History Main / RagDollPhysics

* ''[[Film/KingKong2005 Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie]]'' features this. Aside from determining how enemies fall down when killed, it also allows for objects to be pushed back when hit with thrown objects (such as a dead enemy pushing another one off a cliff) and giant insects to dangle from a wall when impaled on a spear.

* ''CityOfHeroes'' added ragdoll physics to its handling of foes in late 2005, but the implementation is not perfect, as attested to by how many times you see a body draped over a non-existent railing. In fact, due to not-quite perfect ragdoll physics it's possible to knock enemies into some kind of barrier and "trap" them as the computer tries to figure out how they should be falling, thus rendering them helpless. Of course, sometimes the ragdoll physics fails entirely. If you can defeat an enemy before they enter combat with you, such as with an Assassin's Strike, they'll occasionally just stand there until they [[EverythingFades fade away]].

* The games produced for the recent ''Film/KingKong'' remake feature this. Aside from determining how enemies fall down when killed, it also allows for objects to be pushed back when hit with thrown objects (such as a dead enemy pushing another one off a cliff) and giant insects to dangle from a wall when impaled on a spear.

* One very recent innovation, and arguably one of the most important in animating characters during death or physical interaction, is Euphoria. A spinoff from the Endorphin animation engine, Euphoria is essentially ragdoll physics mixed with various behavioral animations that allow the characters to freely move themselves. This means that they'll try to protect their head when falling, tumble down steps instead of simply sliding down, potentially grab objects and hold on to avoid falling, clutch at wounds, and realistically stumble, fall, and catch themselves when injured. The only games to use this so far have been ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' and its sequel, ''GrandTheftAutoIV'' and its sequel, ''RedDeadRedemption'', ''MaxPayne3'', and a football game called ''Backbreaker''. Noticeably, only one of these is not a third-person action game and all but two are third-person shooters from Rockstar.

* In ''AVeryPotterMusical'' Draco occasionally moves around like this.

* ''DarkSouls'' has a bit of a wonky implementation of them, with all corpse-leaving enemies rather light, resulting in Stone Giants who, upon death, apparently turn into cardboard and keep getting stuck on your foot.

* ''DestroyAllHumans'' is a pastiche of classic fifties "alien invasion" films casting the player as the invader. The main character can toss people, livestock, and eventually, cars, tanks and buses around with his "[[PsychicPowers psychokinesis]]". His saucer has an "abduction beam" that does much the same job.

* One very recent innovation, and arguably one of the most important in animating characters during death or physical interaction, is Euphoria. A spinoff from the Endorphin animation engine, Euphoria is essentially ragdoll physics mixed with various behavioral animations that allow the characters to freely move themselves. This means that they'll try to protect their head when falling, tumble down steps instead of simply sliding down, potentially grab objects and hold on to avoid falling, clutch at wounds, and realistically stumble, fall, and catch themselves when injured. The only games to use this so far have been ''StarWarsTheForceUnleashed'' and its sequel, ''GrandTheftAutoIV'' and its sequel, ''RedDeadRedemption'', ''MaxPayne3'', and a football game called ''Backbreaker''. Noticeably, only one of these is not a third-person action game and all but two are third-person shooters from Rockstar.

** In fact, the first "Hitman" game is the first successful game ever to use RagdollPhysics (the first one to actually use it was ''JurassicParkTrespasser'' mentioned previously). As part of the learning process, the earlier games were known to have somewhat extreme physics however (such as an Elephant Gun being able to cause a mook to soar up in the air and over a 10ft wall, if done at the right angle).

** And let's not forget that Valve's Source engine always uses [[WreakingHavok Havok]] physics, and pretty much every game they've made (''VideoGame/TeamFortress2, VideoGame/Left4Dead'', and ''VideoGame/HalfLife) shows you just how every kill falls.

** ''FinalFantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers'' used a similar mechanic for its battle system.

* The ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' games uses ragdoll physics when you kill a Space Pirate. If there's a slanted walkway, they will slide down after they die. The same physics would later be used for Samus in Metroid Prime 2 in multiplayer when killed by a missile or her corpse falling off of something. If you wangle it you can also see this in action in single player.

* There's an early example to using ragdoll physics in the game called ''{{Carmageddon}} 2'' from 1998. There's a quite good physics engine implemented in the game, which allows the player to run over pedestrians more realistically than in the first piece of the series. If you hit them only with low speed they're just tumble down, but when you hit them a bit faster they can burst to pieces, and their limbs spread in every directions.
* In VideoGame/GoatSimulator, both the goats and the humans will flop around when knocked over, although this is exaggerated on purpose due to RuleOfFunny.

For modelling of soft materials like hair, flesh, and cloth see JigglePhysics. Contrast WreakingHavok.

* ''TrialsHD'' has your driver ragdoll upon crashing. Trials Evolution takes it a step further by allowing you to perform a bailout move which throws your driver off the bike in a last ditch attempt to cross the finish line or a checkpoint. If you have a lot of momentum going, you can fling yourself incredibly far. Some custom made tracks involve using the bailout move to hurl your drive across large portions of the track and bounce off many objects to hit the finish line.

* In [[VideoGame/GoatSimulator]], both the goats and the humans will flop around when knocked over, although this is exaggerated on purpose due to RuleOfFunny.

* THQ's WWESmackdown series has all the wrestlers mimic the way DwayneJohnson sells the Stone Cold Stunner. Given that in real life, the Rock does a full backflip when hit with the finisher of StoneColdSteveAustin, this becomes hilarious when you hit someone like, say, Umaga, with the Stone Cold Stunner.

* ''{{Thief}}: Deadly Shadows'' uses a particularly strange form of ragdoll physics. If an NPC gets knocked out, they will often crumple into a position that should only be possible for someone without a skeleton.

* ''CityOfHeroes'' added ragdoll physics to its handling of foes in late 2005, but the implementation is not perfect, as attested to by how many times you see a body draped over a non-existent railing. In fact, due to not-quite perfect ragdoll physics it's possible to knock enemies into some kind of barrier and "trap" them as the computer tries to figure out how they should be falling, thus rendering them helpless.
** Ragdoll physics can lead to much amusement for the players, from the odd ways that corpses will get stuck hanging from railings and tree branches, to the awkward and embarassing positions they might collapse into. This (female) troper once knocked an enemy off a railing and watched him come back down with the railing between his legs, before eventually sliding off the ledge, unconscious.
** This troper has seen situations in which the computer becomes so confused about how to ragdoll-ize the body that it just hovers in midair, spinning constantly, with arms flailing about until it [[EverythingFades fades]].
** And, of course, sometimes the ragdoll physics fails entirely. If you can defeat an enemy before they enter combat with you, such as with an Assassin's Strike, they'll occasionally just stand there until they [[EverythingFades fade away]].

** Similarly, ''Truck Dismount'' and ''Stairs Dismount'' (if this troper remembers correctly) are all about just how much damage you can do to a poor human figure by making it fall down a bunch of stairs or crashing a truck against a barrier. Notable in that the figure falls and writhes a little slowly for RagdollPhysics, but the game ''highlights in red'' the parts that are being currently damaged. Of course, the games are extremely fun.

* The ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' games make hilariously over-the-top use of ragdoll physics in the "insurance fraud" mini-game. The Boss goes flying a ridiculously long way from being hit by a car, even more so if you have a fully-charged adrenaline meter.

* ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}'' turns the manipulation of the environment into a powerful tool and weapon for the player; especially appropriate since protagonist Gordon Freeman is a physicist. The Gravity Gun allows many objects of reasonable mass to be lifted, thrown and shoved about for many offensive and defensive purposes.

** And let's not forget that Valve's Source engine always uses [[WreakingHavok Havok]] physics, and pretty much every game they've made (''VideoGame/TeamFortress2, VideoGame/Left4Dead'', and ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life}}) shows you just how every kill falls.

* Most zombies have pretty nifty ragdoll effects after death in both ''Left4Dead'' games where their bodies would bend and twist depending how and where they died. In the first game, killing a Smoker or Hunter via headshot would cause an extremely hilarious ragdoll effect where their bodies literally go flying 50 feet across the room or go spinning in the air for a few seconds. This was fixed in the sequel which now makes the Hunter and Smoker just fall over. The extreme ragdoll effect can still be seen if a special infected goes into a deep river and gets instantly killed (even during spawn mode in VS)
** Previously, due to graphical limitations, zombies would not gib or ragdoll upon death due to an explosive, just disappear into a puff of red mist. With the improved graphic engine of Left 4 Dead 2, they now gib and ragdoll freely, which creates some pretty impressive explosions, where chunks of meat go flying in every direction. In addition, the developers also included ragdolling ''intestines'' that would comically follow and flop with the torso they originated with.

* ''Videogame/MassEffect'' utilizes ragdoll physics mainly in death animations, but there is also a certain [[GravityScrew zero-G level]] where enemies, when shot or meleed, will simply float away, bouncing off architecture and characters.

* ''TombRaider Legend'' does a fair job with its physics engine. Many of the classic block and switch type puzzles now rely on levers and ballistics as much as brute force.

* In ''TombRaider: Underworld'', using the hammer results either in hilarious this or [[LudicrousGibs zombie rain]].

* ''AlphaPrime'' uses weird RagdollPhysics in which many enemies will, when killed, flop down in a ''sitting'' position, and won't budge even if repeatedly hit with a hammer.