''Populous'' is a series of

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s developed by

Bullfrog Productions Bullfrog Productions Limited was a British video game developer based in Guildford, England. Founded in 1987 by Peter Molyneux and Les Edgar, the company gained recognition in 1989 for their third release, ''Populous (video game), Populous'', ...

and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

. The first game in the series, '' Populous'', was released in 1989. At the time, it was hailed as revolutionary, and it coined the term "

god game A god game is an artificial life game that casts the player in the position of controlling the game on a large scale, as an entity with divine and supernatural powers, as a great leader, or with no specified character (as in ''Spore''), and pla ...

Gameplay

The games involved the player taking on the role of a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

and leading followers into battle against opposing deities, and intervene by using a variety of "divine intervention" that affect the world and indirectly, the people. The first two games were similar. In '' Populous'' and '' Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods'', much emphasis was spent on flattening the terrain. The view of the game-world was isometric. '' Populous: The Beginning'' was more like a conventional war-game than a god-game and uses true 3D instead of isometric 3D. In ''Populous: The Beginning'', the player is set in the role of a shaman instead of a god, but at the end of the game attains godhood. In an interview, the series creator

Peter Molyneux Peter Douglas Molyneux (; born 5 May 1959) is an English video game designer and programmer. He created the god games '' Populous'', ''Dungeon Keeper'', and '' Black & White'', as well as ''Theme Park'', the ''Fable'' series, '' Curiosity: W ...

, said that "''Populous'' was like it was due to my incompetence as a games programmer ... the reason the feature (raise the land) was there was because I couldn't get the little people to navigate around the coast".

History

The series includes: *'' Populous'' (1989) **''Populous: The Promised Lands'' (1989) **''Populous: The Final Frontier'' (1989) *'' Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods'' (1991) **''Populous II: The Challenge Games'' (1992) *'' Populous: The Beginning'' (1998) **''Populous: The Beginning - Undiscovered Worlds'' (1999) *'' Populous DS'' (2008)

Reception

In 1996, '' Next Generation'' listed the series as number 16 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", commenting that "aside from single-handedly creating a new genre overnight, Bullfrog's ''Populous'' is a great marriage of war-game strategy, resource management, and pure originality."

References

Electronic Arts franchises God games Video games with isometric graphics Video game franchises introduced in 1989 {{strategy-videogame-stub