Robinson Technologies is a

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

located in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and founded by Seth Robinson. The company produced the

BBS BBS may refer to: Ammunition * BBs, BB gun metal bullets * BBs, airsoft gun plastic pellets Computing and gaming * Bulletin board system, a computer server users dial into via dial-up or telnet; precursor to the Internet * BIOS Boot Specificat ...

door games In a bulletin board system (BBS), a door is an interface between the BBS software and an external application. The term is also used to refer to the external application, a computer program that runs outside of the main bulletin board program. Som ...

Legend of the Red Dragon ''Legend of the Red Dragon'' (''LORD'') is a text-based online role-playing video game, released in 1989 by Robinson Technologies. ''LORD'' is one of the best known door games. The player's goal is to improve their skills in order to defeat ...

'', ''Planets: The Exploration of Space'' and ''

Growtopia ''Growtopia'', commonly referred to as GT, is a massively multiplayer online sandbox video game where players can chat, farm, add friends, trade, build worlds, and engage in player versus player combat. The game was initially released on Androi ...

'', an experimental multiplayer creative sandbox created as a collaboration with Hamumu Software, released in 2013 for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, and

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History

The BBS era

In 1989, Seth Robinson created a game that he called ''

'', or ''LORD'', in an effort to attract new users to his Amiga-based

that he ran at the time. He was only 14 years old at the time. He later allowed others to port the game to other operating systems and BBS platforms. The game exemplified how simple a game could be while still being fun. It is a text-based menu-driven fighting game, allowing players to take on the role of a potential dragon-slayer. It featured multiplayer options if its BBS host had multiple

nodes In general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a Vertex (graph theory), vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics *Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph *Vertex (geometry), a point where two ...

(or phone lines). The gameplay style that it featured was in many ways a predecessor to the MMORPG genre. The game would later feature a form of graphical menus, created and displayed by RIPTerm. Another feature of the game was In Game Modules or IGMs. These were little add-ons to the game, allowing for expansion. IGMs could be written by anyone and allowed for a lot of gameplay to be added on. Some IGMs even allowed "mischievous" game play, almost allowing players to cheat. Robinson only released a single IGM of his own, called ''Barak's House''. Shortly afterwards, Robinson released a game called ''Planets: The Exploration of Space''. Commonly referred to as ''Planets: TEOS'', it was a space trading game that had players flying to various kinds of planets, buying, selling, and trading items in order to make money. The game allowed fights that were very similar in style to ''LORD'', allowing players to attack others when they were offline. Players could also attack planets in order to take control of them. Robinson describes the game as "kind of like LORD mixed with

Tradewars ''Trade Wars'' is a series of video games dating back to 1984. The video games are inspired by '' Hunt the Wumpus'', the board game ''Risk'', and the original space trader game ''Star Trader''. History The first game with the title, "Trade Wars" ...

". The game featured two sides, the Alliance and the Maraken. Players could join and fight for either side. Players could own planets for whichever side they belonged to. However, they could also play independently and start their own "guilds" called cartels. The game had a notable ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' influence, including references to the

Borg The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are Cyborg, cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a Group mind (science fiction), hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg ...

and characters from different ''Star Trek'' shows. ''Planets: TEOS'' also featured IGMs, the major difference being that players had to travel to a particular planet to enter into that IGM. Robinson only released one ''TEOS'' IGM of his own, called "Landfill", which was a ''

Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the approp ...

'' clone. In various releases of ''Planets: TEOS'', Robinson advertised a new game he had been working on. This game, ''New World'', would never see release due to reasons that were never made public. Instead, another of Robinson's games inherited the name, ''Legend of the Red Dragon II: New World''. Fans wanted a new game from Robinson and wanted ''New World'' as well, so he released the official sequel to his original hit, ''Legend of the Red Dragon''. This game is completely different than the original ''Red Dragon''. Instead of a text-based menu concept, the game had an ANSI-based graphical map concept. Players controlled a smiley face-like character that could roam around, much like modern

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

s. The game was never as successful as the original ''Red Dragon'', but it did gather a cult following. Eventually, Robinson sold the rights to the three BBS games to Metropolis Gameport in 1998.

List of RTSoft BBS Door games and programs

* ''

'' ** ''Barak's House'' (a ''LORD'' IGM) * ''Planets: The Exploration of Space'' (or simply ''Planets: TEOS'') ** ''Landfill'' (''TEOS'' In Game Module ''Tetris'' clone) * '' Legend of the Red Dragon II: New World'' * ''RTReader'' (BBS door that ran from a scripting language) * ''BradyBunch Adventure'' (multiplayer .DLL for MBBS/Worldgroup) * ''Tournament LORD'' (MBBS/Worldgroup .DLL port)

The PC era

In 1997, Robinson Technologies released an adventure/ RPG title by the name of ''

Dink Smallwood ''Dink Smallwood'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Robinson Technologies at the time consisting of Seth Robinson, Justin Martin, and Greg Smith. It was first released in 1998 before being released as freeware on October 17, 1999. ...

''. This was an effort made by Seth Robinson to move away from BBS door games and into something more profitable. The title featured an isometric view and had a comedic focus. In an attempt to keep the game's player-base active longer, Robinson took the idea of IGMs from ''Legend of the Red Dragon'' and created "D-Mods", an add-on feature where players could create their own adventure for others to explore. Anyone could create D-Mods and distribute them as they wished. On 17 October 1999, Robinson Technologies released the game to the public for

free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

, and now it can be downloaded without charge from their website. On 16 December 2011, a new version of ''Dink Smallwood'' called ''Dink Smallwood HD'' was released for iPhone,

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

, Windows XP/Vista/7,

webOS webOS, also known as LG webOS and previously known as Open webOS, HP webOS and Palm webOS, is a Linux kernel-based multitasking operating system for smart devices such as smart TVs that has also been used as a mobile operating system. Initially ...

, and

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...

. After ''Dink Smallwood'', Robinson worked on many programs, releasing most of them on the company website. Notable releases include ''Teenage Lawnmower'', '' Dungeon Scroll'' and ''Funeral Quest''. He also worked on games for other companies like the ''Opening Weekend'' series for

The Learning Company The Learning Company (TLC) was an educational software company founded in 1980 in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Fremont, California. The company produced a grade-based line of learning software, edutainment games, and productivity ...

and developed several

Flash games A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on co ...

for various websites.

List of RTSoft PC games and programs

* ''

'' (WIN95 RPG; published by

Iridon Interactive Legendo Entertainment is a Sweden, Sweden-based entertainment company, led by CEO Björn Larsson. Founded as Iridon Interactive in 1998, the company adopted its current title in 2004. Until late 2018, Legendo Entertainment was a dedicated video ...

) ** ''Mystery Island'' (a Dink module released as a free add-on) * ''Opening Weekend: Varmit Season'' (published by The Learning Company) * ''Opening Weekend: Deer Season'' (published by The Learning Company) * ''Opening Weekend: Grizzly Season'' (published by The Learning Company) * ''Opening Weekend: Bear Season'' (published by The Learning Company) * ''Teenage Lawnmower'' * '' Dungeon Scroll'' * ''Funeral Quest'' (Flash game)

The mobile era

Robinson Technologies started developing games for the mobile device market in the early 2000s. They developed games for the

Pocket PC A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile or Windows Embedded Compact operating system that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 2000 ...

platform, such as a game designed by his wife, Akiko Robinson, called ''Reckless Thief''. The company made the leap to the

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

market after 2007.

List of RTSoft mobile games and programs

* ''Trophy Whitetail PDA'' (MachineWorks Northwest;

) * ''Grizzly PDA'' (MachineWorks Northwest; Pocket PC) * ''ProCar Racing'' (MachineWorks Northwest; Pocket PC) * ''Akiko Robinson's Reckless Thief'' (Pocket PC) * ''Duke Nukem Mobile'' (MachineWorks Northwest; BREW) * ''T-rexx Hunter: Terror From The Past'' (MachineWorks Northwest; BREW) * ''Duke Nukem Mobile (3D)'' (MachineWorks Northwest;

Tapwave Zodiac The Tapwave Zodiac is a mobile entertainment console. Tapwave announced the system in May 2003 and began shipping in October of that same year. The Zodiac was designed to be a high-performance mobile entertainment system centered on video games, ...

) * ''Stargate SG-1'' (MachineWorks Northwest; BREW) * ''Duke Nukem Mobile 3D'' (MachineWorks Northwest; BREW) * ''T-REXX Hunter 3D'' (MachineWorks Northwest; BREW) * '' Dungeon Scroll'' * ''Tanked'' * ''Mind Wall'' * ''Blip Arcade'' * ''

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.rtsoft.com/ Companies established in 1989 Software companies of Japan Indie video game developers Video game companies of Japan