Roland was a game character developed in 1984 by

Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser. In 1968, he started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics com ...

, CEO of

Amstrad Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad ...

, and

Jose Luis Dominguez Jose is the English language, English transliteration of the Hebrew language, Hebrew and Aramaic language, Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods ...

, a Spanish game designer. The character was named for Roland Perry, a computer engineer who worked for Amstrad. The idea was to have one recognizable character in a number of different

computer games A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...

in a bid to have the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

compete with the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

and the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Games in the ''Roland''-series

* 1984: ''Roland Ahoy!'' (by Computersmith) * 1984: ''Roland on the Ropes'' (by Indescomp) - A copy of the Spanish game ''Fred''. Roland had to collect bullets, treasures and maps while climbing ropes to get out of a tomb/pyramid. Some villains can be destroyed (skeletons, bats, mummies) while some can only be forced to change direction (ghosts) and some have to be jumped over (dripping poison, rats, scorpions). When the game ends, the end music is the Funeral March. The game was released for the Spectrum and the Commodore as well, and was later remade for the PC. * 1984: ''Roland in the Caves'' (by Indescomp) - A copy of the Spanish game ''

Bugaboo (The Flea) ''Bugaboo (The Flea)'', later published in Spain as ''La Pulga'', is a computer game created in 1983 in video gaming, 1983 by the Spanish team of programmers ''Paco & Paco'' for the ZX Spectrum. Later versions for the Commodore 64, Amstrad an ...

''. * 1984: ''

Roland Goes Digging ''Roland Goes Digging'' (in France, ''Roland fait des Petits Trous'') is a 1984 computer game for the Amstrad CPC series of home computers. It was distributed by Amsoft, on cassette tape for CPC464 and Amstrad's proprietary 3" disk format, for CP ...

'' (by Gem Software for Amsoft) - a ''

Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal. Predating Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'', and lacking a jump mechanic, ''Space Panic'' was the first game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms. The genre was initially labeled as "climbi ...

'' clone. Roland navigates around a series of platforms and dispatches aliens by digging holes to trap them in. * 1984: ''Roland Goes Square Bashing'' (by Durell) - a logic puzzle game. * 1984: ''Roland on the Run'' (by Epicsoft) - a ''

Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and manufactured by Sega. In North America, it was released by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct a series of frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and a hazardous rive ...

'' clone. * 1985: ''Roland in Time'' (by

Gem Software A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, an ...

) - a more colourful clone of ''

Manic Miner ''Manic Miner'' is a Platform game, platform video game originally written for the ZX Spectrum by Matthew Smith (games programmer), Matthew Smith and released by Bug-Byte in 1983 in video gaming, 1983 (later re-released by Software Projects). It ...

''/''

Jet Set Willy ''Jet Set Willy'' is a platform video game originally written by Matthew Smith for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published in 1984 by Software Projects and ported to most home computers of the time. The game is a sequel to ''Manic ...

'' with some overt homages to ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. * 1985: ''Roland in Space'' (by

) - a sequel to ''Roland In Time''. Again, a more colourful clone of the ''

Miner Willy Miner Willy is the protagonist in a series of platform games for the ZX Spectrum, MSX, Amstrad CPC and the Commodore 64 home computers. The first two games - ''Manic Miner'' and ''Jet Set Willy'' were written by Matthew Smith during the early 198 ...

'' games with homages to ''Doctor Who''. There was also a type-in game and instructional series, ''Roland Takes a Running Jump'', published in Amstrad's official magazine, ''

Amstrad Computer User ''Amstrad Computer User'' was the official magazine for the Amstrad CPC series of 8-bit home computers. This monthly publication, usually referred to as ''ACU'' by its readers, concentrated more on the hardware and technical side of the Amstrad ...

'', from November 1985 to March 1986.

References

1984 video games Amstrad CPC games Video games developed in Spain {{game-stub