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Lemmings

Game Mechanics

Lemmings is a game of reflection. The goal of the game is to guide dozens of lemmings, tiny humanoid creatures to the blue dress and green hair, in levels to the ambient architecture. Up to 100 lemmings arrive at the chain in a 2D decor. The lemmings do not reflect, they always advance straight ahead of them, regardless of the danger that arises, and turn back only if they encounter an insurmountable obstacle. The player controls the characters indirectly, by assigning them custom skills in limited quantities. It is therefore a matter of thinking the company well not to see the lemmings stay stuck or die afterwards.

The game includes 30 levels that represent cavernous landscapes characterized by natural obstacles (paroi, ravine, basin) and traps (flammatory, compressor, grinder). They extend on one to five screens in width and contain one or more entrance hatches, where the lemmings appear, and an exit door, to which the lemmings must be guided. The environments consist of destructive, non-destructible or destructive materials only in a given sense. In addition to the layout of decors and traps, the levels are characterized by the number of lemmings entering, the frequency at which they enter, the percentage of lemmings that must be saved, the time allocated, and, for each type of skill, the number of times it can be assigned.

In its initial version, the game includes 120 levels, divided among difficulty levels Fun, Tricky, Taxing and Mayhem. Some decors come from one level of difficulty to another, with a more limited range of aptitudes, a shorter time allocated, or a percentage of lemmings to save more important. Four special levels draw their decor and music from other Psygnosis games: Awesome, Threat, Shadow of the Beast and Beast II.

Lemmings offers a pointer-and-click interface, and is played originally in the mouse. The abilities are represented by icons at the bottom of the game window. The player selects the aptitude and then assigns it by clicking on a lemmings. There are eight abilities:

• Climber 'a climber, who is able to climb the vertical walls;
• Floater 'a parachutist, which automatically deploys a parasol when it falls, which prevents him from crashing on the ground;
• Blocker 'a blocker, which remains still and prevents the other lemmings from passing through (they making them turn around);
• Bomber 'a 'explorer', which explodes after a five-second countdown. Deflagration causes damage in the surrounding destructive materials;
• Builder 'a builder, who scaffolds a staircase of 12 steps. The staircase is made in a destructive material;
• Basher 'a peller who digs horizontally;
• Digger 'a drill, which digs vertically;
• Miner 'a minor who digs diagonally.

By default, lemming is a walker. The skills of climber and parachutist are permanent and cumulative (the lemming then becomes an athlete). Blocker and explosive skills are said to be semi-permanent. A blocker is destined a priori to be sacrificed by being transformed into an explosive, which is condemned to disappear after five seconds. The other skills are temporary. The manufacturer stops its construction after 12 steps or as soon as it meets an obstacle. The drills, shovels and miners dig until they encounter an indestructible excavation or material. By taking advantage of the specificities of the skills, it becomes possible to carry out special actions such as making a half-turn to a lemming or turning a blocker into a walker.

The control panel displays other functions. The " -" and "+" icons allow you to adjust the input frequency of the lemmings. This function is crucial in some levels to adapt spacing between lemmings. The icon "pauseallows to stop the scrolling of time while navigating in the level to think about the solution. The icon "nuke"(atomic shadow) allows to shorten an unsuccessful attempt by placing all the lemmings in explosive mode. A control screen displays the entire level in miniature: it places the position of the lemmings and allows to instantly display an area of the desired level. The level scrolling is done by default by connecting the pointer to the edge of the screen.

Many of the puzzles offered are dynamic, that is, they can be solved by exploring different solutions. The most advanced levels require planning and synchronization rigorous, and use both the strategy and the speed and precision of execution.

In the field of algorithmic complexity research, which aims to estimate the effectiveness of algorithms to solve a given problem, the game Lemmings was filed NP-complete. This means that it poses an interesting and difficult problem for artificial intelligence.

The game offers a multiplayer mode in which two players compete in split screen. Only a few versions offer this mode: this is notably the case on Amiga, Atari ST, Mega Drive and Super Nintendo. Players are given a different exit door and the goal is to bring more lemmings than the opponent. The tactic here is different and often consists of destroying the lemmings moving towards the adversary exit. The mode includes 20 levels.