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Roklan Software

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki





Roklan Software
ISIN🆔
IndustryGaming
FateDissolved
Founded 📆1974; 52 years ago (1974) in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Founder 👔Lawrence N. "Larry" Gabriel
Defunct1984
Headquarters 🏙️,
Chicago, Illinois
,
United States
Area served 🗺️
Members
Number of employees
🌐 Website[Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). ] 
📇 Address
📞 telephone

Roklan Corporation, doing business as Roklan Software, was an American video game company based in the Chicago area of Illinois. Active mainly in the early 1980s, it combined contract development for other publishers with releasing its own home computer games and educational software. Its best known titles include the Atari 8-bit conversion of Wizard of Wor, the fixed-shooter Deluxe Invaders, the life-simulation game Lifespan, and educational programs such as Reading Flight.[1][2]

History

Origins

Roklan Corporation was founded in 1974[3] by businessman Lawrence N. "Larry" Gabriel as a management consulting firm in the Chicago suburbs.[4][5]:20 In the early 1980s, the company formed an internal Computer Technology Group to develop software for home computers and game consoles, including both entertainment and educational titles.[6]:36 Ron Borta, a freelancer turned employee, was later named head of this division; following his exit from Roklan in the 1980s, he went on to co-found Borta Inc.—a developer of games for the Game Boy and other Nintendo consoles—with Nolan Bushnell, the co-founder of Atari.[7] [7] [8] Trade directories and product listings place Roklan at several Chicago-area addresses, including 10600 Higgins Road in Rosemont, Illinois, and 3335 North Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights..[9]:96[1]

Contract development

Roklan operated largely as a contract developer for other publishers while also releasing a smaller number of titles under its own label. Contemporary accounts describe it as a Chicago-area firm headed by Larry Gabriel that produced games and utilities for platforms including the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit computers, Apple II, Commodore 64, VIC-20, TRS-80 and TRS-80 Color Computer, and the TI-99/4A. [10] By 1983 Roklan’s catalog was reported to include more than thirty games for consoles and home computers.[11] [12] Around the same time, the company signed a development agreement with textbook publisher Scott, Foresman and Company to create a line of educational programs for classroom and home use on platforms such as the Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64 and TI-99/4A.[13] These titles, issued under series such as Mathematics Action Games, included educational games like Picture Parts, Pyramid Puzzler and Space Journey that were published or co-published by Roklan.[14][15][16]

A 1983 article in the magazine Softline reported that, according to Roklan staff, the company had programmed the Atari 400/800 version of Pac-Man for Atari, illustrating its behind-the-scenes role in licensed conversions.[17] Programmer Ron Borta handled this work; a later feature in The Washington Post stated that the game went on to generate revenue in the “hundreds of millions of dollars” while Borta received a flat fee of US$25,000 under his contract, and that he subsequently earned about US$1 million in royalties for his work on the Intellivision version of Donkey Kong.[8]

Software & Hardware Development

Other contemporary coverage and later reference works credit Roklan with developing home versions of Midway arcade titles such as Gorf and Wizard of Wor for publishers including CBS Video Games and Coleco.[18][10] A review of Deluxe Invaders in Creative Computing noted that the company planned further Atari releases including Gorf and Wizard of Wor and a hybrid trackball–joystick peripheral.[19] The trackball was eventually released as the Un-roller in 1983, to mixed reviews.

Creative Computing wrote: "If I were to offer an award for the strangest controller ever invented, the new Roklan Un-Roller Controller would certainly win hands down."[20]:76 Electronic Games's Tracie Forman found that the Un-roller was "a victim of its own design. Part joystick and part trac[k]ball, it doesn't really measure up in either category".[21]:86

Antic magazine's "New Products" column introduced Lifespan as a "simulation game" on cartridge that followed the birth and development of a character through a series of life events, and in the same issue described Reading Flight as an educational adventure program for readers aged ten to twelve, both published by Roklan from its Arlington Heights office.[1] Roklan also published games such as Diamond Mine and Castle Hassle on disk and cartridge for the Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 platforms.[22]

The company grew to a peak staff of about forty employees in 1982.[23] Many of its employees were hired on a freelance basis.[3] The company declared bankruptcy and shut down around 1984.[24]:80[25]

Games

Arcade conversions

  • Gorf (Atari 2600, Atari 400/800 and other platforms, early 1980s) – Roklan developed several home versions of Midway's fixed shooter for publishers including CBS Video Games and Coleco.[10]:139
  • Wizard of Wor (Atari 8-bit family and Atari 5200, 1982–1983) – Roklan's version of the Midway maze shooter was first released for Atari computers and later adapted for the Atari 5200; sources describe the computer and console versions as effectively identical.[10]:151

Original and educational titles

  • Deluxe Invaders – based on Space Invaders, contemporary reviewers treated it as a distinct title and credited Roklan as both developer and publisher on Atari computers.[19][26]
  • Lifespan (Atari 8-bit, 1983) – a multi-stage action game that portrays episodes across a human life span; contemporary reviews in magazines such as Electronic Games and Softline highlighted its unusual structure and ambitions.[27][28]
  • Reading Flight (Atari 8-bit, 1983) – an educational reading-comprehension program with multiple narrative scenarios aimed at preteens.[1]
  • Diamond Mine (Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, 1983) – a top-down arcade game in which players dig through scrolling mine shafts while avoiding hazards.[22]:135
  • Castle Hassle, Da' Fuzz, Journey to the Planets and other titles credited to Roklan as publisher on Atari 8-bit and Commodore systems.[29]:34

Reception and legacy

Deluxe Invaders received strong contemporary reviews. In a review for Electronic Games, the magazine called it "by far the best Space Invaders program" for home computers and praised its closer resemblance to the arcade original compared with Atari's own port.[26] The 1983 edition of Personal Computers & Games similarly recommended Roklan's version as the preferred home recreation of Space Invaders.[30]

Roklan's Atari 8-bit version of Gorf drew positive coverage. Reviewer Mark S. Murley in Hi-Res Magazine wrote that the game had "survived the passage from the arcade to your home computer" and credited Roklan with an exceptional job on the conversion.[31]:74 Other magazines recommended either Gorf or Wizard of Wor on home systems as among the best available arcade-style games for those platforms.[32][33]:72

Lifespan attracted attention for its unconventional structure and themes. Electronic Games described it as a multi-scenario action game that uses arcade-style play to frame an analogy of a person's life experiences, and other commentators have highlighted it as an early example of experimental or art-oriented computer games.[27][34]

Legacy

Although Roklan itself ceased operations by the mid-1980s, its conversions of Gorf and Wizard of Wor continue to be discussed in retrospectives on early home computer games.[35]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "New Products". Antic. September 1983. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  2. ↑ Staff writer (January 16, 1983). "Roklan Games Go Cartridge" (PDF). Arcade Express. Vol. 1 no. 12. Reese Communications. p. 4 – via Atari Compendium.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 McGehee, Brad M., ed. (1983). 1984 Programmer's Market. Writer's Digest Books. p. 155. ISBN 9780898791242 – via the Internet Archive. Search this book on
  4. ↑ Microcomputer Market Place. Dekotek. 1985. p. 144. ISBN 9780911255010 – via Google Books. Search this book on
  5. ↑ Levitan, Susan; Martin Levitan (September 1983). "Educational Software: The New Frontier". Videogaming and Computer Gaming Illustrated. Ion International. pp. 19–22, 58 – via the Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ McCullaugh, Jim (May 1983). "The Educational Software Explosion". Software Merchandising. Vol. 2 no. 5. Eastman Publishing. pp. 26–36 – via the Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Roklan". GDRI (Game Developer Research Institute). Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pressler, Margaret Webb (October 11, 1999). "Riding a Video Game Revolution". inBusiness. The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  9. ↑ Anderson, John J.; David Small; Eric F. Wolcott (Spring 1983). "Atari Personal Computer Games". Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games. Vol. 1 no. 1. pp. 93–96 – via the Internet Archive.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Weiss, Brett (2011). Classic Home Video Games, 1972–1984: A Complete Reference Guide. McFarland & Company. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-0786469383. Search this book on
  11. ↑ DeSiena, Bill (February 1983). "Software makers aim edu-games at kids' market". Merchandising.
  12. ↑ Heiney, Mildred A. (1983). Software Author's Guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Microcomputer Publishers. Datamost. pp. 116–118. Search this book on
  13. ↑ "Scott, Foresman Electronic Publishing". Pixelated Arcade. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "Picture Parts". MobyGames. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  15. ↑ "Pyramid Puzzler". MobyGames. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "Star Maze". MobyGames. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  17. ↑ "Pac-Man (Atari 400/800)". Atari Compendium. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  18. ↑ Anderson, John J. (Spring 1983). "Atari Personal Computer Games". Creative Computing Video & Arcade Games. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Anderson, John J. (September 1982). "Deluxe Invaders and K-razy Shootout: Blast from the Past". Creative Computing. Vol. 8 no. 9. pp. 88–89 – via the Internet Archive.
  20. ↑ Linzmayer, Owen (September 1983). "Controller Update". Creative Computing. p. 71–85 – via the Internet Archive.
  21. ↑ Forman, Tracie (March 1984). "In Control". Electronic Games. Vol. 2 no. 12. Reese Communications. pp. 84–86 – via the Internet Archive.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Dillon, Roberto (2014). Ready: A Commodore 64 Retrospective. Springer. pp. 134–135. ISBN 9789812873415 – via Google Books. Search this book on
  23. ↑ Software Directory: 1982. Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. 1982. p. 92 – via the Internet Archive. Search this book on
  24. ↑ Caruso, Denise (April 2, 1984). "Company Strategies Boomerang". InfoWorld. Vol. 6 no. 14. IDG Publications. pp. 80–83 – via Google Books.
  25. ↑ Vande Wiele, Barbara (July 19, 1986). "Okay, readers—it's time to help Helping Hand". The Dispatch. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Deluxe Invaders (Roklan)". Atarimania. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Lifespan (Roklan)". Atarimania. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  28. ↑ Staff writer (March 1983). "New Stuff". Softline. Vol. 2 no. 4. Softalk Publishing. pp. 50–51. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  29. ↑ Staff writer (September 1983). "Chip Ahoy: A Preview of Upcoming Games". Videogaming and Computer Gaming Illustrated. Ion International. pp. 33–34 – via the Internet Archive.
  30. ↑ Personal Computers & Games. Publications International. 1983. p. 47. ISBN 0-517-41595-X. Retrieved 29 November 2025. Search this book on
  31. ↑ Murley, Mark S. (November 1983). "Bringing Home the Arcade Game Craze". Hi-Res Magazine. Vol. 1 no. 1. Compupress. pp. 72–74 – via the Internet Archive.
  32. ↑ Harris, Neil (Winter 1983). "GORF and Wizard of Won: Talking Games on Cartridge for the 64". Commodore Power/Play. Vol. 2 no. 4. Commodore Business Machines. pp. 39–40 – via the Internet Archive.
  33. ↑ Stone, Andrea (December 1982). "The House That Pac Built". Video Games. Vol. 1 no. 3. Pumpkin Press. pp. 54–55, 72 – via the Internet Archive.
  34. ↑ "Softline scoreboard listing including Wizard of Wor" (PDF). Softline. Retrieved 2025-11-29.
  35. ↑ Lendino, Jamie (2023). Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation. Stellar Gear Press. pp. 151, 250. ISBN 9781957932040 – via Google Books. Search this book on

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