California Pacific Computer Company

California Pacific Computer Co. was a computer software and game publisher active from 1979 to 1986, founded in Davis, California by Alvin Remmers. Their software was available exclusively on the Apple II computer and was notable for being an early commercial outlet for several important game designers including Richard Garriott, Bill Budge, and Michael Pondsmith.

History

The company was founded by Alvin Earl Remmers (1942-2022), who had previously been in the tie-dye shirts business and started using early microcomputers to keep track of SKUs. While traveling to computer stores in California, Remmers saw a copy of Super Invader (1979) for the Apple II. He discovered that the game had not been widely distributed so he created California Pacific Computer to act as a collector and publisher for Apple II programs.^[1] Super Invader sold over 20,000 units and would be named the highest selling Apple II program by 1980.^[2]

Early on, Remmers came up with the concept of promoting the names of the software authors as advertising for his products. After making the acquaintance of Bill Budge while looking to copy protect the floppy disk version of Super Invader, they published three of his games in a collection titled Bill Budge’s Trilogy of Games (1980) and later four in Bill Budge’s Space Album (1980).^[1] After discovering Akalabeth: World of Doom (1980), he collaborated with Softalk magazine to identify the author under the pseudonym of “Lord British”^[1] – a name that Remmers said he originated.

California Pacific served as a distributor for early microcomputer software. Their short-lived Oakland office distributed the operating system CP/M and they also served as the agents for early game companies Sirius Software and Strategic Simulations Inc.^[1] The publisher was known for its high quality packaging, though their games were distributed in sealed plastic bags rather than retail boxes. They used the label "Top of the Orchard Software" on many of their advertisements and disks. Much of the art was provided by Michael Pondsmith – future creator of the Cyberpunk tabletop RPG – and Denis Loubet, who later worked with Origin Systems. Steve Gibson developed the copy protection for their later products.

California Pacific was able to keep the loyalty of their collaborators through generous royalties paid to the programmers. In 1981 they published Ultima (1981) the first in a long-running game series. However, publicizing the authors without employing them proved to weaken the company's negotiating position. This compounded on top of the changing economics of computer distribution which made California Pacific’s product less profitable. Lastly, Remmers suffered issues with addiction which led to tensions between him and the authors, leaving the company bereft by the end of 1981.

The company published several further games, the last few under the "Progame" label. Remmers sought addiction treatment and changed businesses. Later in life he became a documentary filmmaker before passing away in 2022.^[3]

Software published

• Super Invader (October 1979)^[1] Created by M. Hata. Later renamed Cosmos Mission
• Bill Budge’s Trilogy of Games (December 1979)^[1] Created by Bill Budge.
• Bill Budge’s Space Album (March 1980)^[1] Created by Bill Budge.
• Head-On (July 1980)^[1][4] Clone of the arcade title Head On. Later renamed Fender Bender.
• Bill Budge's 3-D Graphics System (October 1980)^[4] Created by Bill Budge.
• Akalabeth: World of Doom (December 1980) Created by Richard Garriott.
• Apple-oids (April 1981)^[5] Created by Tom Luhrs. Clone of arcade title Asteroids. Also includes a Breakout clone called Chipout.
• Ultima (April 1981)^[6] Created by Richard Garriott and Ken Arnold.
• Hungry Boy (1982)^[7] Created by Nakan. Clone of arcade title Pac-Man.
• Brainteaser Boulevard (May 1983)^[8] Created by Chuck Bueche.
• Lady Tut (July 1983)^[9] Created by Greggy.^[10]

Reference