Lemmings = Persistence

Rockstar North wasn't always known for its Grand Theft Auto series. Once, long ago, fans knew them as "DMA Design", and DMA produced an entirely different type of game: puzzlers.

Lemmings first saw its 1991 public release 20 years ago for the Commodore Amiga. It was a very special game, teaching us the importance of diagonal holes in the ground and stairways to Heaven. These lessons were so vital to the human condition that DMA and other developers have periodically revisited the Lemmings concept up to present day 2011.

The May 1991 MS-DOS port was my first exposure to the series. I quickly learned these little green-and-pink suicide machines would gleefully walk right into the jaws of death unless I, as benevolent overmaster, turned them into living bombs and traffic authorities. Together, we were forced to circumvent ever-present spinning blade traps. And fire spigot traps. And water traps. And boulder traps. And needle traps. I don't know who wanted those lemmings dead, but it was serious business! One wrong move resulted in a minimum of seven casualties. Yet be that as it may, there was always Plan B: I could nuke every last one of my little lemmings into a festive shower of confetti, which of course restarted the level for another go.

Plan B wasn't exactly a last resort during my time with Lemmings. Some levels rained a constant stream of chunky pixels in my pursuit of victory because benevolent overmasters are not born, they are made. This is an important concept. From this experience we derive the most sovereign of lessons, even more valuable than the benefit of traffic-disrupting pickax tunnels and gravity-defying steps: Lemmings teaches us persistence is key to winning at websites.

As with Lemmings, the path through website development is fraught with peril. The only way to triumph is careful application of equivalent business-world Lemmings roles like marketing, programming, art, and caffeine consumption. Self-application of the caffeine consumption role is key.

Some levels (i.e. projects) require different lemmings to get the job done, and traps (i.e. client demands) will be located in different sections of every level. Inevitable impediments, resulting nuke of art or code, and a fresh start unify an experience that can only be conquered through a steady process of refinement.

Some levels are tough and it becomes necessary to experiment. Toss a few artists into the fire trap to test its reach, dump some marketers into the acid pit to see what happens, or even turn a few programmers into Bombers if you have to, but by golly, that level is going to get pwned so hard!

Classic gaming once again proves itself a learned teacher. It brings together the twin facets of Lemmings and website development that it may underscore today's theme:

Persistence.

Superb! You rescued every lemming on that level. Can you do it again. . . . ?