If you have made the rounds of the most popular online gaming sites recently, you may have realized the seemingly huge popularity of penguins in online games. While it would be hard to imagine many of these games with any character other than penguins, the choice itself seems fairly odd. Not many people would consider a penguin the best choice for an online game–or virtually any other type of game for that matter. Nevertheless, penguins have taken over the online gaming world in a big way, and their immense popularity shows no sign of easing up.

Why are penguins such popular characters for video games? What is it about these odd-looking creatures that make them so ideally suited to the action of such a wide variety of games? As it turns out, there are many reasons why penguins are the perfect protagonists for a growing number of online games.

Some of the most distinctive characteristics of penguins are their appearance and waddling walk. These characteristics make penguins so endearing to children, and in fact to people of all ages. There is something oddly soothing in the comical gait of a penguin, and this in itself can be a source of entertainment for hours. Unlike many other creatures that often carry a hint of menace in their appearance, penguins seem totally cute and harmless, making them the perfect choice for younger children. The characteristic appearance of a penguin is also fairly easy to draw, making the figure ideally suited for 2-dimensional renditions when simplicity is of the essence.

Their distinctive bodily structure also further explains why penguins are such popular characters in online games. Penguins cannot really fly like most other types of birds, and their almost cylindrical form makes them perfectly suited to games wherein the characters will have to be propelled at high speed. This is perhaps the main reason why penguins are often thrown or catapulted through the air, with one noteworthy example being the aptly named Flying Penguins. The object of this game is to launch a penguin as far as you can manage by firing it off with a cannon. This hugely popular game also allows you to make your penguin perform jumps and even fly in way that its real world counterparts could only dream of.

Crazy Penguin Catapult follows a similar concept, although this game involves launching several penguins with the use of a catapult. The object of the game is to eliminate as many bears as possible, and the action can be pretty intense.

The distinctive two-tone appearance of penguins also makes them suitable for a wide variety of different roles in which a winter-based theme is predominant. The very look of a penguin gives off a strong suggestion of winter, which makes explains why they are so common in winter-themed games. Ice Breakers: Penguin Pirates is one notable example, and the Match-3 puzzle game utilizes the characteristic appearance of penguins to marvelous effect. Adaptable to wide variety of different scenarios, it seems that penguins will remain an online gaming fixture for many years to come.