Molyneux, Peter

Peter Molyneu's father was the owner of a toy factory, so the future developer decided to start creating toys. But he did not want to get a job with his father, and began his career in 1982, having founded, together with Les Edgar, a small company Taurus Impex Ltd selling floppy disks with accounting software and video games for Atari and Commodore 64. His first own game was text Entrepreneur business simulator. It was so unusual and complex that the audience, accustomed to arcade action movies, ignored it. In 1984, Molyneux decided to focus solely on game development, and in 1987 he, together with the same Edgar, founded his first game studio Bullfrog Productions on his own savings. The third project of this company - Populous, brought Peter world fame. In 1991, she received the Best Military or Strategic Computer Game Award and was named Game of the Year by Video Games & Computer Entertainment. Populous was originally developed for Amiga, but was eventually ported to both PC and Atari ST, and even to the console . Thanks to her, Bullfrog and Molyneux gained fame and gained the material base for new developments. In January 1995, Electronic Arts bought the studio. Peter Molyneux worked there for another two years, and in August 1997, quit to re-create his studio. In 2004, Electronic Arts merged Bullfrog with EA UK, it actually came to an end. In August 1997, Peter leaves EA and, taking with him many employees, founds Lionhead Studios . In March 2012, leaves Lionhead Studios and establishes a new studio along with former Lionhead CTO Tim Rance 22Cans .

• Entrepreneur was so ahead of his time that Peter had only two letters with an order in his inbox, one from his mother. After that, Molyneux decided not to mess with games anymore and return to selling discs.
• The idea of ​​the game Populous was suggested to Peter Molyneux by ants . As a child, he often played with an anthill in the yard. It either destroyed it and watched the ants rebuild, then, on the contrary, it helped them by throwing food.
• One day, Taurus got a call from Commodore to make sure the software would work properly on a new Amiga computer. Surprised Molyneux agreed to meet with a representative of Commodore, as well as to take a sample of several computers. During the meeting, Peter realized that an error had occurred - his company was confused with Torus, which was developing network equipment. According to Molyneux, it was then that he was born the concept of good and evil. An angel on one shoulder suggested telling about confusion, and the devil on the other - leaving computers at home. Devil won, and a few days later a new Amiga was brought to Taurus.
• The name Bullfrog appeared as a result of combining the name of the previous company “Taurus” (from the Greek “bull”, in English “bull”) and “frog” (from the English “frog”, since Edgar's daughter loved frogs).
• Populous was the first game in the world in the genre of God simulator . She sold a million copies, although for a long time Molyneux could not find a publisher for her.
• Due to the very ambitious promises during the presentation of future games, most of which do not live up to the release of themselves, Peter Molyneux is often called the “Greatest Gaming Deceiver.”

Before Bullfrog

• Entrepreneur ( 1984 ) (designer / programmer)

Bullfrog Productions

• Fusion ( 1987 ) (designer / programmer)
• Populous ( 1989 ) (author / producer)
• Powermonger ( 1990 ) (project head / author)
• Populous II : Trials of the Olympian Gods / Two Tribes (UK) ( 1991 ) (programmer)
• Syndicate ( 1993 ) (project head)
• Magic Carpet ( 1994 ) (Executive Producer)
• Theme Park ( 1994 ) (lead programmer / project head)
• Hi-Octane ( 1995 ) (executive producer)
• Gene Wars ( 1996 )
• Theme Hospital ( 1997 ) (author / producer)
• Dungeon Keeper ( 1997 ) (game designer / level designer / project head)

Lionhead Studios

• Black & White ( 2001 ) (project head / author / producer / programmer)
• Fable ( 2004 ) (project head / designer)
• The Movies ( 2005 ) (project head / designer)
• Fable: The Lost Chapters ( 2005 ) (Designer)
• Black & White 2 ( 2005 ) (chief designer)
• The Movies: Stunts & Effects ( 2006 ) (Designer)
• Black and White: Battle of the Gods ( 2006 ) (chief designer)
• Fable 2 ( 2008 ) (chief designer)
• Fable 3 ( 2010 )

22Cans

• Curiosity - What's Inside the Cube? (2012)
• Godus ( 2014 )
• The Trail (2016)

In development

• TBA - Cooperation
• TBA - Milo and Kate
• Legacy

• Molyneux biography on LCI
• Igrography in the IMDB database
• MobyGames - Peter Molyneux
• GameSpy Bullfrog Information
• Games designed by Peter Molyneux
• Peter Molyneux on Twitter
• Interview with Peter Molyneux, PC-Format, 1995
• Peter Molyneux: I am making a new game
• Do not toss bags: how a lie lifted up and destroyed Peter Molyneux