We've known for a while that exaggerated physics effects can make any simple game mechanic look super hilarious. Super Air Slam exploits exactly that fact - merely giving input can make you laugh out loud in a game like this.
The goal of Super Air Slam is to score points by throwing a ball through a ring which floats in the air. A match lasts two minutes, whoever scored the most wins the round. Players have two buttons, each controlling two limbs of their character's body. This does not make for very precise movement, which is exactly where the real fun begins, which you know if you've ever tried to play QWOP – or the in my opinion vastly superior CLOP.
Indeed, developer Markus Rosse describes his game as "multiplayer QWOP meets basketball".
Rosse explains:
"I wanted that the players control an avatar, but latency is always a problem for such games. I opted in for a system with indirect movement. You control the arms and legs, and let the physics do the movement of the avatar. This way you don't feel latency issues as much as in direct controls. The random factor gives beginners a chance and makes fun as a gameplay mechanic.
Making physics-based games is tricky. You spent a lot of time tweaking parameters and building hacks, so that the game feels good and still is balanced."
Thanks to a built-in AI, the game is also playable alone.
