Bennett Foddy Calls New Game QWOP but Good — Baby Steps, an Open-World Walking Game, Arrives Sept. 23
Bennett Foddy, the creator behind QWOP and Getting Over It, is preparing to release a new game called Baby Steps, an open-world walking game that he describes as a philosophical expansion of QWOP. A recent on-the-move interview filmed in Central Park discusses the game’s goals and Foddy’s ongoing interest in how players respond to failure.
What Baby Steps is
Baby Steps is billed as an open-world walking game. Foddy initially thought such a game might be impossible, but he developed it as a way to expand on the ideas behind QWOP while aiming for a different player experience — in his words, an expansion of QWOP but “good.”
The Central Park interview
The interview was filmed during a walk through Central Park by Polygon’s Editor-at-Large, Giovanni Colantonio, who spoke with Foddy about the new game and his design approach. During the walk, they moved slowly and navigated typical park activity; the interviewer noted that he walked backwards at one point.
They also observed passing parkgoers. As Colantonio put it, “I guess the human experience is kind of a physics experiment in some way.”
Release date and availability
Foddy is preparing to release Baby Steps on September 23. The interview served to preview the game’s concept and design intentions ahead of that date.
Foddy’s design focus
Bennett Foddy is known for games that challenge players with difficult controls and provoke strong emotional reactions. His earlier projects include QWOP and Getting Over It, both of which test player persistence and tolerance for failure.
With Baby Steps, Foddy continues to explore the relationship between players and failure, this time through the act of walking and the broader context of an open world.
