Roland was a
game character developed in 1984 by
Alan Sugar, CEO of
Amstrad, and Jose Luis Dominguez, 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 in a bid to have the
Amstrad CPC compete with the
ZX Spectrum and the
Commodore 64.[1]
Games in the Roland-series
1984: Roland Ahoy! (by Computersmith)
1984: Roland on the Ropes[2] (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.[3]
1984: Roland in the Caves[4] (by Indescomp) - a copy of the Spanish game Bugaboo (The Flea).
1984: Roland Goes Digging[5] (by Gem Software for Amsoft) - a Space Panic 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 clone.
1985: Roland in Space (by Gem Software) - a sequel to Roland In Time and a more colourful clone of the Miner Willy 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, from November 1985 to March 1986.[7]