The hardest video game ever: Even an AI can’t win

Even with machine learning, the crazy running game can’t be mastered, with a better time twenty seconds slower than the human first.

It is impossible to give a more than certain answer to the question related to any of them The hardest video game ever Because there are a very large number of parameters in mind. But if you want to choose one it is grouped Very complex controlsThe possibility of losing everything by simple error and, above all, the power to do so Generate maximum frustration Then Qwop That would win hands down.

For those who do not know him, Qwop It’s a seemingly trivial solo Online racing game Born in Flash in 2008 and now available in html 5.0 format from PC or even mobile phone. It was developed by Bennett Foddy and also appeared on an episode of the desk And in several episodes of the Japanese program Angry New Party. The name takes the key letters used to make the hypothetical athlete move as fast as possible along a 100-meter path. That’s all? Yes, but the (big) problem is that it is necessary to control the quadriceps and calf muscles in both legs to generate the most stable and fast movement. In all of this, the little man is very flabby and the laws of physics, gravity, must be observed in the first place. A very difficult task.

It takes hours and hours of training to get to the right rhythm and miraculously try to get to the finish line. Needless to say, there were players who took the matter very seriously and participated in so-called fast-paced or online speed competitions. Current Record – registered Just a month ago, by the way – he’s a bluff of the Japanese defender 48 seconds, 340 thousandths. Here is the video, you can see how the user can generate big steps, so as to break even an obstacle at a distance of 50 meters without slowing down, and finally dive on the line:

The next step was clear: If a human can master this technique, then AI can do that as well, and possibly reduce times to unimaginable levels. But no: Wesley Liao ordered AI to play Qwop Take advantage of machine learning To improve your performance while trying, remember the correct moves and rule out those that caused mistakes. The first experiments led to the AI ​​reaching the target, but at very high times.

Thus, gameplay videos were fed to the system’s best human players and the AI ​​realized that it had to fix some details, such as the step width. But even so, that was not enough and the best time was 1 minute 8 seconds, which is only enough to enter the top 10 countries in the world, but after twenty seconds from the record holder.

You want to try Qwop And lose patience? Here is the official website From the game.