Draft:Roklan Software
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This article, Draft:Roklan Software, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
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- File:Symbol opinion vote.svg Comment: High likelihood of LLM involvement in the creation of this page, and while the author has stated on the talk page that they adequately reviewed and corrected any issues when removing the {{ai-generated}} tag. They also claimed to have performed the same kind of review and corrections at M-1 Studios, which was subsequently A7 and G15d. fifteen thousand two hundred twenty four (talk) 22:05, 29 November 2025 (UTC)
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1974 |
| Founder | Lawrence N. Gabriel |
| Defunct | 1984 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Video games, educational software |
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Roklan Corporation (doing business as Roklan Software) was an American video game developer and publisher based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Founded in 1974, the company expanded into software in the early 1980s. Roklan developed arcade ports for consoles and home computers, including the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and Atari 5200. The company also published original titles and educational software before ceasing operations in 1984.
History
[edit | edit source]Roklan was founded in 1974 by Lawrence N. "Larry" Gabriel as a management consulting firm.[1] In the early 1980s, the company established a Computer Technology Group to develop software for the home computer market.[2]: 36 This division was led by Ron Borta, who later co-founded Borta, Inc. with Nolan Bushnell.[3]
The company functioned primarily as a contract developer. It produced ports of arcade games, including Gorf and Wizard of Wor, for publishers such as CBS Video Games, Coleco, and Atari.[4] In 1983, industry reports credited Roklan with a library of over thirty games across platforms such as the Apple II, VIC-20, TRS-80, and TI-99/4A.[5] Roklan staff also developed the official port of Pac-Man for the Atari 8-bit computers.[6]
Roklan published original games and educational titles under its own label. It partnered with textbook publisher Scott Foresman to produce the "Mathematics Action Games" series.[7] In 1983, the company released a hybrid trackball-joystick controller called the "Un-roller." The peripheral received poor reviews from publications such as Creative Computing and Electronic Games due to its design.[8]: 76 [9]: 86
Roklan filed for bankruptcy and dissolved around 1984.[10]: 80
Software
[edit | edit source]Arcade conversions
[edit | edit source]- Gorf (Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64) – Developed for CBS Video Games.[4]
- Wizard of Wor (Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200) – Reviewers for Hi-Res Magazine and Commodore Power/Play praised the fidelity of the home conversions.[11]: 74 [12]
- Pac-Man (Atari 8-bit) – Programmed by Roklan for Atari.
Original titles
[edit | edit source]- Deluxe Invaders (Atari 8-bit) – A fixed shooter similar to Space Invaders. Electronic Games and Personal Computers & Games rated it favorably compared to the official Atari version.[13][14]
- Lifespan (Atari 8-bit) – A collection of mini-games depicting various stages of human life.[15]
- Diamond Mine (Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64) – A vertically scrolling maze game.[16]
- Reading Flight (Atari 8-bit) – An educational reading comprehension game.
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Pending AfC submissions
- Pending AfC submissions in article space
- AfC submissions by date/06 December 2025
- AfC submissions by date/29 November 2025
- Companies based in Cook County, Illinois
- Defunct software companies of the United States
- Defunct video game companies of the United States
- Software companies established in 1974
- Software companies disestablished in 1984
- Video game companies established in 1974
- Video game companies disestablished in 1984