Timothy J. Stryker, better known as Tim Stryker or Stryker (9 December 1954 – 6 August 1996) was a

computer programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles ''software developer'' and ''software engineer'' are used for jobs that require a progr ...

who created MajorBBS, a computer bulletin board software package. With Ken Wasserman he wrote the 1980 game ''Flash Attack'' for the

Commodore PET The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor ...

, then he created the color vector arcade video game '' Aztarac'' (1983) for Centuri.

Education

Stryker graduated from

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School (abbreviated as NMH), is a co-educational college-preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts. It educates boarding and day students in grades 9–12, as well as post-graduate students. It is a member of the Eight ...

in 1972, and received his bachelor's degree in physics from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1977.

Game development

Stryker and Ken Wasserman wrote the

real-time strategy game Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to pl ...

''Flash Attack'' (1980) for the

personal computer. It is written in a custom Forth-derived programming language called RPL. Stryker developed a cable so that two PET computers can be linked to play against each other. The game was later rewritten for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

, allowing up to four players in real time, interconnected by

modems The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establish ...

dialed into MajorBBS. Stryker authored arcade

vector game A variety of computer graphic techniques have been used to display video game content throughout the history of video games. The predominance of individual techniques have evolved over time, primarily due to hardware advances and restrictions ...

'' Aztarac'' released by Centuri in 1983. It was not a commercial success, and its rarity has made it sought after by collectors. During the

attract mode Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...

of the game, quickly spinning the spinner control reveals a message in the starfield: "Designed by T. Stryker".

The MajorBBS

Stryker founded Galacticomm in 1985 and created

The Major BBS The Major BBS (sometimes MajorBBS or MBBS) was a bulletin board system A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running list of BBS software, software that allows users to connect ...

. It supports real-time teleconference, gaming, discussion forums, user profiles (registry), and file transfer sections. Later, Stryker hired Scott Brinker, originally of Moonshae Isles BBS, who created many of the early games available for MajorBBS, including '' Kyrandia''.

Personal life & death

Tim Stryker was a staunch advocate of

electronic democracy E-democracy (a blend of the terms electronic and democracy), also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, uses information and communication technology (ICT) in political and governance processes. The term is credited to digital act ...

, and began a movement called Superdemocracy to computerize voting and help people follow politics in cyberspace. He dreamed of creating the "perfect society based on compassion and love". Stryker suffered from severe depression, and was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound in the mountains of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

on 6 August 1996 at the age of 41.

Other works

Books

Art

* ''STRYKER ART'' (1993-1994) - Stryker produced several computer art images, from which only 150 prints each were made, and each one was numbered, signed and dated by the artist. The printing technique took the digital output of the artist's custom computer software directly to transparencies, from which each print was lovingly created, direct-to-positive on ultra-high-gloss Fuji film. STRYKER ART was distributed by Consensus Systems, Inc. in Plantation, Florida.

Unpublished

* ''What Goes Around'' (1995 - preliminary copy available)

References

External links

*
Flash Attack
Page about Flash Attack, with notes on link cable *
BBS: The Documentary
Historical Reference to BBSing, and the people who created the systems.
The Major BBS Restoration Project
Historical information about Galacticomm, The Major BBS, and its software vendors. 1954 births 1996 deaths American computer programmers MUD developers Suicides by firearm in Colorado Northfield Mount Hermon School alumni Brown University alumni 1996 suicides {{MUD-stub