Everyting, regardless its size or complexity, is always part of something bigger. These ecosystems are mostly depicted as 'boxes': a brick is into the 'house' box, that is inside the 'city' box. Extending this example a bit, things can also exist in multiple nested and intersecting boxes, each with its boundaries and contexts. Our role in life is encolosed by the 'society' box, but also by the 'family' one. Our duty in job is another, distinct box, with its own boundaries.

Seeing the world from outside of one of these boxes is mind blowing and that moment always matches with a great sense of growth in knowledge or prestige. The common idea of job carreer usually imply going out from a box in order know and work with the other boxes at the same depth. A cook prepare a dish and the waiter can decide how to serve it, but the chef can decide which dish have to be cooked, influencing both - and, then, more underling boxes. Passing from cook to chef is usually percept as carreer improvement, since you're going to move 'bigger things'. The same happens with space exploration, innovation, anthropology and so on.

But is it really better or just different? As humans, we also love to perceive these larger boxes as a 'big picture', giving to the box itself a meaning and a purpose - probably because, as humans, the reason for something (us) for existing and living is a long time question. Sometime stretching the concept is easier - a company can be described as a complex ecosystem with a common goal - but mostly every single element into the nested boxes concur to the purpose of the bigger one, in a very complex way - commonly simplified as 'random'.

Lemmings (1991) was one of the first videogames that introduced me to the concept: you lead a bunch dumb of creatures to the exit, giving them a specific task in order to save the others. But who is the real saviour? The one who is building a crucial bridge or who told him to do that? And, then... who exactly is the player in the game?

Plot!

A colony of little sprites are going back home... but the road is long and dangerous! Tell them how to reach the exit and Save Them all! Use UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT for moving the flashing cursor and the A BUTTON for selecting an option. You can give a specific task to a sprite selecting one from the lower part of the screen and then selecting the spirit. Hold down the A BUTTON without selecting anything and use LEFT/RIGHT for moving the camera along the level. You can add spirit to the level faster or slower hitting the '+' or '-' button, kill them all with the mushroom cloud icon or restarting a level with the arrow icon (you've to select it twice). You can also hold down the B BUTTON and use LEFT/RIGHT for selecting a task quickly or UP/DOWN for adding sprites faster or slower.

(Want to share something? You can find me on Twitter!)

Install / Add to home View game sources ...or play it online below!