A look at Lemmings from a modern-day goods-licensing perspective

[Prob Lem]

Or: How, in an ideal world, the Lemmings series would be doing a whole lot better, and how that would look in terms of merchandise.

I was just hit with the inspiration to write something of a combined article/opinion piece/wish-list about how modern-day merchandising would apply to the Lemmings series if it were in better hands now. I hope you guys don't mind yet another lengthy post from me!

The licensing of merchandise items is a field of interest of mine, and it's something that's changed quite a lot since the Lemmings series' heyday. The Lemmings series itself has also found itself in a different state since then, as it has ended up in the hands of a company whose specialism is in marketing towards a very narrow audience to which games like Lemmings do not typically tend to appeal. Here, I'd like to examine how the marketing of the Lemmings series might be now, if things were different for the series itself today.

For the purposes of the hypothetical elements of this piece, I'll be assuming an ideal world where Lemmings never left the hands of a third-party group that endeavoured to work with it, and that this group never allowed the brand-recognition that the series had to be abandoned and left to decay. Third-party is an important distinction here, as part of the immense success that Lemmings saw was due to its unprecedentedly wide availability across many computing and gaming platforms of its time.

As we already know, the http://i.imgur.com/kSGO5BQ.jpg" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">cancelled official Lemmings plushes from the early 1990s didn't make it to market http://www.bordersdown.net/threads/44499-Videogame-plushes/page2?p=576120&viewfull=1#post576120" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">because goods licensed from a different video game property did not sell as well as expected, and that most of the other Lemmings goods of the time were either given away as promotional items, or were only available via mail order from the series' publisher, Psygnosis.

Two very significant things have changed in the decades since then;

1: The medium of computer and video games has become more widely-accepted. This has led to a situation where they are now considered much more profitable subjects from which to create and sell merchandise, gift items, and other consumer goods, as well as non-tangible spin-off products such as family movies and TV shows (which then lead to physical product releases on DVD and Blu-Ray). Note that this latter case differs from the video game-based TV shows and films of the 1980s and 1990s due to multiple generations having now grown up with certain franchises, making the appeal of at least some of these spin-offs wider than before. Note also that this acceptance means that individual brands are now judged on their own merits, instead of being judged on the basis of how the licensing of other people's completely different properties turned out.

2: Mobile telephones that can also play games ideally-suited to being played in small bites have become commonplace with the majority of the adult population in the developed world. Whilst dedicated handheld gaming devices have always been, and, when handled correctly, remain popular, they do not by their very nature have the more universal appeal that generalised communication devices do. Make no mistake, though - these two markets are different, even if there is occasionally some overlap in their customer-bases.

There is also a third point that, combined with these two things, is a mighty merchandising combination. It's also the key to how Lemmings would surely be marketed now if it were available to a wide audience on properly-suited devices.

3: People like "nameless hordes" of cute characters. There is wide appeal in the notion of being able to get "one of your very own" of these characters to be your own friend/sidekick/pet/whatever. This is appealing to people, fictionally-speaking, because nobody in the franchise's universe would be too likely to notice that one of so very many similar or near-identical characters had gone somewhere else to live with you, and this makes it a powerful tactic for merchandising that appeals to virtually all ages, and, by my understanding, several different demographics and types of buyer, as well.

The above was seen to be hugely effective with the likes of the Pound Puppies and Cabbage Patch Kids in the 1980s, both of which additionally employed the advertising approach of encouraging you to "adopt" these characters, give them a name, and make them your best friend. In turn, this also led to more tie-in products, in the form of television shows which were somewhat based around this marketing principle. Currently, the "nameless hordes" appeal can still be seen with the Angry Birds from the game series of the same name, and also with the Minions from Despicable Me - everybody wants their own.

In an ideal world, this same approach would be benefitting the Lemmings series, too - it's an ideal fit, it's proven, and it's successful.

Like the interfaces or not (and I don't personally, but I'd accept it if this scenario were ever to become real http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/wink.gif" alt=";)" title="Wink" class="smiley" /> ), these days, Lemmings would be best off on Android and iOS devices (I've spoken about this before in terms of the wide audience giving a greater chance at success, but I've not gone into the merchandising side before). The audience is wide, and providing a good-value game that doesn't dishonour the property, and also doesn't try to con players out of paying, piecemeal, more than the retail price of a console game via scammy "in-app purchases" for intangible nonsense, would provide the keys to lucrative merchandising that would further strengthen and spread the brand. Like the games or not, the Angry Birds franchise has demonstrated this nicely - the games are low-cost (and on some platforms are ad-supported, meaning that they're provided at no monetary cost at all, which has aided their popularity), are filled with appealing characters who translate well to countless types of merchandise, and, at least the last time I checked, don't have any schemes whereby you're expected to pay real money in exchange for in-game items or in order to keep on playing the game.

All that Lemmings has missing is a proper presence with point 2, which is impossible at this time due to the series' current ownership. That aside, Lemmings uniquely combines traits from point 1, of being a classic and well-recognised game property which in its day had hitherto-unheard-of near-universal appeal, with those of point 3, of having endless numbers of cute creatures that any sane person of any age should want one or more of. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/wink.gif" alt=";)" title="Wink" class="smiley" />

The "Classic" Lemmings have that appeal in spades as it is, and as a whole the 12 Tribes also do - the tribal lemmings would certainly be popular in merchandising for the same reasons as regular lemmings would, with the added bonus of also adding that (spoken or unspoken) "Collect 'em All" factor, which is important in the toys sector, and which can also be tied back to the games in order to add further value (I'll cover that later).

In addition to the "cute hordes" appeal, Lemmings also has appeal in its roots. Just as with official merchandise for series like Super Mario, if you look at Lemmings fan-merchandise you'll find that items bearing the original sprites are a popular category in their own right, as they're rightly considered to be iconic imagery.

In an ideal world, I can easily imagine a multi-faceted Lemmings merchandising programme both spawned from and linking back to what would be the current games. Some items typical of such schemes are described below. I've left out some of the ones that would would be harder to work with in this day and age without strongly reintroducing the mythos that was abandoned after The Lemmings Chronicles (i.e., books and comics as we saw decades ago, or, as we didn't see decades ago, TV/web cartoon shorts, or whatever), but you know I'd love to see those covered too, and if things had been ideally-handled, that would probably be the case.

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Apparel
Clothing, bags, and other similar items featuring iconic imagery, and, optionally, fun slogans, are a staple of merchandise programmes, as they're useful, and with properties that have a very wide appeal, they tend to be popular with both genders across several age-groups.

With Lemmings, some of the slogans can even be drawn from some of the names for its levels (thus giving dedicated fans a nod), or from puns and phrases relating to the real-world species, which itself is iconic for its contribution to the English language.

Covering both modern and retro looks is a must! And who wouldn't want a lemming-clothing-style "costume t-shirt" (as those shirts with a print made to resemble an iconic character's outfit are called)?

Ephemera and General Gift Items
Calendars, posters, stickers, and so on, are always popular memorabilia, impulse-buy, and gift items.

Potentially, electronic "Lemmings in Your Pocket" sound effects devices/keychains (such as those based on Mr. T, and Star Wars, which were small boxes bearing an official logo and various buttons labelled with the sound effects that pressing them played), could also be produced, as the Lemmings franchise has particularly iconic audio.

Food
Whilst video game-themed snack foods and confectionary were once a common sight in the UK (with video game-themed cereals apparently being the main cultural equivalent in North America, as far as I know), they went away for a while. They have since returned, though, and food and drink items tend to be incorporated into many global licensing schemes for all sorts of franchises, now.

Lemmings, in particular, has a unique ability to capitalise on name-puns in the drinks sector (and probably in some confectionery categories as well), as demonstrated by some of the level names from the original game. Lemonade and diet lemonade (as in, the clear carbonated lemon-flavoured stuff we get in the UK, since the series orginated here), bitter lemon, and cola with a twist of lemon all have merchandising opportunities as Lemmingaid/Diet Lemmingaid, Bitter Lemming, and Cola with a Twist of Lemming, respectively. Bonus points if the can includes a humourous warning about not turning it into a Bomber by shaking it before opening.

Toys
Plush versions of cute-and-cuddly characters (and especially those of the "nameless hordes" variety) make massively popular merchandise items, as they have huge appeal across several groups, and appeal to various types of buyer as a result. With Lemmings, these could be packaged in distinctive boxes with the familiar entrance hatch at the top. The plushes would represent the 12 Tribes. A Christmas version could potentially be added for the festive season, too. Perhaps smaller beanbag keychain versions that make iconic Lemmings sounds when squeezed could supplement this line-up.

Different plush versions licensed as crane game prizes, from a different manufacturer to the retail plushes, are also another popular category for such characters - as frequently and popularly demonstrated by the Minions from Despicable Me. A crane game filled with lemmings would both be hilarious to fans (since we all know that they'll get everywhere they can, including climbing into strange machines), and appealing from a "get one of your very own" advertising perspective, too. The prize plushes could represent the eight iconic classic skills and a Walker, whether or not they also represented the Tribes, so as to differentiate them from the retail line.

Small action figures covering each tribe, packaged with accessories such as tools representing iconic skills, entrance hatches, exit doors, and so on, would have appeal both as toys and display pieces.

Blind-bagged static figurines (the Lemmings characters are both cute and chunky, and are well-suited to this) representing various skills and Tribes would probably find favour among collector-types and impulse-buyers, as blind-packed items tend to be popular with both.

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Most of these merchandise categories, but particularly the toys, have scope to be linked back to the games quite strongly, too. Now, I'm no fan of downloadable content in the form that the games industry currently uses it, as too often it's used to con people into paying more than retail-value for a game in order to get content that not only has been held back from the released product in order to eke extra money out of people, but which used to be included as standard when you bought a game. In my books, downloadable extras ought to be something that adds some sort of extra value to an already-complete product, which will give you another reason to come back to it again, rather than being something that was part of it but which they took out in order to charge extra for.

My interest in merchandise and collecting has led me to think about this from many angles, but one kept returning to my mind: Webkinz. For the uninitiated, Webkinz is an online virtual pet game, to which you get access by using a code included in the sealed cardboard hang-tag of a Webkinz plush toy. Combining this with Lemmings, I saw a way of handling add-on content that would add value to a game, and also make the monetary cost of digital content much more palatable - Webkinz and its ilk were popular because you got a high-quality tangible item at a reasonable price, which also provided digital content for the game offering.

Using the hypothetical Lemmings plush line detailed above as an example, the hang-tags or cardboard boxes could include unique codes sealed inside, which when input into the then-current Lemmings game, would provide a reasonably-sized set of extra levels. These would have to stand as "difficulty" ratings on their own, and thus would have to have a self-contained difficulty curve, but you would be able to get more sets of levels if you were interested in more merchandise. This then doesn't detract from an already-robust game offering, but it adds more to it if you are a fan/collector. The levels would be relevant to the plush you'd bought - so, a Highland lemming would get you some new Highland levels, and the Christmas Lemmings plush, of course, would grant you a new standalone festive set. (This is also ever-so-slightly reminiscent of the Were Bears toy-line from the 1980s - these plushes included cassette tapes containing an origin story on one side and a story about the particular bear you'd bought on the other, which was also part of a collection of connected stories. You could only complete the story collection if you collected the complete set of toys. I'm still amazed that nobody ever did this with CD-ROMs to make up a connected set of games, as technology progressed, and that nobody seems to have done this with download-codes now...)

It really does seem to me, when comparing to what would be its modern-day peers, that the Lemmings series would be benefitting massively from the availability of wide audience-bearing modern platforms which are ideally suited to it, and the modern perception of video game merchandise licensing, if only it were in better hands that could handle games and merchandising aimed at a wide audience. Though I know that the chances are slim, I hope that one day this will change, and Lemmings will again get a chance to live up to its full potential.

And I must now ask, does anyone else have any neat ideas, wish-lists, or whatever, as to how things would be, if the series were getting that chance right now?

[exit]

Nice write-up. Very well done.

I have to say, though, I don't think that Lemmings would be best on Android/iOS. I think Lemmings is best on the PC, and here are my reasons:
The PC can (sometimes)grant faster computing speed, which, although Lemmings doesn't use that much memory/CPU power, can be better.
Lemmings is not good in high definition; Lemmini, in my opinion (even though I don't use Lemmini, for this exact reason), is as far as you can go in high definition. Android/iOS and would most likely try to make Lemmings in high definition, which would lead to graphical disaster.
The PC offers the best playability out of all of the platforms; the PC has a mouse, which is the best controller, as you can move at very high speeds and can control very easily. Classic controllers, like those on Xbox and Playstation, are hard to work with, as only a finger, or rather thumb, can control the joystick (unless you plan on using the arrow keys or such, which is even worse). Touch screen would be very strange, and would either be hard to control, with switched controls (like on Lemmings for the PSVita, where you have to select the lemming first, and then the skill), or would be very hard to use, as a small area where you could tap on the lemming would result in players not actually selecting the lemming, which would make the game very rage-inducing and quit-inducing, and would make people tell other people about the game, and say "It's really cool, but its so hard to tap on a lemming". A large area would make players non-willingly select the wrong lemming, which would have a similar effect as the previous. Joysticks and other like controllers are hard to use, because they are sometimes limited to the amount of directions they can move the cursor in, which adds on to the fact that a joystick/similar controller has keys in awkward positions, creating problems in task switching on consoles. But what if you use the joystick on a computer? It takes up a lot of space, making it awkward to reach the keyboard, which you can only make not to be awkward by moving the joystick into an awkward position.
These are my reasons.

As for my wish list . . .
I don't know, I like it kind of how it is (although I do agree with you that the current state of Lemmings isn't good), with a somewhat small community. There are probably a lot of other people out there that are as enthused in Lemmings as us, here on the forums. In fact, I think there are a great deal more people out there that like Lemmings than here, including all people, regularly active members, members that don't post at all, and guests.

[Prob Lem]

Nice write-up. Very well done.

Thanks very much! http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/thumbsup.gif" alt=":thumbsup:" title="Thumbs Up" class="smiley" />

I have to say, though, I don't think that Lemmings would be best on Android/iOS.

Sorry about that, I should have specified: In the context of the market for games like Lemmings right now, Android/iOS is presently the best choice for reaching the widest possible audience and gaining the ability to have an equally wide (and profitable) merchandising programme. The merchandise thing was my focus here 'cos I'm a collecting-ish type, but the merchandising thing as it fits in with modern gaming does ultimately feed back into funding more games and content again, in the end.

Anyway, here in the UK (I should note that, as far as I know, we are the most mobile phone-centric nation in the world, followed by Japan), if my memory serves me correctly, around 90% to 95% of the adult population uses these devices, and recognition of brands famous on these platforms is extremely high both here and globally. (EDIT: Oops, my bad. It appears that it is in fact 72% as of June 2013, having grown 14% in the ten months prior to that. Still, far and away these devices have the most reach!)

Lemmings is not good in high definition; Lemmini, in my opinion (even though I don't use Lemmini, for this exact reason), is as far as you can go in high definition. Android/iOS and would most likely try to make Lemmings in high definition, which would lead to graphical disaster.

I can't really comment too much here, as I feel that this is subjective. I honestly don't think it would bother me, as long as it was done thoughtfully, and didn't break any game mechanics!

The PC offers the best playability out of all of the platforms; the PC has a mouse, which is the best controller, as you can move at very high speeds and can control very easily. Classic controllers, like those on Xbox and Playstation, are hard to work with, as only a finger, or rather thumb, can control the joystick (unless you plan on using the arrow keys or such, which is even worse).

Begging your pardon please, as I'm not *quite* sure what you mean by "classic controllers", since you named two platforms that don't have the sorts of controllers that the good console-based Lemmings games used, and also mentioned those awful thumbsticks... Perhaps it's my age, but a classic controller to me is a digital-only device with an eight-way digital directional-pad, and somewhere between four and eight buttons. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/thumbsup.gif" alt=":thumbsup:" title="Thumbs Up" class="smiley" />

My introduction to Lemmings was with the Game Gear version of the first game, and I still find (combined) the control implementation in the Master System version of Lemmings (from which the Game Gear version was derived), combined with the one in the SNES version of Lemmings 2 (considered by DMA Design to be the definitive version of that game, out of all of the platforms it was ported to), to be a lot easier to get on with. Not that I found the mousing plus Z & X to switch skills in the Commodore Amiga original difficult or anything like that (though the MS-DOS version is pretty awful, with its non-memorable set of eight unintuitive keys for skill-switching where two would have done), but I've always found that it's so much easier and quicker to press directions on a d-pad with a thumb, and tap left and right shoulder buttons to switch skills. It also doesn't ever allow for the twitching, slipping, and overshooting problems that mice (and, my preference, trackballs, as I find that mice are awful, painful things) can have.

Actually, on that note, if you haven't played any of the vintage console ports, I'd strongly suggest doing so - not least of all because some of them have exclusive levels that never appeared anywhere else, as well as some exclusive tunes.

Touch screen would be very strange, and would either be hard to control, with switched controls (like on Lemmings for the PSVita, where you have to select the lemming first, and then the skill), or would be very hard to use, as a small area where you could tap on the lemming would result in players not actually selecting the lemming, which would make the game very rage-inducing and quit-inducing, and would make people tell other people about the game, and say "It's really cool, but its so hard to tap on a lemming". A large area would make players non-willingly select the wrong lemming, which would have a similar effect as the previous.

I'm guessing you're only familiar with capacitive touch-screens? Resistive is the superior technology for accuracy. Look up the homebrew title, Lemmings DS, to see how well resistive touch-screens work with the game - it was one of the most popular homebrew games for the Nintendo DS, and with good reason.

That said, it really is possible to design a Lemmings game properly for capacitive touch-screens, and also keep the skill-assigning done in the correct order (I still can't fathom why they felt a need to swap it from "Skill - Lemming" to "Lemming - Skill" for the PS Mobile Lemmings port and for Lemmings Touch). The trouble is, they keep reusing old levels that were originally designed for a home computer from 1985, which had much more precise control inputs than modern capacitive screen based devices can physically offer... http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/sad.gif" alt=":(" title="Sad" class="smiley" />

But I'm getting waaaaaaaay off-topic from modern merchandising and such, there, haha. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />

As for my wish list . . .
I don't know, I like it kind of how it is (although I do agree with you that the current state of Lemmings isn't good), with a somewhat small community. There are probably a lot of other people out there that are as enthused in Lemmings as us, here on the forums. In fact, I think there are a great deal more people out there that like Lemmings than here, including all people, regularly active members, members that don't post at all, and guests.

I should say, I like it how it is, too. It is nice, I love it, and you guys here are all awesome and that's what makes it fun in the first place! http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/thumbsup.gif" alt=":thumbsup:" title="Thumbs Up" class="smiley" />

I suppose it's just that I sometimes wish that things were *just* a little bit better for the series itself, really - it's been kind of sad seeing something so widely-recognised and historically-significant fall into decay as has been allowed to happen, and seeing it lose its standing as a result of having no real support from the current owners. I suppose my biggest wish would be for it to be back in the hands of the guys who made the originals, somehow!

[exit]

Thank you for clarifying. In that case, I would agree.

By "classic controllers", I mean the sorts that have the arrow pad, the thumb sticks, the keys, left and right buttons, etc.. I know that Lemmings wasn't released for any such controller, but, if Lemmings was merchandised in a better fashion (as you're saying), it probably would be ported to such a platform. I simply meant that if it was ported (basically I was comparing the mouse to every single other controller/of the sort).
My MS-DOS version (that I can run on DOSBox) has both the eight skill selections and Z and X to move on the skill pad. It also has space as the fan, p as pause, and enter as fast-forward (you have to click for nuke).
My support for the mouse is that your whole hand controls it, which gives me a better feeling of control. But we all have our preferences.

I was only talking about capacitive touch screens.

Resistive is the superior technology for accuracy.

http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/agree.gif" alt=":agree:" title="I Agree!" class="smiley" />
I actually am familiar with resistive touch screens (I have an Android tablet with the pencil thing, which I do use occasionally)
Your thumb (or other finger) is too big for the lemming, unless it's zoomed in a lot.

I do think that it would be better if Lemmings were still in the hands of Psygnosis.

[namida]

(though the MS-DOS version is pretty awful, with its non-memorable set of eight unintuitive keys for skill-switching where two would have done)

I have to disagree here. I find it to be a very good setup - one key to correspond to each item on the skillbar. Of course, that wouldn't work so well on a controller.

[Prob Lem]

I do think that it would be better if Lemmings were still in the hands of Psygnosis.

Agreed - at least the Psygnosis of old, anyeay. Even just the Sony-owned one that was still run as a separate entity (circa 1993 to 2000) would be fine! The problem we have today is that it was sold to Psygnosis, who were then bought by Sony. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/sad.gif" alt=":(" title="Sad" class="smiley" />

That said, I don't think it'd be any different now had it remained with DMA Design, since it's said by some that DMA ceased to exist when it became Rockstar. I'd imagine they would've let it fall by the wayside, too.

I have to disagree here. I find it to be a very good setup - one key to correspond to each item on the skillbar. Of course, that wouldn't work so well on a controller.

I get the concept, and I can easily see how folks would like it, but I personally prefer the original Amiga method, and find the MS-DOS one unintuitive because instead of it being, say, 1 to 8, or F1 to F8, it's F3 to F10 - not the best setup when your brain instinctively wants to go for 1 for the first skill, 2 for the second, and so on, in a hurry, I find. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/wink.gif" alt=";)" title="Wink" class="smiley" /> (Not to mention that F3 to F10 are further away, and therefore require more reach and are more wrist-hurty to have to have over all the time in skill-switching intensive levels. Your mileage may vary, of course!)

But again, I'm way off-topic, here. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" />

[namida]

F1 to F8, it's F3 to F10 - not the best setup when your brain instinctively wants to go for 1 for the first skill, 2 for the second, and so on, in a hurry, I find. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/wink.gif" alt=";)" title="Wink" class="smiley" /> (Not to mention that F3 to F10 are further away, and therefore require more reach and are more wrist-hurty to have to have over all the time in skill-switching intensive levels. Your mileage may vary, of course!)

I'm not sure why, but prior to getting to the point where it's all instinctive, I generally remembered it relative to the builder anyway, so that somewhat mitigates the effect of that. Besides - the climber is the 3rd button on the skillbar, so in a way, it being F3 makes sense to me.

Though that being said, generally, I play Lemmings with one hand on the mouse, and the other hand on F11. xD

[exit]

. . . , generally, I play Lemmings with one hand on the mouse, and the other hand on F11. xD

That's exactly how I play Lemmings. It helps because then I can pause quickly to select the skills.
You do know that there's an emoticon that is exactly the xD that you do (it's the one that looks like a dead lemming). These emoticons are somewhat weird, because you don't see the mouth, which makes some look like something totally different; the smiley face (or what's supposed to be a smiley) looks like some lemming looking at you.
Moving on . . ..

. . . , I don't think it'd be any different now had it remained with DMA Design, since it's said by some that DMA ceased to exist when it became Rockstar.

I'm sort of undecided on this. Rockstar is the same people as DMA, and the guys didn't change when they went from DMA to Rockstar, because DMA had already made GTA 1 and 2.

[Prob Lem]

I'm sort of undecided on this. Rockstar is the same people as DMA, and the guys didn't change when they went from DMA to Rockstar, because DMA had already made GTA 1 and 2.

Unfortunately, Rockstar isn't the same at all. I gather that when they changed over, some of the staff did remain, but I'm pretty sure they're not there nowadays.

Rockstar seems to be yet another company that only seems to know how to market to a very narrow audience (again, the same audience to which Lemmings doesn't appeal anyway), so is just as bad a candidate as Sony, in my books.

Would be delighted to be proven wrong, of course. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/thumbsup.gif" alt=":thumbsup:" title="Thumbs Up" class="smiley" />

[exit]

Oh. Well, I guess I just don't pay attention to these kinds of things. I really only pay attention to the games them selves, and not the company.

I'm not sure then, who would be the best company for lemmings.

[Prob Lem]

You know, I'm really not so sure that there is one, these days...

[namida]

Just Add Water may be a good candidate. From what I can tell, they're doing an EXCELLENT job with the Oddworld IP - though we'll see for sure in a couple of weeks when New N Tasty comes out. Although it does need to be considered they're working in conjunction with at least some of the original OWI team.

However, I REALLY have to disagree on those claims about Rockstar. Maybe not the ideal company for Lemmings, but they're definitely not just another EA / Ubisoft / whatever - their games actually have quality. And they are actually open to experiment; Red Dead Redemption is a good example of this, while it may have turned out as a massive success, they weren't even expecting to turn a profit on it yet made it anyway. And they're the one company who seem to have gotten it right when it comes to DLC - GTA4 being the best example of where they've gotten it spot on.

[ccexplore]

F1 to F8, it's F3 to F10 - not the best setup when your brain instinctively wants to go for 1 for the first skill, 2 for the second, and so on, in a hurry, I find. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/wink.gif" alt=";)" title="Wink" class="smiley" /> (Not to mention that F3 to F10 are further away, and therefore require more reach and are more wrist-hurty to have to have over all the time in skill-switching intensive levels. Your mileage may vary, of course!)

I'm not sure why, but prior to getting to the point where it's all instinctive, I generally remembered it relative to the builder anyway, so that somewhat mitigates the effect of that. Besides - the climber is the 3rd button on the skillbar, so in a way, it being F3 makes sense to me.

I'm not sure I even need to point it out, but yes, namida's absolutely right about the key mapping being based entirely on the position of skillbar buttons from left to right:  F1 maps to the "-" (decrease release rate) button, F2 maps to "+", (increase release rate), F3 to climber button, etc., then F11 to "PAWS" button and F12 to "nuke" button.  So it's certainly logical even if perhaps not easiest to use for some people.  Perhaps they should've move the release-rate buttons to the right instead--I have to say I can't come up with a single reason why it would be better all the way on the left.

[edit: fixed F1/F2 mixup]

[namida]

F1 maps to the "+" (increase release rate) button, F2 maps to "-", (decrease release rate)

Uhh... http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" />

[Prob Lem]

Just Add Water may be a good candidate. From what I can tell, they're doing an EXCELLENT job with the Oddworld IP - though we'll see for sure in a couple of weeks when New N Tasty comes out. Although it does need to be considered they're working in conjunction with at least some of the original OWI team.

I've honestly not followed what they've been doing with it. I must admit to having lost interest many, many years ago, when the promised quintology failed to materialise in full. Must take a look - thanks for the heads-up!

However, I REALLY have to disagree on those claims about Rockstar. Maybe not the ideal company for Lemmings, but they're definitely not just another EA / Ubisoft / whatever - their games actually have quality. And they are actually open to experiment; Red Dead Redemption is a good example of this, while it may have turned out as a massive success, they weren't even expecting to turn a profit on it yet made it anyway. And they're the one company who seem to have gotten it right when it comes to DLC - GTA4 being the best example of where they've gotten it spot on.

I'm not sure what you're disagreeing on, because I didn't comment on the quality of their work at any point. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/wink.gif" alt=";)" title="Wink" class="smiley" />

I said that they only seem to know how to market to a narrow audience which doesn't tend to be a Lemmings-playing one, which as far as I know, is an accurate statement - their games all seem to be aimed at a very particular demographic. There was that one ping pong one several years ago, but that's the only one I can think of off of the top of my head that ever went outside of that niche.