Pop Software 
In 1986, Mike Pooler released a game called Round 42 (renamed Round-42 in v2.0) under the publishing label Elven Software Company. The game was notable for taking the normal 80×25 CGA text mode and overlapping the horizontal lines of text to fit 100 rows. By also using ASCII box-drawing characters that fill half of a character and using one color for the text-color and another for the background color, it became possible to fake a 160×100 graphics mode that could use all 16 CGA colors, compared to the normal limit of four colors for CGA garphics modes. The tool that made this possible was called "Lores Toolbox" (low-resolution toolbox). Elven Software offered Lores Toolbox for sale for $45 in Round 42 v1.0, and the Turbo Pascal source code for Round 42 for $30. By v2.0, they were offering Lores Toolbox and the source code for Round-42 for $18. Version 1.0 promised that sending $10 for registration would entitle the user to a free copy of Elven Software's next game, which v2.0 revealed was called Shooting Gallery.
Elven Software is not known to have produced any other programs until 1993, when they released Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom, now using an address in California. Space Bats was programmed by Mike Pooler and featured artwork by Dave Cockerill. Elven Software was renamed Pop Software in Space Bats v2.0. Starting with v2.0, the shareware version of Space Bats included a demo for a screensaver with 24 psychedlic displays called VGA Interludes which could be ordered for $6. The order form also offered pre-orders for a new VGA shooting gallery program called Trigger Happy, to be available in the summer of 1994. It also indicated that the registered version of Space Bats included a free shoot'em up (possibly the free bonus program indicated in v1.21), which was revealed to be called The Rift in v2.3. The order form in v2.3 reduced VGA Interludes to $5, and removed the listing for Trigger Happy. The order form for v2.5 announced two new games: Return of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom, and a game with "3D graphics" called Round and Round. The order form for v2.72 replaced VGA Interludes with VGA Interludes 30, now with 30 psychedlic displays, for $10. The VGA Interludes demo and mailable order form were removed from v3.0.
In 2005 or 2006, Mike Pooler created a website at spacebats.net to take orders for the Space Bats games by PayPal, and released v3.0 of Space Bats 1. Almost immediately afterwards, the forum he created on his website, GameTalk, filled with people claiming to have not had their order fulfilled. I created a bit of a stink on one of the GameTalk forums in 2008 hoping to get Mike's attention, which was successful. He gave me permission to reveal that he had suffered a heart attack shortly after the site was created, and that he had no memory of creating the site. He was very apologetic, sent me the registered versions of both Space Bats games, and promised that all orders would be fulfilled and everyone would receive a full refund. Shortly after this exchange, GameTalk was taken offline for a grand "2.0" reopening, but the site never came back online, and Mike Pooler stopped replying to my emails. Spacebats.net expired and was purchased by a cybersquatter in 2011. At this time, there is no known way to order the Space Bats games.
Address
From Round-42 (1986-1987)Elven Software Company
1605 Euclid Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13224
(315) 446-0208
From Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom v1.21 (1993)
Elven Software Company
Post Office Box 60995
Sunnyvale, CA 94088
Voice Mail: (408) 450-3022
CompuServe: 71460,2432
From Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom v2.0 through v2.72 (1994-1995)
Pop Software
Post Office Box 60995
Sunnyvale, CA 94088
Voice Mail: (408) 450-3022
CompuServe: 71460,2432
Games
Games developed (2)Games published (2)
All games (2)
