The project began with LUNATIC SOFTWARE who were two graduates (James Thomas & Martin Hall) who started dabbling on the
Amiga A1000 back in 1987. At that time we they were working together in assembler on embedded real-time mainframe systems. Their first product was written, in their spare time, as a learning exercise (NECRONOM, Linel 1989/90).
On James Thomas's return from contracting abroad for 2 years, they both decided to make a firm go of things, so Martin Hall quit his job and they started working together full-time. They had managed to get an idea accepted by Psygnosis, so work was started on that project (CYTRON, Psygnosis 1992). Once that was out of the way, they started playing around with an abstract 3D puzzle game (CUBEWALKER, not released) on the Amiga. The game involved
guiding a single creature over a 3D lattice in order to get to an exit. There was no up/down etc, as the lattice rotated around the creature as it moved over edges etc.
They had a proto-type up and running, but found that the machine couldn't do the number of polygons required at a decent speed, having reached a working limit of around 200 polygons and 40 vector bobs running at 17 frames/second.
At Psygnosis's suggestion it was transfered over to the PC (a move they have never regretted). After some initial frustration at the PC's architecture they were convinced. They had levels with 1000 polygons and 100 plus vector bobs running at 17 frames/second at almost their first attempt.
A couple months were spent on this, with regular reviews by Psygnosis's playtesters and their Psygnosis producer (Greg Duddle). At one of these meetings, it was suggested, possibly as a joke, that they should try putting Lemmings in it. So they did!
During the early stages of Cubewalker, they had thought themselves of putting in Lemmings, but didn't think that they would get the rights to do it.
The engine was tweaked to have a roving camera, gravity etc and they took it back to Psygnosis a couple of months later. They liked what they saw, and they eventually got the go ahead in the late spring 1993.
At that point in time, Lunatic software were asked to put the project on hold to do the conversion of Wiz'n'Liz from the Sega Megadrive to the Amiga. They spent 5 months doing 12 hour days, 6 day weeks and managed to get it done on schedule.
So, after being on hold until the end of the year, work was started again on 3D Lemmings. The decision was made to model the Lemmings, which turned out to be a wise decision considering the number and complexity of the animations.
It was recognised that more people including artists were going to be required so they approached a group of friends in the Nottingham area that were working on a project for the A1200 which showed good promise, after some negotiation a new contract was drawn up and LUNATIC SOFTWARE was disbanded and a new six member partnership was formed - CLOCKWORK GAMES, with 2 other programmers (Andrew Brechin and Rob Rawson) and 2 artists (Neil Casini and Rob Matthews).
The Game
When deciding to develop 3D Lemmings we collectively decided to go for the feel of the original Lemmings, everybody wanted to keep the simplicity and hook of the original game but give the game a whole new perspective and twist. The result we feel has been a huge success with what is now a unique 3D game.
3D Lemmings is aimed at 486 DX2 66MHZ and above although the game will run on slower machines if the detail level is reduced.
The game requires 4Mb of RAM as minimum but is enhanced with smoother Lemmings for 8MB and above.
We have attempted to make the game configurable to
the players requirements. Texture mapping, depth shading, gourad shading, textured sea, bitmapped skies, objects etc can all we turned on or off as required and the 3D window can be changed from full-screen, right down to postage stamp size.
In fact, the full-screen version can be a little faster than the default size as none of the control panels need to be refreshed.
The game will be on CD-ROM initially with a PC floppy version to follow, which will have all of the animation sequences and CD digital audio removed. The CD version is a true CD game and takes virtually none of your hard disk space, merely a config file and the save game file.
We aimed to keep the interface as simple as possible to make the player feel instantly at home. We have settled on a control system which is very much like Doom crossed with Lemmings, you move the camera around very much like you would use the keypad in Doom and once you are looking at what you wish to see then the mouse is used to select Lemmings and icons much like the original Lemmings game. You can of course also control the game entirely with the mouse if you so wish, using proportional hotspots on the screen.
Moving Lemmings into a 3D environment opens up a whole new set of puzzle possibilities, we hope it's not just seen as a gimmick. The skills from the first game are all included, with a new one called a 90 degree turner to allow the Lemmings to be turned left and right ('in' and 'out' of the screen). We've also taken the 'fast-forward' from
Lemmings 2 to remove those frustrating periods of waiting for the Lemmings to all make it out of the completed level.
The game is viewed from a roving camera which allows you to pan and zoom around the level, viewing the Lemmings in their original (minuscule) state, or zooming right up the their full sized ray-traced glory.
One major difference between this and many other 3D games, is that you can alter the landscape using the Lemming's skills, creating burrows and tunnels through almost anywhere and in any direction. We have attempted to put the emphasis on puzzle solving, rather than pixel perfect positioning of the Lemmings in order to solve the puzzle.
The level editor is a true 3D editor which has allowed us to build true 3D puzzles very quickly and test them thoroughly before commiting them to the game.
The other major enhancement to the game is a VIRTUAL LEMMING mode which gives a 'Lemmings-eye-view' where the camera
becomes a selected Lemming and you see the game from where-ever that Lemming goes. The screen rocks from side to side as the Lemming waddles around.
This gives the player access to area that the camera would not
normally be able to move through, such as deep into tunnel networks.
The game is now in final Beta testing and we envisage no problems in bringing this game out as planned in early September for both PC - CDROM and Sony Playstation, there are other formats planned but they will not be available until 1996.
