Prerelease:Genewars
This page details pre-release information and/or media for Genewars.
Genewars went through many substantially different design iterations from a laid back Amiga strategy/sandbox game to a PC war game, with only the basic idea of genetic engineering tying them together.
Contents
Development Timeline
1989
According to comments from Peter Molyneux, development of what eventually became Genewars started in 1989. It's not clear what form the game took at this point, but it was reportedly an idea based around terraforming planets with genetically engineered creatures conceived by the American developer Excellent Studios (consisting of programmer Richard Reed and graphic artist Randall Ho) that was taken up by publisher Electronic Arts but who at some point eventually decided not to publish it. Bullfrog became involved as they liked the concept and took on Richard Reed in order to continue to develop it.
1991
Early screenshots of Creation are shown in Amiga Power magazine. It's not clear if this game actually is a precursor of Genewars or just a coincidence; the concept presented is almost exactly the same as Genewars (genetically engineered creatures fighting each other), but more specifically seem to be what the intention of Biosphere was - to find a way to make various creatures live in harmony in an terraformed environment.
Reportedly Randall Ho worked on the graphics for the Amiga version of Biosphere from July 1991, so this is likely the start of the known Amiga version of the game. It seems at this point the game was actually funded by Electronic Arts and not Bullfrog yet.
1993
The first known coverage of Biosphere appears. If they weren't already, Bullfrog are now involved in the development of the game. Based on coverage this year and that from 1994, the concept here is that the player runs a business consisting of a team of engineers terraforming planets to the spec of various clients. According to Bullfrog's Alex Trowers, the key concept was it was less of a war game, and would be about creating a stable ecosystem despite whatever conflicting creatures and plants the client asked for[1]. Also according to Trower's blog, Biosphere at this point really was an Amiga game. However, reportedly Randall Ho left in December 1993, to join Gravity, Inc. It's likely then that the Amiga version didn't last much longer than this, and indeed it being cancelled (by Bullfrog) may have been why he left.
1994
Extensive pictures of Biosphere appear in CU Amiga magazine, and show it was a totally 2D game running on a hexagonal board. Due to the lag in publishing, these are likely leftover from 1993 when the Amiga version was still in development.
In September, the British videogames TV show Bad Influence featured several Bullfrog games, including an extremely brief glimpse of a build of Biosphere during the end credits of the show. This is especially fascinating footage as it shows a totally different build with a refined design for the game compared to the CU Amiga screenshots from the same year. It still seems to be a similar core idea, with the game world abstracted out into hexagons, and a small window to the side showing zoomed in actions of the large characters as they moved to each area of the scrolling play field. The art style is still the same naïve cartoon style of the Amiga version based on Randall Ho's designs, however. It's extremely likely this build is running on a PC, and no longer an Amiga game.
1995
April
The Forthcoming Games from Bullfrog Productions demo reveals two screenshots of a totally different version of Biosphere. It's clear at this point the original Amiga game design has now been scrapped, and what is shown instead is a totally different PC game with 3D terrain. The blurb in the picture viewer executable even now frames the title as a "war" game, even if it's using a "cute" character art style. It's not known why the original Biosphere concept was scrapped. Remnants of the building graphics from this build present in the leaked QA Beta suggest this short-lived iteration was running on the final game engine.
July
An image in Joystick magazine shows pre-rendered art of the final sci-fi B movie art style. It's likely by now Jonathan Farmer took over as art lead, and Ho's early naïve art style is now complete gone. More importantly, the game at this point has now been renamed to Genewars.
The Progress Report video also from this month confirms the above, with a totally different build of the game from the last Biosphere pictures now evident. However, the video reveals how complicated the game was at this point, compared to the final design. A video from Interactive Entertainment also shows more of this build.
Sean Cooper was brought on to work on the apparently ailing redesigned game, and told to "make the design work" [2]. The original game design was apparently over-complicated with endless pop up windows. It seems this is where the game was retooled to essentially be a simpler Command & Conquer inspired RTS. Apparent conflict with Peter Molyneux over this work caused Cooper to leave Bullfrog for the first time[2].
October
A screenshot from Interactive Entertainment magazine shows yet another interface redesign, seemingly simplified from the Progress Report video
1996
January
A preview in PC Zone issue 34 shows more in-game screenshots of the above interface redesign
April
Screenshots from the press kit dated from this month show an early version of the final game interface
September
A demo of the game is created, and the final game is released.
Magazine Coverage
CU Amiga magazine September 1993
One of the first known small previews of the game, at this point called Biosphere. A basic summary of the game involving terraforming a dead planet is given, and then it's explained the game was actually originally an Electronic Arts project created by two Americans from Excellent Studios that was dropped, but Bullfrog found the idea interesting and developed it further. The article optimistically states the game would come out for the CD32 games console due to it needing the extra storage space. According to Alex Trowers this really was an Amiga game.
CU Amiga magazine February 1994
A large preview article on forthcoming Bullfrog games has what seem to be the first in-game screenshots of Genewars, at this time still called Biosphere. These are radically different from any of the versions that followed, taking an even more bold and cartoonish design than even those seen in the press kit. The screenshots show that at this point the game seemed to be entirely in 2D, representing each planet as a hexagonal board similar to Blue Byte's Battle Isle games. Screenshots show characters that could be hired, including Cowboys, Shepherds, Geneticists, and Geologists. The article doesn't really explain the plot and just talks about it being a game of "planetary control" between groups of colonists, with no mention of the final game's Ethereals.
The article also expands on the involvement of Richard Reed and Randall Ho from Excellent Studios, and how they originally based the game on Populous with a similar isometric view. It's said that even at this point in development the game had been "restarted many times, each time being completely redesigned".
The screenshots here are actually from an Amiga version, unlike the other games in the coverage (that year's Theme Park was the last Bullfrog game released on the Amiga)as confirmed by Bullfrog's Alex Trowers. The later Bad Influence video from later in the year almost certainly is not however, suggesting the game was likely scrapped as an Amiga title somewhere in late 1993/early 1994 and this would be one of the last builds for the system.
Interactive Entertainment Magazine October 1995
A short video preview and very interesting (if horribly dithered) picture of not one but two very different interfaces for the newly named Genewars. It's notable how it's seemingly necessary to lay down some kind of concrete floor before placing a building as shown in the video, a mechanic likely borrowed from Dune II but not present at all in the final game. While the art style is now the retro sci-fi look, the specialist graphics are totally different here. The menus system seems very complex, and possibly is one of the specific builds that Sean Cooper was called in for to simplify the game.
The screenshot is of a clearly later build that's much closer to the final. The crabs here are noticeably better looking than the final ones, and are more obviously based on real life spider crabs. The buildings look identical to the final game, but the specialists are again some kind of early placeholder (but already different from the video). The interface is totally different even from the video, and getting this design right seems to have been one of the hardest challenges in development.
PC Zone magazine issue 34 January 1996
PC Zone has some of the best coverage of this new revision of the game's interface. It's notable that what appears to be a pop up window for unit/building information appears both at the top right and bottom left, so possibly could be rearranged. It also includes a view of the original frog 3D model in 3D Studio.
PC Format magazine October 1996
This issue had a special extra Bullfrog demo CD with beta demos of Genewars, Syndicate Wars and Dungeon Keeper on it. It also included short interview videos with Bullfrog's Peter Molyneux discussing all the games on the disc. Here Molyneux talks about the origins of Genewars and how it was originally started development way back in 1989 - what was already seven years in the past at the point the game was released.
Forthcoming Products From Bullfrog Productions
In 1995 Bullfrog released a simplistic manual viewer program previewing their in-development games called Forthcoming Products From Bullfrog Productions. This was released on the cover disc of PC Player magazine in various countries, most notably with the June 1995 issue of the German PC Player magazine. Found on the internet it consists of a preview of official Bullfrog screenshots of games in development in 1995/96, including Dungeon Keeper, Theme Hospital, Syndicate Wars, Creation, and others. Genewars is included from the last design iteration where it was still called Biosphere.
Early Name & Logo
The main menu of the "View" program below shows an early logo for the game, and reveals that at this stage the game was still called Biosphere. The logo seems to aim for the "cute and cuddly" angle the catalog text below describes, rather than the darker 1950's sci-fi direction the final game moved towards.
"Catalog" Program Images
Inside this directory is a DOS executable called "View" that is a generic interactive manual viewer created by Bullfrog. This program contains a short brochure of further images and information on Bullfrog's games from the era, including two very early screenshots of Genewars.
A single slide with text reads:
BIOSPHERE - War without weapons. Cute cuddly graphics mask the fact that this is a fight to the death. Make sure you are the victor.
The two in-game images are clearly from very early in development from a near unrecognisable build of the final 3D RTS iteration of the game. At this stage the view seems to be far more zoomed out than the final game, and the graphics have a different flat hand-drawn cartoon style rather than the darker pre-rendered style of the final game. It's remarkable that there don't seem to be any humanoid characters visible in either screenshot (and the scale means they would be tiny), suggesting that they might not exist and that the creatures might have been the sole interactive characters in this iteration of the game. Some buildings are recognisable as having similar designs to the final game ones, most notably what seem to be Proton Processors, a more traditional windmill design for the Rotators, and some kind of recycling building. There's no HUD visible in either of the screenshots.
Bullfrog Progress Report July 1995
This official video, released on magazine cover discs, shows what seems to be the earliest iteration of the game as Genewars the RTS, with a clear line drawn in the sand between it and the original Biosphere concept. The specialists here seem to be only placeholder graphics, but the creatures are very interesting, and work in a much more complex manner than the final game. There is said to be a skeletal animation/building system to creatures so they can be designed at a much more granular level than the final game's prescribed hybrids, with individual body parts/traits editable. The interface is also extremely complex, with the gene mixing demonstration in the video clearly much deeper and more powerful than what ended up being possible. The building graphics already seem to match what is used by the final game.
The title card for the game reuses the Biosphere logo of the creature biting the fish from the Forthcoming demo, but with a new Gene Wars title (note two words here). It claims an alpha build would be ready by August 1995, and a beta by September.
Press Kit Images
This was sent to many games Magazines, and included by some in full on their cover CDs.
Press Release
There is an image file containing a press release on the game. By this stage the game had been renamed as Genewars (although it is written in the press release with a space!), and the screenshots are named as such.
GENE WARS - WAR WITHOUT WEAPONS Thousands of years into the future a band of space travellers inadvertently end up in a hitherto unexplored corner of our galaxy. These space travellers come from a civilisation which is culturally advanced and logically peace-loving, so they are surprised and saddened to find that planet after planet has been destroyed by war and its after effects. They travel deeper into this star system and ascertain that these decimated worlds are the detritus of years of conflict that still continues between four separate races, each of which are all aiming to dominate the other three races by whatever means possible. While these space travellers are dedicated to the pursuit of peace, they are infinitely more powerful than any other beings. So they disarm all four warring factions and demand they start to atone for the devastation they have wrought, by cleaning up the planets they have destroyed and working to rebuild these shattered worlds into habitable planets once more. Despite their warlike inclinations, all four races agree on one thing - these space travellers mean business. So they agree to live side by side in harmony. To ensure that this happens, all access to weaponry is removed and all the belligerent parties are left with is the means to create both plant and animal forms to introduce into these damaged environments. On the surface, all four races now coexist, peacefully trying to re-establish equilibrium. However, old enmities cannot be wiped out overnight and deep down each race is still determined to destroy the other three races. With no weapons available the only option is to invent new ones but if it becomes apparent to everyone that if the peace agreement is being broken by your race, you will have to pay a heavy price. Then inspiration comes to you - why not biologically engineer killer creatures to dispatch your enemies for you? Should the peace keepers hear of it, you can always claim that these killer creatures were just an unforeseen aberration. By a very simple process you can change a rabbit to dinosaur and you will see these creatures metamorphose before your eyes. The only problem is that the three other races have each come to the same conclusion and are busily creating their own killer creatures. It's still war but this time it's sneaky and underhand; the aim being to use your mutant creatures to crush and obliterate your enemies. But they're out to do the same to you. In time honoured tradition, Bullfrog have taken the concept of a wargame, added a spoonful of god game and topped it up with a healthy helping of humour to create a program which is original, amusing and very playable. Cute and colourful graphics belie the serious business of annihilating the opposition, while the atmospheric sound track adds yet another dimension to the game. Gene Wars will be published by Bullfrog Productions in October 1996 and distributed worldwide by Electronic Arts. Gene Wars will be released initially on PC CD. Other format and price details to follow in due course. For further details please contact Cathy Campos on 01483 579399.
Mid Development Build
These screenshots are at least the third major iteration of the Genewars interface. It's now very similar to the final game's but still somewhat different in practice. There is a clear tube filled with purple liquid that was presumably a visual representation for how much Goop has been collected that was replaced in the final game with an exact numerical counter instead. The various graphs of the final game are not visible here, and neither is the Ethereal ship meter. Creatures have four stats visible rather than only three as in the final. Only the Specialist bar and map display seem to be largely identical to the final game, but are slightly repositioned. It's also notable there is still a running log at the bottom of the screen for messages from characters and tips from the game. In the final game these are only delivered audibly with no on-screen message.
The crabs here have a sword icon over their heads. This is likely an early version of the ranger fight training command
Some of the animals here have a chicken leg icon over their heads. This is likely an early version of the ranger feeding command
Near Final Build
These screenshots appear nearly identical to the final game, but have some visible changes when studied. The final game GUI is now in place, with the various graphs visible and the Goop meter now a numerical counter. The question mark icon is now visible and there are only three bars to represent creature stats. The files from this build are named "BioXXX.gif" (as in Biosphere), as this was what even the final game was called internally.
The Specialist selected here is called an "Architect" - what is known in the final game as an Engineer
The Specialist selected here is called a "Shepherd" - what is known in the final game as a Ranger. Its abilities shown here also use very different icons to the final game's
Here and in the previous image, the "bad" meter graph line has dropped so far down that it has overflowed onto other parts of the HUD. Note also the cut Fusion Generator at the bottom right
The Specialist selected here is called a "Scientist" - what is known in the final game as a Geneticist.
