Surname 1

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course

Date

Researching a Programmer

One of the most influential game programmers in recent history is Peter Douglas

Molyneux. The English video programmer and designer is the creator of the god games Godus,

Populous, Black and White, Dungeon Keeper, as well as What's Inside the Cube, Theme Park,

Curiosity, and the Fable series (Moore 53).

Douglas developed the Populous video game in conjunction with Bullfrog

productions and is considered the first god game by most gamers. The game

sold over four million copies in the first five years; hence it is regarded as the

best-selling PC game of all time.

Another game developed by Douglas in conjunction with Bullfrog productions

is Dungeon Keeper. In this game, Douglas included a 2D prototype containing

features, 3D sounds routines, and a multiplayer component making it one of the

most unique games of that time. According to Chris Lombardi of Computer

Gaming World, "Dungeon Keeper is the most unique game in years; multifaceted, stylish and as

deep as pits of hell" (Moore 55).

Douglas developed black and white in conjunction with Lionhead studios. The

game's gameplay, graphics, and artificial intelligence were well-received, hence

selling over half a million copies by 2006. The NPD Techworld placed Black
 Surname 2

and White as the 11th largest game seller of 2001, thus receiving a platinum sales award (Moore

56).

Peter Douglas Molyneux started his career in 1982 by marketing and trading floppy disks

containing video games for the Commodore 64 and Atari. In 1985, Douglas developed the

Entrepreneur, a text-based simulation game about managing an apprentice firm. "In those days

you could literally call a game 'Space Blob Attacks Mars' and sell about 50 million copies. So,

what did I do? I did a business simulation" (Peter 11). Douglas promulgated the game by cloning

a large number of tapes on two Tandy corporation recorders. After booking an advertisement

space in a popular game magazine, he planned for the game's favorable outcome. "I was utterly

convinced that this game would sell tons. I thought, 'You know, this letter box is just not big

enough. It's just not going to fit all the envelopes.' So, I cut – and this is no joke – I cut a bigger

letter box" (Peter 12). Nonetheless, the video game only acquired two purchases, one being from

his mother. Using funds gained from a database program, Douglas and Les Edgar established the

Bullfrog Production in1987.

In 1997 Douglas left Bullfrog and established his own company Lionhead Studios. In

2012 Douglas declared he would be leaving Lionhead and work for Tim Rance at 22cans. To

date, he works for 22cans and, while at the company, he has led to the development of several

games, including The trail, Godus, and Godus Wars. Peter Douglas's contribution to the gaming

industry is that he introduced the god Games to the industry. Douglas is credited for coming up

with the idea where a player is in large-scale control of the game as an entity with supernatural

and divine powers over a multitude of subjects (O'Connor 30). Another contribution is that he

introduced video games in most sections of Europe. Douglas constantly appeared on many video
 Surname 3

gaming documentaries, televisions shows, and discussions where he marketed video games and

gaming companies, thus increasing sales in Europe.

 Surname 4

Works Cited

Moore, Michael E, and Jennifer Sward. Introduction to the Game Industry. Upper Saddle River,

N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.

Mott, Tony, and Peter D. Molyneux. 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. London:

Cassell Illustrated, 2011. Print.

O'Connor, Philippe. The Craft and Science of Game Design: A Video Game Designer's Manual.

Milton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2020. Internet resource.