Polarware
Moby ID: 43
- Penguin Software, Inc. (from 1978 to 1986)
- MP Software - Original name (from 1978 to 1981)
Overview edit · view history
Founded by Mark Pelczarski, Polarware started out as Penguin Software, the company existed from 1978 until 1987 and eventually became part of another publishing company (probably Merit Studios, Inc.).
The company was named "Penguin" from 1981 until about 1986 when legal issues arose with the large book publisher, Penguin Books. Thus the name was changed to Polarware.
The Apple II computer was the first personal computer that had color graphics. Their first programs were for drawing, manipulating, and animating graphics on the Apple II, and they were quite popular. The company pioneered much of the field of computer graphics. For a while, a good majority of educational software and games released for the Apple II opened with the "graphics by Penguin Software" acknowledgement. Their software even resides in the archives of the Smithsonian's Museum of American History.
Credited on 36 Games from 1982 to 1990
Displaying most recent · View all
| Transylvania III: Vanquish the Night (1990 on DOS, Apple IIgs) |
| All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989 on Amiga, DOS) |
| Electric Crayon Deluxe: At the Zoo (1989 on Commodore 64, DOS, Amiga) |
| Electric Crayon Deluxe: Dinosaurs Are Forever (1988 on DOS, Amiga, Apple II...) |
| The Electric Crayon Deluxe: Seasons & Holidays (1988 on Commodore 64, DOS, Apple II) |
| The Spy's Adventures in South America (1987 on DOS, Apple II) |
| Talisman: Challenging the Sands of Time (1987 on DOS, Apple II) |
| The Sesame Street Crayon: Letters For You (1987 on Commodore 64, Apple II, DOS...) |
| The Sesame Street Crayon: Numbers Count (1987 on Amiga, Commodore 64, Apple II...) |
| The Sesame Street Crayon: Opposites Attract (1987 on DOS, Apple II, Commodore 64...) |
| The Spy's Adventures in Europe (1986 on Apple II, DOS) |
| The Spy's Adventures in North America (1986 on DOS, Apple II, Commodore 64) |
| Oo-Topos (1986 on DOS, Amiga, Atari ST...) |
| The Electric Crayon: ABC's (1986 on Apple II) |
| The Crimson Crown (1985 on DOS, Amiga, Atari ST...) |
| Ring Quest (1985 on Apple II, PC-88, PC-98...) |
| Electric Crayon: Fun on the Farm (1985 on Apple II, DOS) |
| Electric Crayon: This Land Is Your Land (1985 on Apple II, DOS) |
| Sword of Kadash (1985 on Commodore 64, Apple II, Macintosh...) |
| Transylvania (1985 on DOS, Amiga, Atari ST...) |
[ view all ]
History +
- 1986
-
Name changed to Polarware
- 1978
-
Penguin Software founded by Mark Pelczarski
Trivia +
Who put the penguin in Penguin Software? Its initial product, the "Magic Paintbrush" graphics application, was sold by a company named "MP Software", with ambiguity over whether MP stood for Magic Paintbrush, Mark Pelczarski, or... Magnificent Penguin? The latter remark was a joke made in a column in SoftSide magazine, but other people ran with it and Mark formally adopted the whimsical company name that would later cause him so much trouble with the book publishing company.
Polarware's address in 1987:
1055 Paramount Parkway, Suite A
Batavia, IL 60510
Phone: (312) 232-1984
Former company website: www.magictree.com
Frequent Collaborators
Companies- 9 games with Brian A. Rice, Inc.
- 3 games with StarCraft, Inc.
- 3 games with Sesame Workshop Inc.
- 3 games with Dynamix, Inc.
- 2 games with Dovetail Group, Inc., The
- 2 games with Merit Software
- 1 game with microPHAZE, Inc.
- 1 game with Aera Corporation
- 1 game with Magic Tree, Ltd.
- 1 game with West Olive
- 11 games with Robert Hardy
- 10 games with Jeffrey Allan Jay
- 9 games with Brian A. Rice
- 8 games with Stephen F. Wedemeyer
- 8 games with Mark Pelczarski
- 6 games with William B. Norris IV
- 5 games with Eagle Berns
- 4 games with Peter Schmitt
- 4 games with Antonio Antiochia
- 4 games with David Albert
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