Take a leap of faith with our Lemmings retrospective episode

Featuring an interview with one of the game's original creators.

Another month on the calendar, another interview with a game developer about a classic masterpiece they helped create. This time around, I spoke to Mike Dailly, one of the designers of DMA Designs' Lemmings. If you are over the age of 30, you have almost definitely played Lemmings; the game was pretty much completely inescapable for several years, receiving sequels and remakes on every platform imaginable.

The premise of the game—lead a host of mindless critters to safety by assigning them the skills necessary to smash their way through a series of obstacles of hazards—was fairly esoteric, but the simple interface and surprisingly adorable personality of the whole affair helped it ascend to mass-market success. Lemmings was a phenomenon, and Mike Dailly shares some thoughts on its origins and inspiration—after the Retronauts East crew (Ben, Benj, and Chris) helps set the stage by explaining the premise and appeal of the franchise, of course.

Please note: We do not condone causing tiny mindless mammals to explode in a nuclear cloud.

Retronauts Episode 245: Lemmings (with Mike Daily)
MP3, 26.2 MB | 56:02
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Episode description: Jeremy Parish teams up with the Retronauts East crew to discuss PC classic puzzle-action game Lemmings before jumping into a one-on-one interview with one of the game's designers, Mike Dailly of DMA Designs.