How Lemmings Lost Its Way: The Inside Story of a Franchise's Downfall
The Lamentable Later Life of Lemmings
Lemmings seemed destined to become a gaming perennial after its 1991 debut, selling millions across 24 platforms. But DMA Design's sequel, The Tribes, added complexity that alienated casual players, and the follow-up, All New World of Lemmings, was a rushed, unfun mess. With Psygnosis distracted by Sony's PlayStation and a TV deal collapsing, the franchise flamed out by 1994, remembered more as a kitschy fad than an enduring icon.
I couldn’t think of any new way to take Lemmings at this point.
- probably_wrong
> The Children’s Television Workshop, the maker of Sesame Street, entered into talks with Psygnosis about a Lemmings television show. (…) Television shows, whether aimed at adults or children, are built around memorable characters. (…) So, an edict went down from Psygnosis to DMA to find a way to give the lemmings more individualized personalities.
I wonder if anyone brought up Fraggle Rock [1] during these discussions. The Doozers, a race of tiny creatures whose whole purpose in life is to build structures, feels like a perfect fit for the lemmings.
- bluedino
So many parallels with Angry Birds.
Appeals to all groups, released on every platform. Then come the sequels, special editions (like Christmas Lemmings), and then it just kind of faded away.
Lemmings just didn't get a movie and merchandising.
- warpspin
I didn't even consciously register the release of the many sequels back then. Always assumed it stopped after Lemmings 2.
Lemmings Revolution reminds me a little bit of good old Nebulus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebulus_(video_game)
- rm445
I feel that DHTML Lemmings deserves a mention - an implementation of Lemmings in Javascript in 2003 or 2004. At the time I saw it, my understanding of websites was basic HTML - I had no idea web technologies could be so powerful.
Here it is online, not sure if this is the original site.
- boredhedgehog
Disagree about 3D Lemmings. Yes, the camera controls sucked, but the extra dimension opens up tons of interesting puzzles and interactions, and it's also aesthetically pleasing to watch them move around and change 3D objects.
There's an open-source engine for it called Loap that comes with a custom level pack, and I think the block-based design holds up better than the fiddly Revolutions.