#45: Lemmings (Psygnosis, Amiga, 1991)

YOU ARE A BASHER!

Wow! You don’t let anything stand in your way!

The Basher moves with a clarity of purpose to which we can all aspire. It doesn’t matter how large a wall might be, or how long it might take. The Basher will tirelessly punch away at that wall until the wall is gone. The Basher betrays no hint of anger, or frustration, or any other emotion. The Basher just keeps on bashing until the bashing is done.

This is not, you might argue, an attribute that is unique to the Basher. Does not, after all, a Miner keep on mining, or a Digger keep on digging? Doesn’t a Blocker keep on blocking, even unto death? In fact, isn’t a singular and relentless action a reasonable way to describe the Walker, the base state of all lemmings? And yet, there is something about the rhythmic chipping away at a problem until the problem is no more of the Basher that seems to embody this trait in excess of all others.

When an obstacle appears in your path, sometimes the best approach isn’t clever, creative problem-solving. Sometimes the best approach is simple, bloody-minded determination.