PlayStation

| genre = Real-time strategy

| modes = Single-player, multiplayer

Populous: The Beginning is a real-time strategy video game and the third entry in the Populous series, developed by Bullfrog Productions. The game was released in 1998 on Microsoft Windows, and in 1999 for the PlayStation. Unlike earlier games in the series, which cast the player in the role of a god influencing loyal followers, The Beginning took a radical departure and placed the player in the role of a shaman, who directly leads her tribe against opponents. Throughout the twenty-five missions of the campaign, the player leads their tribe across a solar system, dominating enemy tribes and tapping new sources of magic, with the ultimate goal of the shaman attaining godhood herself.

Populous: The Beginning was the first entry in the series to use 3D computer graphics; Bullfrog waited four years after Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods so that the graphics technology could catch up to their vision for a new and different game in the series. The developers considered the addition of terrain deformation and manipulation, combined with "smart" villagers who automatically attended to tasks, to add an entirely new dimension to the series. The game's original title was Populous: The Third Coming before being changed prior to the beta release.

Populous: The Beginning plays very differently from earlier titles and received mixed reviews. Critics noted the excellent graphics, while complaints were directed at the artificial intelligence and the indecision in game design between being a real time strategy title and a god game. GamePros Peter Olafson wrote that Populous: The Beginning was a good game but was "without a quintessential quality that defined Populous." In the campaign mode, the player fights opposing tribes for dominion over the planetary system.

In comparison to the isometric presentation of the previous games in the series, Populous: The Beginning features three-dimensional (3D) graphics, Shamans are physically weaker than warriors, but can cast powerful spells and can be reincarnated if killed.

Development

Bullfrog Productions released Populous in 1989, followed by Populous II in 1991. The Populous series inspired the term "god game", with players assuming the role of an omniscient being who leads their people to new territories or into battle. Populous: The Beginning was published more than four years after Populous II, as Bullfrog waited for hardware advancements to enable a new approach,

Populous: The Beginning was the first in the series developed with entirely 3D graphics, allowing the environment to be scaled and rotated in real time, though characters remained 2D sprites.Producer Stuart Whyte said of the work, "We're really proud of what we've done in software because it does look really nice." Art lead Phil McLaughlin recalled that they wanted the characters to look primitive yet familiar, as opposed to something too fantastic; the final characters had to be constructed from very few polygons, so character concepts (done by Mark Pitcher) did not always satisfactorily translate to the finished product. Textures were assigned to different altitudes of the map and blended using masks, allowing for vibrant and varied landscapes without too much developer effort. The music was composed by Mark Knight, who had joined Bullfrog's team in 1997.

Bullfrog representative stressed the changes the game made distinguished Populous: The Beginning from other real-time strategy games on the market at the time. A number of strategy and god games being produced in 1998 and 1999, especially at EA, where Populous: The Beginning was expected to be one of its standout titles. Originally, the game was known as Populous: The Third Coming, but the name was changed by the time the game was shown in a fully playable beta form in late 1998.

Reception

Populous: The Beginning received generally favorable reviews on release. Computer and Video Games called it one of the year's best titles. Edge stated, "previous Bullfrog games have always placed gameplay above graphical finesse, but that's no longer the case." GameSpots Ron Dulin appreciated how The Beginning was a daring revamp of the series, instead of a safe, slightly modified sequel (like the earlier Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods). Computer and Video Games rated The Beginning as a "better play" than the original. The New York Timess J. C. Herz wrote that the twists Populous brought to the RTS formula, as the genre often felt stale and more focused on logistics. GamePros Peter Olafson wrote that Populous was a good game, but also a different one "without a quintessential quality that defined Populous."

Populous: The Beginning was among EA's best-selling computer games of the 1998 third fiscal quarter. It remains the final game in the franchise. Electronic Arts shut down Bullfrog in 2001. The official multiplayer servers for Populous: The Beginning went offline in 2004, but the game's multiplayer was kept alive through Populous: Reincarnated, managed by a group of dedicated fans.

References

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Post-release reviews have rated the game one of the best titles in the god game genre.

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  • Populous: The Beginning at MobyGames