computer the basic facets of running an economic system." Wertich worked on the programming of the game for a year, writing 70,000 lines of raw code, before any work began on the graphics. His biggest challenge was getting the computer to understand and accurately simulate supply and demand, which, once the necessary buildings have been constructed, is handled almost entirely outside the privy of the player. The game's project manager Stefan Piasecki explained: The Settlers was released in 1993 and became a surprise hit, selling far more units than Blue Byte had anticipated. With this in mind, they began developing The Settlers II. Wertich would not be involved, explaining, "after two years programming The Settlers, I didn't really want to see those little men for a while". For the sequel, Blue Byte decided to leave the gameplay relatively unchanged from the original, although they did implement a more strategic battle system, whereby players can send out scouts and utilise a stationary offensive weapon. Most of the changes were aesthetic, including graphical enhancements such as more on-screen movement and more animations for the settlers themselves. They also introduced aesthetic differentiation between the distinct races. Additionally, unlike in the first game, there is a story-driven single-player campaign. When developing this single-player story, the team initially took the concept too far, designing maps which placed tight limits on what the player could and couldn't do, and featured scripted events which would happen at certain predesignated time. They realised, however, that this went too much against the principles of the game mechanics established in the first game, betraying the tone and style of the original. Upon this realisation, they changed the map designs accordingly. Evolving the brand (1996-2001) Released in 1996, The Settlers II proved even more successful than the original, earning better reviews and selling considerably more units. After this success, Blue Byte pressed on with what was by now a franchise, with Wertich leading the design team for The Settlers III. This time around, his core design principle was to preserve the most popular elements of the gameplay from the first two titles, improve the graphics as much as possible, and both expand and improve upon the game mechanics. Early design decisions included the removal of the road network that was so intrinsic in the previous games; giving the different races different abilities, economic models, and buildings; making the game in high