"Hitman" used Verlet integration, an algorithm used to incorporate Newton's equations of motion into applications such as computer animation. The elements weren't altogether convincing, but they added a new layer of believability that had been missing from gameplay. Bullets slammed into bodies with ridiculous force. After you incapacitated an opponent, you could drag the lifeless, rolling body and steal its clothes as a disguise. "Hitman: Codename 47" was one of the first games to employ ragdoll physics. Thanks in part to ragdoll physics, instead of canned graphics, programmers make characters that respond in real time to other onscreen elements, from walls to bombs to bullets. And Rockstar Games has made a name for itself with its "Grand Theft Auto" series, which is filled with natural-looking lighting effects and human motion that's almost startling in its accuracy. Games like the "Halo" series and "Max Payne" feature realistic movements as bodies are jolted by bullets. Pop them in the gut, though, and the character might double over and then collapse forwards in the beginnings of virtual death throes. Blasting an enemy in the shoulder causes the top side of the body to flail backwards as it absorbs the blow. For example, if you're playing a first-person shooter in which you blast other characters with a variety of weapons, your victims will react differently each time you shoot them. When integrated into gameplay with care, ragdoll physics adds realism, particularly to screens with non-stop carnage. Other times the results are often overemphasized to the point of silliness, with arms and legs and torsos flopping and twisting like, well, a ragdoll that imbibed a few too many tequila shots. Ragdoll physics is a category of procedural animation that displays human-like figures with more realistic motion. But the realism of slumping, dead bodies has changed dramatically, too, thanks in large part to ragdoll physics. Everyone knows that games have gotten gorier, with untold gallons of blood and splintering bones being animated everyday across the globe. Since the early days, digital death has changed in amazing ways.
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