30 Years of God Game History | Populous, Dungeon Keeper, Black & White, Spore and more

Let’s take a journey through time, from the beeps and bloops of the 1980’s to the modern day in PLAYING GOD — a documentary covering 30 years of god simulation games. From industry legends like Peter Molyneux and Will Wright, to independent or even solo games, the God Game has been a beloved but underappreciated genre that deserves a thorough exploration.

This is my 2nd feature-length video and my longest and most ambitious production to date, so I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did making it!

PATREON ► https://www.patreon.com/IndigoGaming
KO-FI ► https://ko-fi.com/IndigoGaming

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

00:00 - Introduction
02:10 - Defining the God Game
04:26 - The Genesis of the God Game - Populous
07:42 - The Bullfrog Era
08:47 - Powermonger
09:59 - ActRaiser
11:39 - Populous II
14:04 - Magic Carpet
16:36 - Magic Carpet 2
18:42 - Creatures
20:00 - Dungeon Keeper
25:22 - Populous: The Beginning
29:04 - Dungeon Keeper 2
31:26 - The End of Bullfrog
34:26 - The Lionhead Era
34:33 - Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim
36:50 - Startopia
38:40 - Black & White
51:18 - Black & White 2
1:01:11 - Spore
1:08:12 - Clones & Successors
1:10:11 - From Dust
1:12:10 - Reprisal Universe
1:13:04 - Dungeon Keeper Mobile
1:14:57 - Impire
1:15:43 - Dungeons 2
1:16:48 - Dungeons 3
1:17:44 - War for the Overworld
1:20:37 - The Indie Era
1:21:35 - Godus
1:27:47 - Godus Wars
1:30:58 - Reus
1:32:09 - Rise to Ruins
1:33:54 - Deisim
1:34:57 - Tethered
1:37:04 - Townsmen VR
1:38:08 - Crest
1:40:16 - The Universim
1:42:19 - In Conclusion

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MUSIC CREDITS

Dungeon Keeper, Black & White and Magic Carpet II soundtracks by
RUSSELL SHAW

Populous: The Beginning and Dungeon Keeper 2 soundtrack by
MARK KNIGHT

Black & White 2 soundtrack by
PAUL ROMERO

Additional music tracks from the
YOUTUBE AUDIO LIBRARY and AUDIOBLOCKS

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FOOTAGE CREDITS

Deisim gameplay by Tommy Maloteaux | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcdE2DdApXf5W9_6oEetomg

Townsmen VR gameplay by Klorinmannen | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu9_m-YgeP4

EGX - A Bullfrog and Lionhead retrospective
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wPfiRR4kXM

No Man’s Sky gameplay by Video Games Source | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZunlk3CsDU

Heart of Darkness gameplay by AdventureGameFan8 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j4faK2D4XU

Evil Genius gameplay by Charmed | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn0J0m4BxO4

Rise to Ruins combat by FallenShogunGaming | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8uZB9RqDvo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl-xOJFX3yc

“16-bit Memories” Amiga artwork by Toni Bratincevic
http://www.interstation3d.com/work_personal.php

Utopia footage by 5 Minutes of Every Game | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGfhVWLtAYs

Dungeon Keeper (Mobile) gameplay by Shadeslay | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y-Oe5ilQV0

Idle Worship gameplay by TheMajorasMask | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fozDwV9995I

Curiosity footage by by VG247.com and cubeclickerplus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE4URo7srPg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg7xa3Ubn6o

Miracle list
http://blackandwhite.wikia.com/wiki/Miracles

GDC Black & White talk with Peter Molyneux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69HTviSeQeE

IGN Interview with Peter Molyneux
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ-wTXDhR0g

Evolution gameplay by Franco | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My6_g6gkb6Y

Hi-Octane gameplay by InsertDisk | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t7HR6LfdRg

Fable: The Journey gameplay by TatarKhan | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVYbY9RQ-iQ

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SOURCES

Job titles, credits, general game information
Wikipedia | http://www.wikipedia.org
Moby Games | http://www.mobygames.com

History of Bullfrog
https://www.filfre.net/2016/06/peter-molyneuxs-kingdom-in-a-box/

Populous II
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/populous-ii/
https://www.nowgamer.com/the-making-of-populous/

Information about cancelled Bullfrog projects
http://www.designersnotebook.com/Game_Credits/game_credits.htm
http://www.designersnotebook.com/Online_Articles/Dungeon_Keeper_3/dungeon_keeper_3.htm

What happened to Spore’s development
https://forum.quartertothree.com/t/how-spore-ended-up-cute-and-dumbed-down/48324
http://techland.time.com/2008/09/05/will_wright_and_spore_cute_vs/

Lionhead and Black & White
http://simple.leforum.eu/t131-The-finals-hours-of-Black-White.htm
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-05-12-lionhead-the-inside-story
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/20/lionhead-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-british-video-game-legend
https://www.mcvuk.com/development/ip-profile-black-white

Glenn Corpes’ comments about Peter Molyneux and interviews:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAuvaAGnqQw&lc=UgisGGJrWmFb0ngCoAEC

Godus articles
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/02/04/godus-wars-dlc/
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/02/13/peter-molyneux-interview-godus-reputation-kickstarter/

Molyneux’s criticism of DK mobile game
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-02-11-molyneux-eas-dungeon-keeper-crucifies-my-patience

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