10 Video Games That Were WAY Ahead Of Their Time
4. Ragdoll Physics - Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Over the last decade or so, one mechanic that gamers have really fallen in love with is ragdoll physics. While playing a beat 'em up or a shooter, there are few things more satisfying than watching your enemy sail across the air like... well... a ragdoll.
Although Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed popularised this mechanic, ragdoll physics started in Psi-Ops. (Okay, it debuted in Jurassic Park: Trespasser, but we've already established how much that game sucks.)
Because Psi-Ops centred around a telekinetic soldier, Midway knew the game would only work if they perfected the animation technology when our hero tosses baddies across the room. To make this a reality, Midway implemented Havok - a software designed for real-time collision and rigid bodies mechanics in three-dimensional space.
Because the technology was still in its infancy, you'd understand if the animations were a bit janky. But not only were the ragdoll physics in Psi-Ops spot-on, they still look amazing nearly 20 years later.
If this mechanic was executed badly, it would've come across as a novelty. Luckily, it was handled so well, Havok's technology has been incorporated in over 600 video games. So, if you're playing a game and catch yourself smiling while an enemy flails across the room, you have Psi-Ops to thank for that.