Populous

Infobox VG
title= Populous


developer= Bullfrog
publisher= Electronic Arts
designer= Peter Molyneux
engine=
version=
released= June 5, 1989
genre= Real-time strategy, God game
modes= Single player, Two player
ratings=
platforms= Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16, Game Boy, NEC PC-9801, SNES, Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, Sharp X68000, Mac OS, Nintendo DS
media= Floppy disk, Cartridge
requirements=
input= Keyboard, Mouse

"Populous" is a computer game developed by Bullfrog in 1989 and is regarded by manyWho|date=July 2008 as being the god game. In 1991, "Populous" won the Origins Award for "Best Military or Strategy Computer Game of 1990" as well as "1990 Computer Game of the Year" in American video game magazine "Video Games & Computer Entertainment". It was the first game in the "Populous" series, preceding "Populous II" and "".

ynopsis

In this game, first developed for the Amiga, Atari ST and PC, the player adopts the role of a deity and assumes the responsibility to shepherd people by direction, manipulation, and divine intervention. The player has the ability to shape the landscape and grow their civilization with the overall aim of having it conquer an enemy force, which is led by an opposing deity.

As the game progresses, the player rules over a variety of different civilizations, including Prehistoric, Ancient, and Medieval.

Reception

"Populous" was extremely successful and spawned a number of sequels of increasing complexity. It was also released on the PC Engine (as both a HuCard and a CD-ROM), SNES, Nintendo Game Boy, the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, the Sega Master System, Sharp's X68000 computer and the Acorn Archimedes.An expansion pack called "Populous: The Promised Lands" was made available, which added five new types of landscape. In addition, another expansion disk called "Populous: The Final Frontier" added a single new landscape-type and was released as a cover disk for The One.

Development

Peter Molyneux led development and mentioned in an interview that the reason the player could manipulate terrain was that he was too lazy to design the many pre-defined maps that would have otherwise been required.Fact|date=July 2008 The 2001 game "Black & White", also led by Molyneux (but this time at his company Lionhead Studios), has been called the "spiritual descendant of "Populous"."

Peter Molyneux actually got motion sickness from the isometric view. At the time, he decided the isometric was necessary, but he could not play his own game. Bullfrog created a special cartridge for him to play top down only.Fact|date=September 2007

pin-offs

Bullfrog offered "Powermonger", a combat-oriented game, based upon the "Populous" engine.The game "Spore", produced by Electronic Arts, also shares elements with Populous.Fact|date=September 2008

A new version of the game for the Nintendo DS has a release date of October 14, 2008. [ [http://ds.ign.com/objects/964/964798.html] IGN: Populous DS] The game allows the user to shape the in-game landscape using the DS's stylus. It also features a multiplayer mode allowing 4 players to play over a wireless connection. [ [http://ds.ign.com/articles/891/891574p1.html] IGN: Populous DS Preview]

References

External links

*moby game|id=/populous|name="Populous"
* [http://sega-16.com/review_page.php?id=671&title=Populous Populous] at [http://www.sega-16.com Sega-16]
* [http://www.rhod.fr/populous.html Rhod's "Populous" & "Powermonger" Collection]