The internet is an odd place, to say the least, but it's the embrace of that oddity that makes it so fun. Look at the recent viral success of indie game Handcop, a project currently being made by Bossa Studios developer Jeff Ramos in his free time. Handcop is, essentially, a comedy shooter featuring a protagonist that is literally a walking, talking hand with a gun. And that oddness exactly what's helped Handcop attain a surprising new level of attention online, due to a now-viral gif of the Handcop in motion.
Earlier this week, Ramos shared a gif of his Handcop render on the /r/gaming subreddit. It's one of Reddit's most popular video game-focused subreddits, but it's largely dedicated to memes, jokes, and relatable anecdotes. The Handcop gif landed with the subreddit's readers, however, accruing an astonishing 101,000 upvotes. The post is very simple, too. The headline reads, "To [sic] lazy to animate the whole body" and the gif shows Handcop in a running animation, pinkie and ring finger working as legs, while wielding a pistol with his other fingers.
Most of those who replied to Ramos' post thought it was, at best, a joke, albeit a funny one. The top comment says it'd be great if it was made into a full first-person shooter featuring hands wielding big weapons. What most of them didn't realize is that Handcop really is a full game, a project Ramos has been working on for over a year. The pinned post on Ramos' Twitter profile shows a video of Handcop running through dark, neon-lighted alleyways shooting robots and dropping one-liner puns about being a hand.
In an interview with IGN, Ramos further described what Handcop is all about. He explains that it's a comedy shooter that's sort of first-person and third-person at the same time. He says that the "shooting is for real here" and that the "headshots are superb." The trailer shows Handcop slowing down time, leaping, and dodging, offering a sort of Superhot-style arcade experience where players build a multiplier and earn points as difficulty slowly increases. Ramos also plans to add stat-altering rings, melee combat, and additional weapons.
Ramos took a chance and shared his Handcop idea in a large subreddit and it worked out wonderfully for him, just because of his inspired creativity. Sometimes all it takes is a gif to draw attention to an indie game project, potentially helping it thrive. That's the nature of the internet, after all.
Of course, who's to say how impactful a viral gif on Reddit will be for Handcop. Ramos is still working on Handcop in his spare time and it isn't entirely clear how long he plans to continue working on the game before it's finished. Handcop also doesn't have a Steam profile, so there's no way for interested fans to wishlist the game. Still, at the very least, the walking hand with a gun will be that much more recognizable when Ramos shares more in the future.
Handcop is currently in development.
Source: IGN