So, when everyone and his mom suggests the next character be a guy on a skateboard, you have to wonder, "How does this skateboard move?". Sure, it's easy to say, "A skateboarder moves by using his legs", but it's highly difficult to create a walk cycle using a physics engine (have you ever tried crawling in Happy Wheels? It's not exactly easy). It's way more reasonable to expect a jet engine attached to a skateboard (Please, Jim, pleeeeeease). But then you'd have to consider how the character would be standing, since they are forward-facing. It could look really dumb. In short, the vehicle needs to have wheels (or a skid or at least something smooth to slide on) and something needs to make it move.

Second, the character must be fairly generic. It's not going to be Osama Bin Laden riding a missile or the Olsen twins riding a mechanical bull. Sure, it could be a black guy, asian girl, or middle eastern guy. In fact, the game maybe needs a bit more diversity, but it's not going to be a celebrity or public figure. Happy Wheels is a great game and does not rely on making parodies of funny or tragic public figures.

Third, it's probably going to be a human. Not a dog. Not a horse. Maybe a bear (because bears are human-shaped). Jim's a busy guy and if you know anything about programming, you'd understand why he would reuse the current code for humans before creating non-humanoid characters. All that falling apart and intestines spilling out and bursting... that stuff takes time to program. He's going to reuse whatever he can before jumping species.

So, those are my thoughts on character guidelines. I expect some really cool as the game has plenty of room to grow. However, I do secretly wish for a hobo wearing rollerblades propelled by a jetpack.

We all have dreams.

Video tutorial 1: How to make a vehicle in Happy Wheels

I've seen a lot of people asking how you create a vehicle. Here's a simple tutorial that will walk you through the process. More videos to come...