Six years ago, a young pivoteer found that a particular kind of stick figure was unexpectedly difficult to animate. A challenge was borne, that he who could make the stick move would be awarded a shiny penny from the vault of Zed.

You may bear witness to the attempts here: http://forums.stickpage.com/showthread.php?32282-A-shiny-penny-to-whoever-makes-this-move
(Apparently only 2 of the 11 original entries are still working. Let this be a lesson to you to use a reliable uploader. (As we all know, of course, everything I've ever uploaded, in tutorials for instance, is still fully functional.))

The challenge was met, and, for a time at least, SPP was sated. The figure was made to move and Pivoteers could once again rest knowing that anything Flash could do, they could do better. But deep in their hearts the elders of animation knew that one day a figure would come forth which could not move without resizing.

Today, once again, Pivot faces a challenge. Animators of StickPage, a new figure is laid before you. Can you make it move without resizing, or will you be forced to yield to the inferior program known as "Flash"?

This is the abomination which you are tasked with manipulating:



The stick has a body with three limbs protruding from a single point. Two limbs are equally long, one is shorter. There are no joints in the limbs. How best can you make a figure such as this move?

As with the previous competition, the objective is simple: Get the figure from one side of the screen to the other without breaching the laws of physics. If your figure loses balance, you lose. As before, I am the arbiter of the laws of nature. If I look at your animation and think "he should have fallen over", you lose.

There is one new rule. All three limbs must touch the floor at some point. You can't leave the little one dangling.

Officially:

Task:

Animate the thing. It can do whatever you want it to but it must be able to get from one end of the screen to the other somehow. Some sort of walk is perfectly acceptable. You must not breach the laws of physics. If it loses its balance you've failed.

The Thing:

It's a circle with two identical legs and one shorter leg, all protruding from a single point. None of the legs have joints. Each of the legs must touch the floor at some point. The legs may cross over one another.

Specs:

Any program (flashers and easytooners, watch your resizing - I don't want you cheating with bendy or stretchy limbs).
Any size screen (although the thing must move a reasonable distance (judged by me) from left to right).
Any frame rate.

This is about movement. None of the technical stuff really matters.

What you will be judged on:

I'm judging. This is not a democracy. I will decide who has done best based on:
- Smoothness
- Creativity
- Accuracy (meaning foot placement and resizing)
- Absence of other things. I would prefer your animation not to be over-complicated with other objects coming in. Guns will get you marked down. Anything from Droidz will get you marked down further. Camera movement is ok.

Prize:

As before, the winner will get a shiny penny*.

Have fun

This is meant to take you, like, 30 minutes. A couple of hours at the absolute most. It's meant to be interesting, unusual, and fun. You are strongly encouraged to get wasted before you start. I did.

Example:


(It's my first animation in about three years; give me some credit)

Due Date:

You can have two weeks. That means last entries on September 3rd. Give or take 12 hours, depending on when I wake up.


Good luck.


*This is intended as a signature reward, but if you really want me to send you a physical penny it might be possible to arrange it.