''Solidarność'' is a 1991 Polish strategy computer game developed by P.Z.Karen Co. under the direction of Przemysław Rokita and published by

California Dreams ''California Dreams'' is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC. It was part of the network's Saturday morning block, TNBC, premiering on September 12, 1992. Created by writers Brett Dewey and Ronald B. Solomon, and executive produced by Pet ...

. It was created by Polish programmers specifically for an American audience in order to support a Hollywood film about the life of Lech Wałęsa, which was never actualised. The game never gained popularity and remains virtually unknown to this day.

Development

In 1989, Przemysław Rokita left the Warsaw University of Technology and two years later he became a full-time employee of PZ Karen in the "export software" department. Located in a rented studio in Warsaw's Żoliborz, the PZKaren Co. Development Group was in charge of software development for the American and Western European market. In 1990, the ''Solidarność'' project came along, and he became the manager, main programmer, and game logic concept author.

Gameplay and plot

Set in Poland in the 1980s, the player takes the role of the leader of an illegal union, and aims to gain more support in 8 regions than the Communists. The player achieves this through speeches, printing leaflets, organizing demonstrations and strikes. The 8 regions that Poland is divided into are:

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

, Northeastern (areas of Warmia, Mazury and

Podlasie Podlachia, or Podlasie, ( pl, Podlasie, , be, Падляшша, translit=Padliašša, uk, Підляшшя, translit=Pidliashshia) is a historical region in the north-eastern part of Poland. Between 1513 and 1795 it was a voivodeship with the c ...

), Greater, Mazovia, Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, and

Malopolska Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

Critical reception

Gry Online felt the game had a "thought-out visual frame" and represented the transition in gaming production between the 1980s and 1990s.

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

thought that even by 2015 the game was absorbing, and that players soon forgot about the "archaic layout". Komputer Świat said that while the title is not commonly known and remembered, it is a very important topic within Polish video gaming history. The game is unrelated to the educational title '' Solidarność: Menedżer Konspiracji''.

References

{{Reflist 1991 video games Cold War video games DOS games DOS-only games Strategy video games Video games developed in Poland Video games set in Poland Video games set in the 1980s