Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Bullfrog Productions

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Fate
  
Merged into EA UK

Founder
  
Peter Molyneux

Parent organization
  
Electronic Arts

Defunct
  
31 August 2001

Headquarters
  
Guildford, United Kingdom


Industry
  
Interactive entertainment

Products
  
Populous series Syndicate series Magic Carpet series Theme series Dungeon Keeper series

Website
  
www.bullfrog.com (archived version until 2002-11-25)

Founded
  
1987, Guildford, United Kingdom

Video games
  
Dungeon Keeper, Theme Hospital, Theme Park, Populous, Dungeon Keeper 2

Bullfrog productions theme park 1994


Bullfrog Productions was a British video game developer, founded in 1987 by Les Edgar and Peter Molyneux. The company achieved recognition in 1989 for their third release, Populous. At the time of the company's founding, Edgar and Molyneux were already involved in an enterprise called Taurus Impact Systems. Bullfrog's name was derived from "Taurus" (the Latin word for bull) and Edgar's daughter's love of frogs.

Contents

Electronic Arts, Bullfrog's publisher, acquired the studio in January 1995. Molyneux had become an Electronic Arts vice-president and consultant in 1994, after EA purchased a significant share of Bullfrog. Molyneux's last project with Bullfrog was Dungeon Keeper and he left the company in August 1997 to found Lionhead Studios. Other members of the studio founded Mucky Foot Productions in 1997.

An early 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." The same year, Next Generation similarly asserted that "Bullfrog has earned a reputation as one of the most consistently innovative and imaginative development teams in the world."

Theme park world lost kingdom 1999 bullfrog productions hd


Closure

Following a move to Chertsey in 2000, the last titles to bear the company logo were published in 2001. Bullfrog Productions was finally incorporated and merged into EA on 31 August 2001 upon the formation of EA UK, effectively closing the studio. Bullfrog's website remained until spring of 2002, at which point the website link took visitors to Electronic Arts Europe instead.

Many former Bullfrog employees have remained within the games industry since the closure of the company. Peter Molyneux would stay on with Lionhead Studios until the formation of 22Cans in February 2012. Les Edgar later became EA's Vice-President of European Studio, and although he has some involvement with the games industry, is now focused on other ventures. In August 2009, Electronics Arts was considering revising some of Bullfrog's games for modern-day systems, and in 2011 they signed a deal with Good Old Games in order to do this.

Key figures

  • Gary Carr (Artist and Designer, 1989–1997)
  • Sean Cooper (Designer and Programmer, 1987–1999)
  • Glenn Corpes (Artist and Designer, 1987–1998)
  • Mike Diskett (Director, 1993–1997)
  • Les Edgar (Management, 1987–1999)
  • Fin McGechie (Artist and Designer, 1990–1996)
  • Paul McLaughlin (Artist and Designer, 1990–1997)
  • Peter Molyneux (Designer and Programmer, 1987–1997)
  • Russell Shaw (Music and Audio, 1992–1997)
  • Guy Simmons (Programmer, 1993–1996)
  • Mark Webley (Programmer, 1992–1997)
  • Stuart Whyte (Producer, 1999–2001)

    • Cancelled projects

    Bullfrog started development on but then cancelled many projects. These include The Indestructibles in 1996, Creation in 1997, Void Star in 1998, Theme Resort, Extinction and Genesis: The Hand of God in 1999 and Dungeon Keeper 3: War for the Overworld along with Theme Movie Studio both in 2000.

    References

    Bullfrog Productions Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA