Editing Bullfrog Productions (section)

=== Early success (1989–1995) ===
''Populous'' was difficult to publish at first due to a lack of recognition—the god genre was, according to Bullfrog, "misunderstood by everyone".<ref name="Gameology">{{cite magazine |magazine=Bullfrog Bulletin |publisher=Bullfrog Productions |issue=4 |date=1997 |page=3 |title=Bullfrog Gameology |location=Guildford}}</ref> Despite this, Electronic Arts was willing to publish the game.<ref name="History"/> Molyneux did not expect it to be successful,<ref name="ChairPM"/> yet in 1989, the game received 10 awards, and another 12 the following year, with sales reaching one million copies.<ref name="Gameology"/> It ultimately sold four million copies.<ref name="History"/> Edgar took note of the game's success and gave developers such as [[Imagineer (Japanese company)|Imagineer]] licences to create ports for platforms such as the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] (SNES) and [[Sega Mega Drive]], which enabled the game to gain traction in Japan.<ref name="Profile">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |location=Bournemouth |issn=1742-3155 |title=Kings of the God Game |pages=52–57 |issue=43}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Making Of: Populous |url=https://www.nowgamer.com/the-making-of-populous/ |website=NowGamer |access-date=25 September 2017 |date=27 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925083910/https://www.nowgamer.com/the-making-of-populous/ |archive-date=25 September 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

After ''Populous'', Bullfrog moved into the [[Surrey Research Park]] in Guildford and had around 20 employees.<ref name="History"/> Bullfrog was starting to gain a reputation, so people started to want to work for the company.<ref name="ChairPM"/> Molyneux searched for staff himself, and employed artists and programmers.<ref name="ChairPM" /> He travelled to universities, including [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]], where he offered computer scientists and banks the chance to come to the gaming industry.<ref name="ChairPM"/>

Bullfrog's ''[[Powermonger]]'' was developed as a result of pressure from Electronic Arts for a follow-up to ''Populous''. and was released in 1990.<ref name="History" /><ref name="Legacy" /> The game won multiple Best Strategy Game awards,<ref name="Gameology" /> including one from ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' (as did ''Populous'').<ref name="Legend" /> The direct sequel to ''Populous'', ''[[Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods]]'', was released the following year and sold over a million copies.<ref name="History" /><ref name="Legacy" /> In late 1993, Bullfrog worked with researchers from the [[University of Surrey]], who were nearby their offices, to study the movement and behaviour of underwater life so Bullfrog could reproduce it in the game ''[[Creation (video game)|Creation]]''.<ref name="JSBullfrog"/>

By the mid-1990s, Bullfrog had become well known for innovation and quality.<ref name="FunTime">{{cite magazine |magazine=Edge |publisher=[[Future plc]] |title=Funtime at Bullfrog |department=Prescreen |pages=37–43 |issue=4 |date=January 1994 |issn=1350-1593 |location=Bath}}</ref><ref name="Bullfrog95"/> A 1995 article in ''[[GamePro]]'' stated that "Bullfrog's work has been termed some of the most innovative by industry leaders, and it's pioneered different genres of software."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=EA Kisses a Frog |magazine=[[GamePro]] |issue=69 |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]] |date=April 1995 |page=[https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_069_April_1995/page/n154 147] |issn=1042-8658 |url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_069_April_1995 |access-date=12 June 2017}}</ref> The same year, ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' similarly asserted that "Bullfrog has earned a reputation as one of the most consistently innovative and imaginative development teams in the world."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=75 Power Players |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |issue=11 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=November 1995 |page=51 |issn=1078-9693 |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-011 |access-date=12 June 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318221413/https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-011 |archive-date=18 March 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In July 1995, ''[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' stated that Bullfrog had "an unparalleled reputation for quality and innovation",<ref name="Bullfrog95"/> and by that year, Bullfrog were "rightly considered one of the most innovative in the world", according to ''[[GamesTM]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[GamesTM]] |issue=80 |page=166 |title=Developer Profile Lionhead Studios |issn=1478-5889}}</ref>

In 1994, three games were in development: ''[[Creation (video game)|Creation]]'', ''[[Theme Park (video game)|Theme Park]]'', and ''[[Magic Carpet (video game)|Magic Carpet]]''. Bullfrog focused on implementing multiplayer in all three games; Molyneux believed that multiplayer was more important than the [[compact disc]] (CD) format.<ref name="FunTime"/> ''Theme Park'' and ''Magic Carpet'' were released that year,<ref name="Gameology"/> the latter being the best-selling CD game that Christmas and winning Game of the Year awards in the United Kingdom and Germany.<ref name="Gameology"/> ''Theme Park'' proved popular in Japan and was a best-seller in Europe.<ref name="Legend"/><ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 1995|title=Theme Park|url=https://archive.org/details/mean-machines-sega-magazine-36|url-status=live|department=Saturn Preview|magazine=Mean Machines Sega|location=Peterborough|publisher=[[Emap International Limited]]|issue=36|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mean-machines-sega-magazine-36/page/n41 42], 43|issn=0967-9014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331182654/https://archive.org/details/mean-machines-sega-magazine-36|archive-date=31 March 2019|access-date=11 June 2017}}</ref> During the development of ''Theme Park'', artist [[Gary Carr (video game developer)|Gary Carr]] left Bullfrog following a disagreement with Molyneux on the game: Molyneux wanted gaily coloured graphics that would appeal to the Japanese market, but Carr disapproved, believing it would not work.<ref name="Legacy" /><ref>{{cite web |author1=Julian Benson |title=How the makers of Theme Hospital made hospital wards and diseases funny |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/theme-hospital/theme-hospital-peter-molyneux-making-of |website=PCGamesN |access-date=31 July 2017 |date=29 June 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731233711/https://www.pcgamesn.com/theme-hospital/theme-hospital-peter-molyneux-making-of |archive-date=31 July 2017 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Carr joined [[The Bitmap Brothers]], returning to Bullfrog in 1995 to work on ''[[Dungeon Keeper]]'', although he ended up working as the lead artist on ''[[Theme Hospital]]'' instead.<ref name="THMaking">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Retro Gamer]] |publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]] |location=Bournemouth |issn=1742-3155 |title=The Making of Theme Hospital |pages=46–51 |issue=130 |date=June 2014}}</ref>

In November 1994, Bullfrog began development for ''Dungeon Keeper''.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Melissa Tyler |author2=Shin Kanaoya |title=Bullfrog's Official Guide to Dungeon Keeper |date=1997 |publisher=Prima Publishing |isbn=978-0-7615-0714-7 |page=264 |chapter=Keeper Chronology}}</ref> By then, the company had been approached many times to develop games around film licences.<ref name="Audience94">{{cite magazine |magazine=Edge |publisher=[[Future plc]] |issue=14 |date=November 1994 |pages=98–101 |issn=1350-1593 |title=An Audience With Peter Molyneux |department=Interview |location=Bath}}</ref> [[McDonald's]] approached Bullfrog at some point for a joint game venture.<ref name="Audience94" /> By mid-1995, Bullfrog was focused on [[Artificial intelligence (video games)|artificial intelligence]] (AI) and had a dedicated AI team working at its offices.<ref name="Bullfrog95" /> Two AI techniques, Personality Mapping and Skeletal Mapping, were developed.<ref name="Bullfrog95" />