GCG Readers Design New Lemmings, Tackle Xbox 360 Achievements

Gamasutra’s game education sister site GameCareerGuide has posted results from a recent Game Design Challenge, in which the readers submitted ideas for a new lemming role in the classic puzzle game series Lemmings. The challenge was an exercise in thinking about how to work with an existing IP, how to stick to the established game concepts, world, and themes but still be inventive. The judges (Manveer Heir, game designer at Raven Software, and editorial staff from GameCareerGuide.com) said they considered whether the new lemming type was extensible to many different types of puzzles; whether it offered something new or different to the game; and whether it fit the Lemmings universe. The top named entry was a whistleblower lemming, who would cause all the other lemmings to stop, do an about-face, and continue moving in the opposite direction. The idea that took second place was from a student at Flashpoint Academy in Chicago, who suggested breeders among the lemmings, pairs who could mate and produce offspring that are small enough to reach new places otherwise inaccessible to adult lemmings. Several readers submitted artwork and diagrams depicting their ideas, which were highlighted on the site as honorable mentions. (Art on this page by Nicolas Jungblut, .Net Developer and game design hobbyist, Buenos Aires.) The Game Design Challenges on Game Career Guide occur weekly, and professional developers are welcomed to participate. The latest challenge, for which submissions are being accepted through Wednesday, November 12, is to name an existing game and design a new Xbox 360 Achievement for it.