laser hit, not well-coded

// TODO: should be more general
CHARACTER *GAMEWORLD::intersect_character(vec2 pos0, vec2 pos1, float radius, vec2& new_pos, ENTITY *notthis)
{
    // Find other players
    float closest_len = distance(pos0, pos1) * 100.0f;
    vec2 line_dir = normalize(pos1-pos0);
    CHARACTER *closest = 0;

    CHARACTER *p = (CHARACTER *)game.world.find_first(NETOBJTYPE_CHARACTER);
    for(; p; p = (CHARACTER *)p->typenext())
     {
        if(p == notthis)
            continue;
            
        vec2 intersect_pos = closest_point_on_line(pos0, pos1, p->pos);
        float len = distance(p->pos, intersect_pos);
        if(len < CHARACTER::phys_size+radius)
        {
            if(len < closest_len)
            {
                new_pos = intersect_pos;
                closest_len = len;
                closest = p;
            }
        }
    }
    
    return closest;
}