History VideoGame / HappyWheels

** The Explorer Guy is based on the titular character of [[Franchise/IndianaJones]], from clothing to his iconic fedora.

* AnimatedAdaptation: No, really, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCyEWnT_Nrc this is not a joke]].
* AnnoyingArrows: Crossbow turrets will track and fire arrows at your character. Enough of them gathered in one place can turn your character into a human pincushion

* ArtEvolution: Version 1.6 adds realistic gore to the mix, making the blood look like liquid instead of confetti.

* AscendedFanboy: LetsPlay/UberHaxorNova, for voicing the Pogostick Man.

* BadSanta[=/=]BadBoss: Santa whips two hapless elves so they pull his sleigh. He even laughs (with his well-known "Ho ho ho!") when an elf gets smashed into bloody paste by the sleigh!

* BumblingDad: The Irresponsible Dad, natch.

* ChunkySalsaRule: A variation of the rule: [[OffWithHisHead You only lose control of your character if he or she is decapitated]] [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe or a few seconds after he or she gets ripped in half.]] Until then, crossing the finish line by any means will count as a success, even if you lose other parts of your body or your vehicle and shimmy down to the finish VideoGame/{{QWOP}}-style. In the case of couple characters, this only applies to the driver.

** As long as your head's still attached to your body or you're not split in half and part of your body's still steering the vehicle, you can keep going!

** [[LetsPlay/UberHaxorNova The pogo stick guy]]. His controls are very hard to deal with, and getting him to go where you want him to is a bit of a chore sometimes. However, he is one of only two characters that can actually jump with no outside influence, and he is surprisingly durable while on the pogo stick, especially considering how everyone else is MadeOfPlasticine.

** The Moped Couple of Amélie and Nino and [[BumblingDad Irresponsible Dad,]] Lawnmower man of Effective Shopper, Explorer Guy of Indiana Jones, and Santa of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Santa.]]
** Some have speculated that Lawnmower Man is an expy of Uncle Ruckus, but Jim has denied this.

* {{Gorn}}: ''YES''.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Due to the way physics work in this game, it's possible for characters to eject from their vehicle... with the latter sometimes winding up crushing its owner to death afterwards ! For example, the Lawnmower Man can get shredded by his own mower, the Moped Couple crushed by their very heavy scooter, and the Helicopter Man blended by his propeller.

* ImprobableInfantSurvival:
** Played straight ''only'' in the iOS version of the game; as of update 1.06, the child characters are now invincible in order to prevent the game's removal from the App Store. (Though the adult characters are not.)
** "Dammit!"

* PyrrhicVictory: Winning after being cut in half. You win the level, but you're going to die soon. You can also win the level and then land on your head or slam into a wall, then you explode into a fountain of [[LudicrousGibs blood, bones, and guts]]

* SpikesOfDoom: A common hazard in many levels.

** Inverted in the mobile version, since you can no longer kill the son nor even hurt him. He can still activate harpoons, but he is immortal in every manner. He also cannot scream in pain.

* YourHeadASplode: The last way to die. A decent hit to the head will cause it to explode gloriously.

->"''Little boy, you okay- OHHH... Oh my... he's not okay, he [[YourHeadASplode lost his head]]. Oh God, what the fuck is wrong with this GAME?''"

* Moped Couple: Largely based on characters from the French film ''Film/{{Amelie}}'', the couple consists of a man riding a moped with his girlfriend/wife riding behind him. The moped features a speed boost that briefly increases the speed by a lot, but of course not as much as Wheelchair Guy's rocket.

* BodyHorror: Oh goodness, the ways the harpoon runs can disfigure you.

* AnimatedAdaptation: No, really, [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RCyEWnT_Nrc this is not a joke]].

* AnyoneCanDie

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Update 1.06 of the [=iPhone=] version disabled damage towards children so the game could remain in the store. Every adult character remains just as breakable as ever.

* HandicappedBadass: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Wheelchair Guy, who has [[ObfuscatingDisability just as much functionality of his legs as all of the other characters.]]

** Played straight ''only'' in the [=iOS=] version of the game; as of update 1.06, the child characters are now invincible in order to prevent the game's removal from the App Store. (Though the adult characters are not.)

** Explorer Guy, at the very least, is relatively fast and on wheels. Pogostick Man, on the other hand, has to hop everywhere, and moves about as fast as one might expect, rendering many levels completely impossible for him to overcome. His jumping skills, however, are rivaled only by Wheelchair Guy's rocket, allowing him to scale large heights and [[http://youtu.be/mqyTN8bP-Rs?t=5m9s skip entire portions of certain levels]].

* SturgeonsLaw:
** In the early days of the game people would actually make real levels where the objective was to reach the end. Nowadays you will find the game populated mostly by guns, skeeball-type games, and "Kill Music/JustinBieber", with the platforming-type levels few and far between. And most of the ones that ''are'' platforming are the nearly-identical "99% Impossible" levels with Pogostick Man. Moderators have, however, recently begun making a token effort to try to avert this.
** Most [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks "Knife/Weapon Throw"]] levels are practically identical.
** Level designers telling you to Rate their level 5 if you win is the rule, not the exception.
** Glass breaking levels, jet falls, and spike falls.
** Designers making "Naked Character Glitch" levels to get easy 5 stars so players can see naked characters (and that's if they even bothered to make a token effort).

** This is taken [[UpToEleven absurd levels]] in some user-created levels. Examples include the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Harpoon Run"]], where your character ''will'' look like a Pin Cushion, assuming they even [[EverythingTryingToKillYou make it to the end]], and [[Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff It Keeps Happening]], which is basically just a long stretch of stairs with a booster at the end; even if you try to bypass the stairs and go flying, your character will eventually land...[[BloodyHilarious and explode into a mess of bodyparts and gore]]. And of course, the Lawnmower Man. Anything he runs over will be cut up. That includes people.

* BigNo: Pogostick Man will scream "OH NO!" when he loses a leg or ankle. Lawnmower Man also screams this when he gets split in half.

* BigNo: Pogostick Man will scream "OH NO!" when he loses a leg or ankle. Lawnmower Man also screams this when he gets split in half

* BigNo: Pogostick Man will scream "OH NO!" when he loses a leg or ankle.

* Moped Couple: A man riding a moped with his girlfriend/wife riding behind him. The moped features a speed boost that briefly increases the speed by a lot, but of course not as much as Wheelchair Guy's rocket.

* Explorer Guy: Largely based on ''Franchise/IndianaJones'', he rides a heavy mine cart. Can link up and ride on rails by holding the space bar.