Peter Molyneux, Stefan Molyneux.. Molyneux surname surely loves controversy. Raise and fall of Stefan Molyneux would be also something I would watch if done without a political spin 😂 (banned at 921k subs on youtube)
Hi Kim. As I'm mentioned in the video there are a couple of points I'd like to clear up. My name is pronounced Corpus and not Corpse but everyone makes that mistake. The other is that I wasn't an artist 'Idly playing with isometric blocks'. I'd also coded Populous' entire landscape system complete with raising and lowering the landscape and the map in the corner before anyone else even saw it. My original idea was an attempt to recreate Paul Shirley's 8 bit classic Spindizzy that got severely sidetracked. There was no gameplay or at least, I had no idea the landscape modification could be the basis of the gameplay. Peter then picked it up and ran with it.
Hi Glenn. Thank you for the comment! It is an honour. Apologies for the mispronunciation of your name, and also for categorising you merely as an artist - this is something that should have been corrected, and is perhaps an unfortunate consequence of attempting to look specifically at a single person's view of a game's genesis.
+Kim Justice it's great to see that old footage. The weird voxely looking version of magic carpet where you can see the bloke on the rug is my initial prototype before Sean was drafted in to turn it into an actual game. The indestructibles footage is basically an early version of my dungeon keeper engine combined with an editor that Sean was playing with. It actually became Hi-Octane which was made by pulling stuff we had lying around together in seven weeks flat, simply to ensure that EA had one more game to release that quarter. Weirdly everyone who worked on it looks back fondly at those seven weeks. There was a much more impressive version of indestructibles in development in '97-'98, the post-Peter canning of which caused three of us to leave and start Lost Toys.
Fantastic! One question: What Dave Perry talks about in the Gamesmaster clip, the idea of Magic Carpet turning into Creation...was that ever something that was seriously considered, or purely a pipe dream/Dave talking out of his bandana? Interesting to hear that The Indestructibles lasted until 1998...a great shame that it and Creation never worked out fully.
It's based on nothing more than the fact that whoever edited the video was having a bit of fun and that got enhanced in an interview. A hell of a lot of features came from interviews. A journalist would ask "will the player be able to..." and peter would just say "of course" and improvise something about it. I remember very clearly listening to a conversation between Peter and Gary Whitta during Populous II development and taking notes. When Gary left Peter and I went through the notes working out which features were actually feasible. Some made it into the game, others jut got forgotten. I suspect Peter may have used this design technique a few times since :)
On the subject of 'Creation'. It probably isn't what you think it was. Notice the mention at 11:20 (which incidentally lies about when the Lego model was made: It was knocked up to show to journalists around release time, possibly hours before we did that interview), Creation was the working title for Populous. The shot at 14:50 was of an interesting but short-lived experiment using weird dither patterns to get the most out of 16 colours on ST. It was later the working title for Magic Carpet when it was just an experimental landscape system. Then it was the sub game, which was actually in development for a few years. I also used it as the working title for my mobile game Topia :)
Kim, how are you able to keep making such incredibly high quality content on a regular basis? I've NEVER seen a video of yours that didn't either inform me or keep me thoroughly entertained. Thank you so much for all of your videos and keep up the incredible work! You are truly appreciated!
Nice! I'm brewing a pot of coffee for this one. Kim, I know it's been said before, but your videos are second to none. Your research is impeccable, your humor dry as an English biscuit, and your production top notch. You're a TH-cam treasure.
Agreed. I watch these instead of 'proper' documentaries - I LOVE his stuff. This excellent channel needs attention brought to it. Definitely a TH-cam treasure.
true I subscribed after watching my first video of him (the one on alan sugar) since then I have watched all his videos. the guy is brilliant. please kim do a long video on syndicate !!!
I completely agree. There is nothing like it on TH-cam, or on the internet in general. These documentaries are so interesting and well researched that I became interested in topics that I would otherwise have overlooked. Thank you, Kim Justice, for the great work you have done!
Yo Kim xxxx Big love man. I’m 38 in the uk and time to time I get a few chill hours and when I’m in the zone can watch these videos. Not even pressed play yet but ready to fire away. Like many others I just wanna say thanks for all these videos. Great memories for me growing up and some great stories about these companies , brands , games etc Thanks man
It's such an injustice this video-game channel only has 16,000 subs and people like Alphaomegasin and Metal Jesus rocks have hundreds of thousands, it makes no sense to me. The work you put in is outstanding and the writing and narration totally engaging. I see channels on YT with hundreds of thousands of subs and all they do is tell you what stuff they've picked that week behind a wall of NES games, this channel on the other hand is on a whole different level. To me this is probably one of the best video-game channels on YT with a doubt. Amazing amazing work Kim, keep it up.
To be fair, Kim isn't exactly mainstream material; she covers videogame history from a very British point of view, arguably more so than even e.g. Guru Larry. That's like comparing a channel that primarily covers Judge Dredd and other 2000AD material to one that does the whole Marvel and DC stuff. Still, it sure is a disgrace that she isn't more well-known.
There's a certain model for getting popular on TH-cam and it doesn't have much to do with quality. That said Guru Larry does a good job of being click baitey while still providing some well written and researched material. The likes of Kim Justice and Generation 16 documentary content just begs to be donated to though because it's an enormous undertaking.
Very addictive videos. The lack of an overly cynical, sneering attitude thats so easy to do and very easy to find on a lot of youtube videos, is one thing that keeps me watching. Thanks.
You deserve a medal for the quality and comprehensive nature of your videos on people/an era of gaming that is really under represented on youtube despite being full of so much rock n roll shenanigans and intrigue.
Interesting video but there's a lot of stuff missing and some is misleading. Basically, Molyneux fucked over everyone by selling Bullfrog to EA in 1994. He got loads of money for it and became Vice president of EA but in return, he was barely around at Bullfrog while they were forced to make a certain amount of games within a short time frame. This led to many leaving and new people being hired which completely wrecked what made Bullfrog so great. Even Dungeon Keeper, a so called Mollyneux game, was made despite him being mostly absent and the team had to struggle with his many ideas including the first person view which didn't even have a proper use. DK2, released a few years later, was a much more polished and decent game. But in the end, Molyneux was being selfish and an asshole - he was the cause of Bullfrog getting shut down in the end. Seeing what he did since then, it has become clear that his main skill is spotting talented people and having them make games for him.
looker999997 Considering his story would include personal politics, social justice, feminism, and Gamergate I think thats a can of worms best left sealed.
i really appreciate how thorough the journalism is here; so rare to find on youtube. thanks so much for producing- i learned a ton and honestly, i believe you did present the facts objectively. refreshing!
Keep up the good work Kim I'm finding this absolutely fascinating. I had the demo of Syndicate for the Amiga and my father always hated us playing it, luckily I think we were too young to figure out how to play it properly. You deserve 100,000 subs for all the work you put into these.
Amazing job as always, Kim! You got some real talent for documentaries. They are all really entertaining and informative. Thank you for your videos and can't wait for part 2! Bye for now!
The man shaped my gaming childhood, Many of the bullfrog titles... Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Dungeon keeper 1&2, Populous... Almost breaks my heart to see him where he is today, promising so much and offering a shadow of it while apologising all the way.
An off topic message to Kim Justice. I known the Kimble Justice channel for many years now and I have a big respect for your retrogame knowledge and passion. a Couple of months ago I visited your channel again and I saw you "one of my retrogame heroes on the Internet" dressed up and acting like a girl with no explanation whatsoever. It gave me a big WTF moment and it brought me in shock to be honest. Now, a couple of months later I gave it a place and I'm used to it. Conclusion: You're still the same great person with the same passion and knowledge for gaming history keep on the good work Kim! You're equally awesone as Kimble was!
Kim, again first class presentation - you must be pouring in the hours to do these. Populous was one of my first genuine Amiga purchases! Not many I used my pocket money to buy, but definitely that game. Bulfrog was such a great label back in the day. I am also so pleased Patreon is taking off for you (of which I also support you and may well up the contribution for the singing naming!). Only a matter of time I think before your subs go so much higher.
I love these videos Ever since "All your history" ended I've been missing Gaming Documentaries about companies/Game franchises. Keep up the good work. Also is a US Gold retrospective on the cards
Amazing, as always! I can't wait for the next part. It's depressing to think of what ultimately happened to Bullfrog. What they achieved on the Amiga is mind-boggling.
Bullfrog was one of my favourite games companies too. I played all the way through Populous 2. I think it was 5000 levels or something ridiculous lol. Can't wait for the next part.
Another excellent video - thank you Kim. As an Amiga kid, I look back at bullfrog with very fond memories indeed. Populous was the first game I ever played on the Amiga and it was love from then on :)
Kim you're awesome. And your video documentaries are glorious. Thank you so much for creating them! I loved watching to each and everyone of them and of course I had to watch all your other uploads as well. They are all great and take me back to those good old days of old when things (seemed) much more simple but as you clearly point out, they weren't. I feel though that NES was a bit bigger on mainland Europe than you might think. But maybe that was just my friends, they tended to be into PC gaming anyway. Not much Sega's around sadly. Sorry for rambling, thanks for the awesome uploads and much love, you're fab!
Great video Kim! As much as I liked the Ocean history, a Bullfrog/Molyneaux history of this calibre is a gem for the internet. Fantastic job again! (and now I have to play Syndicate!)
You know, I'm a martial artist and former fighter. I play some games, but I was never a "gamer" or anything. I still love your channel, and I'm not sure exactly why. It's very interesting, and even makes me want to go and play some of these games hahaha.
An interesting Syndicate fact not many know, but the buildings in the game were practically identical (whether by accident or intentionally), to the buildings on the Business Park that Bullfrog offices were based. :)
Worth mentioning that Demis Hassabis, who worked on Theme Park, ended up founding a company where they made an algorithm to solve Atari games. This turned into Google DeepMind, the world's leading AI. Weird to think it all started with Theme Park :)
Wow! A well balanced and mature portrayal of the man and his past achievements. It makes a change from the usual frothing at the mouth that most commentators reserve for him these days! I'm not suggesting he shouldn't get called out on some of his more 'ambitious' marketing claims or more recent failed projects but at least now the younger generation can watch this series and learn what the guy did right instead of only knowing of him for Godus or Milo and Kate.
Your documentaries are on par with noclip, simply amazing and of high quality. finally someone gives credit to molyneux, one of the most influental game designers up to date. It's very sad but everyone is jumping on the hate wagon so easily totally discredditing him as if they are perfect and they never fucked up. If you compare this mans success stories they totally outweigh his failures and yet, the vast majority of people call him a hack. Peters only flaw is his attraction to fame, if he stops talking to the press *which by the looks of it, currently is) and focuses solely on programming i'm sure he can be great again. and for everyone that likes kim's videos please give a thumbs up on as many as you can because that is pretty much the only way this channel can get the proper exposure that it so much needs.
Been travelling so only just started to watch and got to 2:03 - And already singing praises for you +Kim Justice... Peter Molyneux was, for me as an old git... One of the STARS of the era... It was The Oliver Twins, The Bitmap Brothers then Molyneux... Simple as!!! They were once geniuses... But all have suffered in one form or another... Its good to see people who DO look back at what was a Legend of a man... And its also good to look at what has since gone wrong... I have to be honest - I do not understand all teh hate but maybe that's because he vanished more or less for so long I did not know he was still active except for the odd interview!
His Xbox 360 era was pretty dreadful. Fable 2 was far overhyped, Fable 3 was dumbed down to point of no return, Milo was faked, Fable Kinect is well Fable Kinect. That's rosy compared to the outright shadiness that went on with Godus and Godus Wars.
Oh dear, the second is heading into Black&White and Lionhead territory. Great research, it's so interesting to know what happened to the former members of Bullfrog.
Had the opportunity of working alongside Sean Cooper on the PC isometric strategy game Heist in the mid 90's. He was a cheerful if somewhat eccentric chap.
I haven't played Syndicate since probably something like 1994 but the mission you showed in the Agent Bush story i remember very well, i crossed the street a bit before the convoy arrived and dropped a mine on the ground while doing so and detonated it when the convoy was over it. I also have a memory of a mission where i shot some woman addressing a crowd on a building's front steps by doing a drive by. And there was the mission where some guy who works for the syndicate needs to be put back on the right track and to do so you assassinate his wife. I came into their house and burned her by flamethrower, left her charred body for them to come home to. Message delivered. None of these (horrible) things might seem new to a modern gamer, but in the pre-GTA days, the fact that you COULD do these things in a game was groundbreaking. The fact that i EVEN remember them 25 years later should tell anyone so. There's not ONE game i played then i could recount a specific mission of. Like sure i may remember some games levels well but i probably can't tell you about a specific memory of how i cleared this or that level.
Amazing quality, as normal, and I'm interested to see how the rest turns out. I've always found Molyneux to be an interesting person in the game industry, because I've actually played most of Bullfrog's games as a kid. Having played Fable 1-3 when they came out, I never knew that Peter Molyneux was a big deal, so, I had no real bias towards them and sort of dismissed them as just average games, having no idea towards the supposed hype behind them, or the story behind Molyneux. I think now it's just easy to portray Peter as a disillusion and over-confident designer, but, I seriously think he's just a guy with a sense of ego, and a passion for his work; coming from someone that does make their own content - writing, music, art - you absolutely HAVE to go in with a sense of passion, because that passion and drive are what get things done, and truly make a quality product. Whether or not it's good is entirely up to the creator, not the public - despite how the public will react to your product, and your demographic and sales figures are what keep you from going broke. As I said, I'm very interested to see the rest of this series, as I have a very neutral view on Molyneux, and I'm glad to see someone take an actually well-informed and professional look at his legacy.
Syndicate on the Amiga was amazing. Yes it was a bit dark, but that was also part of the fun as this was a first really. It was full on back then and it was seriously addictive. No need for a warning really Kim as its just a an old 16bit game. Graphically it's ancient. I know what you mean, but compared to GTA, etc it's lightweight now. Great content as always. The best really.
Populous was the game that made us solder our first custom cable for 1v1 competitive multiplayer. The quality of Bullfrog's output was vastly above average. Of course, that course was very much corrected once EA bought the studio.
The quality of your documentary making skills is really going from strength to strength. Very engaging video, learned lots about the designer for so many games I sank many hours into. Thanks Kim, looking forward to the next! Oh and I share the opinions of many below. We need to tell everyone about this channel, you deserve many many more subs. Please keep up the good work while we all continue to spread the word :) :)
Yeah... World-domination-planning bad guys lose their menacing qualities if they end up walking in place with their face towards a wall. Poor A.I. usually starts with laughs but ends in sadness.
Interesting bit, really. Interesting to think that there was a time in which Peter Molyneux was one of the unquestioned giants in this industry. Seems very long ago indeed.
Why was this never recommended to me?? I just found this brilliant channel and video because I searched for jim sterling's video and this showed up too. TH-cam alghorithim prefers to recommend me something shitty instead, or something that I already watched.
I remember struggling with dyslexia that a channel 4 documentary was on and Peter was on it saying how computers changed his life as he was dyslexic. That was my key in to getting a computer of my own. It wasn't that difficult to learn to code for me as it tends to work in the way I think however what my mother was willing to spend on me against what I was able to do were very different things. From changing control methods of type in games from the library to adding events eventually stood me in good stead when I left school. School wouldn't allow me to go anywhere near a computer as they said that my brain couldn't comprehend a computer. Yet I went to be an automation specialist in a consortium company. They don't give a shit about my spelling just my coding and how fast I can do it from a few key things. I did get to attend an interview with the schools old IT teacher who didn't get the job when they failed to answer my questions. So I guess I got my revenge. So if it was Peter on that documentary. Cheers mate you did me a solid. Computers changed my life as well.
This footage is from an in-house "Progress Report" that Bullfrog produced at the start of 1995 (search "Bullfrog Progress Report" and you'll find it) - so yes, that's a very early look at Dungeon Keeper. You can also see early footage for the likes of Syndicate Wars and Magic Carpet II here, along with Creation. It's also one of the very few (if not the only) source where you can find a look at The Indestructibles.
Thank you for your consistently excellent videos Kim. Always engaging and meticulously researched; you have opened my eyes to many new games to appreciate and enjoy as well as the often fascinating backdrops that lead to them.
If you liked this then think about having a gander through my social media, and get yourself on my Patreon: www.patreon.com/KimbleJustice
Peter Molyneux, Stefan Molyneux.. Molyneux surname surely loves controversy. Raise and fall of Stefan Molyneux would be also something I would watch if done without a political spin 😂 (banned at 921k subs on youtube)
Hi Kim. As I'm mentioned in the video there are a couple of points I'd like to clear up. My name is pronounced Corpus and not Corpse but everyone makes that mistake. The other is that I wasn't an artist 'Idly playing with isometric blocks'. I'd also coded Populous' entire landscape system complete with raising and lowering the landscape and the map in the corner before anyone else even saw it. My original idea was an attempt to recreate Paul Shirley's 8 bit classic Spindizzy that got severely sidetracked. There was no gameplay or at least, I had no idea the landscape modification could be the basis of the gameplay. Peter then picked it up and ran with it.
Hi Glenn. Thank you for the comment! It is an honour. Apologies for the mispronunciation of your name, and also for categorising you merely as an artist - this is something that should have been corrected, and is perhaps an unfortunate consequence of attempting to look specifically at a single person's view of a game's genesis.
+Kim Justice it's great to see that old footage. The weird voxely looking version of magic carpet where you can see the bloke on the rug is my initial prototype before Sean was drafted in to turn it into an actual game. The indestructibles footage is basically an early version of my dungeon keeper engine combined with an editor that Sean was playing with. It actually became Hi-Octane which was made by pulling stuff we had lying around together in seven weeks flat, simply to ensure that EA had one more game to release that quarter. Weirdly everyone who worked on it looks back fondly at those seven weeks. There was a much more impressive version of indestructibles in development in '97-'98, the post-Peter canning of which caused three of us to leave and start Lost Toys.
Fantastic! One question: What Dave Perry talks about in the Gamesmaster clip, the idea of Magic Carpet turning into Creation...was that ever something that was seriously considered, or purely a pipe dream/Dave talking out of his bandana? Interesting to hear that The Indestructibles lasted until 1998...a great shame that it and Creation never worked out fully.
It's based on nothing more than the fact that whoever edited the video was having a bit of fun and that got enhanced in an interview. A hell of a lot of features came from interviews. A journalist would ask "will the player be able to..." and peter would just say "of course" and improvise something about it. I remember very clearly listening to a conversation between Peter and Gary Whitta during Populous II development and taking notes. When Gary left Peter and I went through the notes working out which features were actually feasible. Some made it into the game, others jut got forgotten. I suspect Peter may have used this design technique a few times since :)
On the subject of 'Creation'. It probably isn't what you think it was. Notice the mention at 11:20 (which incidentally lies about when the Lego model was made: It was knocked up to show to journalists around release time, possibly hours before we did that interview), Creation was the working title for Populous. The shot at 14:50 was of an interesting but short-lived experiment using weird dither patterns to get the most out of 16 colours on ST. It was later the working title for Magic Carpet when it was just an experimental landscape system. Then it was the sub game, which was actually in development for a few years. I also used it as the working title for my mobile game Topia :)
Where's Larry Bundy Jr. he'll love this. I swear he wants to stab Molyneux in the eye.
Set up a Go Fund Me for the cage match between Peter and Larry. Pat the NES Punk can be the ref.
Kim, how are you able to keep making such incredibly high quality content on a regular basis? I've NEVER seen a video of yours that didn't either inform me or keep me thoroughly entertained. Thank you so much for all of your videos and keep up the incredible work! You are truly appreciated!
Nice! I'm brewing a pot of coffee for this one.
Kim, I know it's been said before, but your videos are second to none. Your research is impeccable, your humor dry as an English biscuit, and your production top notch. You're a TH-cam treasure.
Agreed. I watch these instead of 'proper' documentaries - I LOVE his stuff. This excellent channel needs attention brought to it. Definitely a TH-cam treasure.
true I subscribed after watching my first video of him (the one on alan sugar) since then I have watched all his videos. the guy is brilliant.
please kim do a long video on syndicate !!!
I completely agree.
There is nothing like it on TH-cam, or on the internet in general.
These documentaries are so interesting and well researched that I became interested in topics that I would otherwise have overlooked.
Thank you, Kim Justice, for the great work you have done!
Yo Kim xxxx
Big love man. I’m 38 in the uk and time to time I get a few chill hours and when I’m in the zone can watch these videos.
Not even pressed play yet but ready to fire away. Like many others I just wanna say thanks for all these videos. Great memories for me growing up and some great stories about these companies , brands , games etc
Thanks man
It's such an injustice this video-game channel only has 16,000 subs and people like Alphaomegasin and Metal Jesus rocks have hundreds of thousands, it makes no sense to me. The work you put in is outstanding and the writing and narration totally engaging. I see channels on YT with hundreds of thousands of subs and all they do is tell you what stuff they've picked that week behind a wall of NES games, this channel on the other hand is on a whole different level. To me this is probably one of the best video-game channels on YT with a doubt. Amazing amazing work Kim, keep it up.
To be fair, Kim isn't exactly mainstream material; she covers videogame history from a very British point of view, arguably more so than even e.g. Guru Larry. That's like comparing a channel that primarily covers Judge Dredd and other 2000AD material to one that does the whole Marvel and DC stuff. Still, it sure is a disgrace that she isn't more well-known.
And here I sit with 300 subs. Where are my hundreds of thousands?
+Zeithri Niches of niches
There's a certain model for getting popular on TH-cam and it doesn't have much to do with quality. That said Guru Larry does a good job of being click baitey while still providing some well written and researched material. The likes of Kim Justice and Generation 16 documentary content just begs to be donated to though because it's an enormous undertaking.
+TAPETRVETVBE it's he, not she.
Very addictive videos. The lack of an overly cynical, sneering attitude thats so easy to do and very easy to find on a lot of youtube videos, is one thing that keeps me watching. Thanks.
You deserve a medal for the quality and comprehensive nature of your videos on people/an era of gaming that is really under represented on youtube despite being full of so much rock n roll shenanigans and intrigue.
Really enjoyed this video Kim, I could watch videos like this all day. Looking forward to Part 2!
Interesting video but there's a lot of stuff missing and some is misleading. Basically, Molyneux fucked over everyone by selling Bullfrog to EA in 1994. He got loads of money for it and became Vice president of EA but in return, he was barely around at Bullfrog while they were forced to make a certain amount of games within a short time frame. This led to many leaving and new people being hired which completely wrecked what made Bullfrog so great. Even Dungeon Keeper, a so called Mollyneux game, was made despite him being mostly absent and the team had to struggle with his many ideas including the first person view which didn't even have a proper use. DK2, released a few years later, was a much more polished and decent game. But in the end, Molyneux was being selfish and an asshole - he was the cause of Bullfrog getting shut down in the end. Seeing what he did since then, it has become clear that his main skill is spotting talented people and having them make games for him.
Speaking of fallen developers, The Rise and Fall of Tim Schafer could be an interesting idea for a series.
looker999997 Considering his story would include personal politics, social justice, feminism, and Gamergate I think thats a can of worms best left sealed.
@@Ponaru History should not be left unviewed or documented just because it might be icky.
@@Supernerdland Valid
@@Ponaru Damn two years later with the response.
@@ДушманКакдела Says you with your 6! Lol
i really appreciate how thorough the journalism is here; so rare to find on youtube. thanks so much for producing- i learned a ton and honestly, i believe you did present the facts objectively. refreshing!
Keep up the good work Kim I'm finding this absolutely fascinating. I had the demo of Syndicate for the Amiga and my father always hated us playing it, luckily I think we were too young to figure out how to play it properly. You deserve 100,000 subs for all the work you put into these.
Amazing job as always, Kim! You got some real talent for documentaries. They are all really entertaining and informative. Thank you for your videos and can't wait for part 2! Bye for now!
That was fantastic. This is the most underrated games Chanel on TH-cam.
just settling down to this now. I effin loves a good K. Justice documentary.
cheers! :)
For everytime a lie he told one hair in his head he lost...
The man shaped my gaming childhood, Many of the bullfrog titles... Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Dungeon keeper 1&2, Populous...
Almost breaks my heart to see him where he is today, promising so much and offering a shadow of it while apologising all the way.
An off topic message to Kim Justice.
I known the Kimble Justice channel for many years now and I have a big respect for your retrogame knowledge and passion.
a Couple of months ago I visited your channel again and I saw you "one of my retrogame heroes on the Internet" dressed up and acting like a girl with no explanation whatsoever.
It gave me a big WTF moment and it brought me in shock to be honest.
Now, a couple of months later I gave it a place and I'm used to it.
Conclusion: You're still the same great person with the same passion and knowledge for gaming history
keep on the good work Kim! You're equally awesone as Kimble was!
Part 1/4, you are a researcher for the ages, can't wait to watch them all.
Wow, I had no idea the Priest from Princess Bride made gaming documentaries!
Mawwiage
Kim, again first class presentation - you must be pouring in the hours to do these. Populous was one of my first genuine Amiga purchases! Not many I used my pocket money to buy, but definitely that game. Bulfrog was such a great label back in the day.
I am also so pleased Patreon is taking off for you (of which I also support you and may well up the contribution for the singing naming!). Only a matter of time I think before your subs go so much higher.
I love these videos
Ever since "All your history" ended I've been missing Gaming Documentaries about companies/Game franchises. Keep up the good work.
Also is a US Gold retrospective on the cards
Amazing, as always! I can't wait for the next part.
It's depressing to think of what ultimately happened to Bullfrog. What they achieved on the Amiga is mind-boggling.
Loved your first video buddy :) Looking forward to catching up on your videos :D
i've been waiting a long time to see you do this video.your research and delivery is amazing. thanks for the many hours of entertainment dude!
How nicely your videos are made and told. I never get bored!
Bullfrog was one of my favourite games companies too.
I played all the way through Populous 2. I think it was 5000 levels or something ridiculous lol.
Can't wait for the next part.
Another excellent video - thank you Kim. As an Amiga kid, I look back at bullfrog with very fond memories indeed. Populous was the first game I ever played on the Amiga and it was love from then on :)
Kim you're awesome. And your video documentaries are glorious. Thank you so much for creating them! I loved watching to each and everyone of them and of course I had to watch all your other uploads as well. They are all great and take me back to those good old days of old when things (seemed) much more simple but as you clearly point out, they weren't.
I feel though that NES was a bit bigger on mainland Europe than you might think. But maybe that was just my friends, they tended to be into PC gaming anyway. Not much Sega's around sadly.
Sorry for rambling, thanks for the awesome uploads and much love, you're fab!
Syndicate will be a game I never forget. I first played it on the Amiga 1200. I was shocked. Jaw dropped. then a big smile came upon my face
A fascinating and very well researched video of a fascinating guy. Can't wait for the next part.
Great video Kim! As much as I liked the Ocean history, a Bullfrog/Molyneaux history of this calibre is a gem for the internet. Fantastic job again! (and now I have to play Syndicate!)
Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Black and White, and Fable were all some of my favorite games ever growing up. I can't ever hate this dude
Excellent video. As life long Amiga user It is fun & informative to see this history. Looking forward to future episodes. Well done!
These videos are awesome, keep it up!
you put some serious work into that, as always - top notch.
Populous, Powermonger and Syndicate... heady days.
“Blinded by the light” was playing in the background for a portion of the video. I thought it was coming from the video, but it was the radio.
what a brilliant video, the research you do is so good, you the most informative youtuber out there, well done and can't wait for the next parts
masterful as per usual, Kimble
You know, I'm a martial artist and former fighter. I play some games, but I was never a "gamer" or anything. I still love your channel, and I'm not sure exactly why. It's very interesting, and even makes me want to go and play some of these games hahaha.
What a show. I love how much work goes into these. You can see 5 minute videos that just don't do the story justice.
Great video! Bullfrog was always my favourite company as a youngster. Good to learn a bit more about them.
Kim Justice the only you tuber to make a epic trilogy for a game designer. :)
amazingly good video. You work so absurdly hard on these.
An interesting Syndicate fact not many know, but the buildings in the game were practically identical (whether by accident or intentionally), to the buildings on the Business Park that Bullfrog offices were based. :)
Another great Gaming Documentary! This was fascinating. Thanks!
Theme park, Populous the beginning and Dungeon Keeper 2 are the three games that I remember the most from my childhood
Worth mentioning that Demis Hassabis, who worked on Theme Park, ended up founding a company where they made an algorithm to solve Atari games. This turned into Google DeepMind, the world's leading AI. Weird to think it all started with Theme Park :)
Wow, interesting fact.
Thank you so much for making these videos and keeping gaming history alive.
I never worked on 'project X' I started out working on Syndicate Amiga.
Another brilliant episode. Your content lately has been just incredible., thanks for the hard work.
Wow! A well balanced and mature portrayal of the man and his past achievements. It makes a change from the usual frothing at the mouth that most commentators reserve for him these days! I'm not suggesting he shouldn't get called out on some of his more 'ambitious' marketing claims or more recent failed projects but at least now the younger generation can watch this series and learn what the guy did right instead of only knowing of him for Godus or Milo and Kate.
Great video Kim, can't wait for part 2
Watching this I reckon Armando Iannucci would make a great Molyneux for the big (or small!) screen :)
Great video as always, can't wait to see the rest in the series.
Really well made and informative documentary!
Did you just describe Populous: The Beginning as “meh.. okay”?
Pop TB was the game of my childhood! Truly the best game I have ever played.
That guildford town center ad is for a mall in Canada, also in Surrey, Guildford.
Canada, BC, Surrey, Guildford.
Very cool.
Your documentaries are on par with noclip, simply amazing and of high quality.
finally someone gives credit to molyneux, one of the most influental game designers up to date. It's very sad but everyone is jumping on the hate wagon so easily totally discredditing him as if they are perfect and they never fucked up.
If you compare this mans success stories they totally outweigh his failures and yet, the vast majority of people call him a hack.
Peters only flaw is his attraction to fame, if he stops talking to the press *which by the looks of it, currently is) and focuses solely on programming i'm sure he can be great again.
and for everyone that likes kim's videos please give a thumbs up on as many as you can because that is pretty much the only way this channel can get the proper exposure that it so much needs.
Thanks for doing another documentary dude.
Great touch having the powermonger theme at the start
Been travelling so only just started to watch and got to 2:03 - And already singing praises for you +Kim Justice...
Peter Molyneux was, for me as an old git... One of the STARS of the era... It was The Oliver Twins, The Bitmap Brothers then Molyneux... Simple as!!! They were once geniuses... But all have suffered in one form or another...
Its good to see people who DO look back at what was a Legend of a man... And its also good to look at what has since gone wrong... I have to be honest - I do not understand all teh hate but maybe that's because he vanished more or less for so long I did not know he was still active except for the odd interview!
His Xbox 360 era was pretty dreadful. Fable 2 was far overhyped, Fable 3 was dumbed down to point of no return, Milo was faked, Fable Kinect is well Fable Kinect.
That's rosy compared to the outright shadiness that went on with Godus and Godus Wars.
Oh dear, the second is heading into Black&White and Lionhead territory. Great research, it's so interesting to know what happened to the former members of Bullfrog.
Had the opportunity of working alongside Sean Cooper on the PC isometric strategy game Heist in the mid 90's. He was a cheerful if somewhat eccentric chap.
how depresing that whenever there's a story about the downfall of a company or the dead of a beloved game series EA is almost always involved
No one’s to blame in this instance apart from Peter Molyneux
Wow. You've made a lot of good content. I watched a bunch of your earlier stuff. I love to see what was happening in the UK games-wise. Subscribed.
I haven't played Syndicate since probably something like 1994 but the mission you showed in the Agent Bush story i remember very well, i crossed the street a bit before the convoy arrived and dropped a mine on the ground while doing so and detonated it when the convoy was over it.
I also have a memory of a mission where i shot some woman addressing a crowd on a building's front steps by doing a drive by.
And there was the mission where some guy who works for the syndicate needs to be put back on the right track and to do so you assassinate his wife. I came into their house and burned her by flamethrower, left her charred body for them to come home to. Message delivered.
None of these (horrible) things might seem new to a modern gamer, but in the pre-GTA days, the fact that you COULD do these things in a game was groundbreaking. The fact that i EVEN remember them 25 years later should tell anyone so. There's not ONE game i played then i could recount a specific mission of. Like sure i may remember some games levels well but i probably can't tell you about a specific memory of how i cleared this or that level.
In my opinion Peter Molyneux is a true genius and has one of the most bright minds ever on this planet.
This dude used to be huge in gaming
Someone at our school did work experience at Bullfrog in the early 90s. Lucky bugger.
I watched the introduction of Syndicate so often. Even several years later.
Amazing quality, as normal, and I'm interested to see how the rest turns out. I've always found Molyneux to be an interesting person in the game industry, because I've actually played most of Bullfrog's games as a kid. Having played Fable 1-3 when they came out, I never knew that Peter Molyneux was a big deal, so, I had no real bias towards them and sort of dismissed them as just average games, having no idea towards the supposed hype behind them, or the story behind Molyneux.
I think now it's just easy to portray Peter as a disillusion and over-confident designer, but, I seriously think he's just a guy with a sense of ego, and a passion for his work; coming from someone that does make their own content - writing, music, art - you absolutely HAVE to go in with a sense of passion, because that passion and drive are what get things done, and truly make a quality product. Whether or not it's good is entirely up to the creator, not the public - despite how the public will react to your product, and your demographic and sales figures are what keep you from going broke.
As I said, I'm very interested to see the rest of this series, as I have a very neutral view on Molyneux, and I'm glad to see someone take an actually well-informed and professional look at his legacy.
Syndicate on the Amiga was amazing. Yes it was a bit dark, but that was also part of the fun as this was a first really. It was full on back then and it was seriously addictive. No need for a warning really Kim as its just a an old 16bit game. Graphically it's ancient. I know what you mean, but compared to GTA, etc it's lightweight now. Great content as always. The best really.
REALLY high quality documentary. Hurry up with the next part!
Populous was the game that made us solder our first custom cable for 1v1 competitive multiplayer.
The quality of Bullfrog's output was vastly above average. Of course, that course was very much corrected once EA bought the studio.
Just great stuff. Huge fan of your work Kim - thanks!
Your perspective is profound & amazing thank you
Great documentary, looking forward to part 2 Thanks Kim
The quality of your documentary making skills is really going from strength to strength. Very engaging video, learned lots about the designer for so many games I sank many hours into. Thanks Kim, looking forward to the next! Oh and I share the opinions of many below. We need to tell everyone about this channel, you deserve many many more subs. Please keep up the good work while we all continue to spread the word :) :)
powermonger and populous were awesome!!!!
I've watched this documentary about 4 times it was absolutely fantastic
Powermonger was my favourite Amiga game. It really opened my eyes to how important AI is to making an immersive game.
Yeah... World-domination-planning bad guys lose their menacing qualities if they end up walking in place with their face towards a wall. Poor A.I. usually starts with laughs but ends in sadness.
Love your work, best channel on TH-cam!!!
22:53
Kim: "thank you"
Me: waiting for the transition
Video: plays dynasty heroes ads
Excellent documentary, i grew up with Populous on the ST, one of my favourite games
Interesting bit, really. Interesting to think that there was a time in which Peter Molyneux was one of the unquestioned giants in this industry. Seems very long ago indeed.
Thumbs up before I even started watching.
Are you proud of yourself sheep?
inaliann I know you are so what am I?
Why was this never recommended to me?? I just found this brilliant channel and video because I searched for jim sterling's video and this showed up too. TH-cam alghorithim prefers to recommend me something shitty instead, or something that I already watched.
Peter Molyneux will always be a hero for me
great video! looking forward to part 2.
I remember struggling with dyslexia that a channel 4 documentary was on and Peter was on it saying how computers changed his life as he was dyslexic. That was my key in to getting a computer of my own. It wasn't that difficult to learn to code for me as it tends to work in the way I think however what my mother was willing to spend on me against what I was able to do were very different things. From changing control methods of type in games from the library to adding events eventually stood me in good stead when I left school. School wouldn't allow me to go anywhere near a computer as they said that my brain couldn't comprehend a computer. Yet I went to be an automation specialist in a consortium company. They don't give a shit about my spelling just my coding and how fast I can do it from a few key things. I did get to attend an interview with the schools old IT teacher who didn't get the job when they failed to answer my questions. So I guess I got my revenge. So if it was Peter on that documentary. Cheers mate you did me a solid. Computers changed my life as well.
Great video, looking forward to part 2!
16:58 where is this footage from?? says dungeon keeper but doesn't really look like the final game too me... I wanna check it out
This footage is from an in-house "Progress Report" that Bullfrog produced at the start of 1995 (search "Bullfrog Progress Report" and you'll find it) - so yes, that's a very early look at Dungeon Keeper. You can also see early footage for the likes of Syndicate Wars and Magic Carpet II here, along with Creation. It's also one of the very few (if not the only) source where you can find a look at The Indestructibles.
Thank you for your consistently excellent videos Kim. Always engaging and meticulously researched; you have opened my eyes to many new games to appreciate and enjoy as well as the often fascinating backdrops that lead to them.
(Round of applause) outstanding, man bulldog had a great run, I always wanted a theme football manager!
Great video chap - thank you!👍
Amazing video. Thank you Kim.
One day, Commodore contacted Taurus and said "Can we have two gross of HP...do you do curried beans??
And with that, Larry Bundy lost a punchline.