Do you remember… Line Rider?

Line Rider was the simplest game in the world. You drew a line with your mouse, pressed play, and a little man on a sled rode down it. That was it. And it ate entire afternoons.

It was made in September 2006 by Boštjan Čadež, a Slovenian art student, for an assignment in his illustration class. He posted it online, and within a few weeks it had millions of views and people everywhere were drawing ramps, loops and impossible jumps for its little sledder, later named Bosh.

The joy was in the crash. You’d build a perfect hill, add one ambitious loop, and watch Bosh fly off the sled and tumble into the white void. Then you’d fix it, and try again, and again.

The best players went much further, building tracks that lasted minutes and were timed to music, and the videos spread across a brand-new YouTube. Most of us never got that far. We were happy with a big hill, a bigger jump and a very small man flying through the air.