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

MajorBBS The Major BBS (sometimes MajorBBS or MBBS) was bulletin board software (a bulletin board system server) developed between 1986 and 1999 by Galacticomm. In 1995 it was renamed Worldgroup Server and bundled with a user client interface program na ...

, 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 ''Aztarac'' is a scrolling multidirectional shooter with color vector graphics. It was developed by Tim Stryker (1954-1996) and released in arcades by Centuri in 1983. The player commands an intergalactic race of mutant humans whose mode ...

'' (1983) for

Centuri Centuri, formerly known as Allied Leisure, was an American arcade game manufacturer. They were based in Hialeah, Florida, and were one of the top six suppliers of coin-operated arcade video game machinery in the United States during the early 19 ...

Education

Stryker graduated from

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School, often called NMH, is a co-educational preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association. Present day NMH offers nearly 200 courses, including AP a ...

in 1972, and received his bachelor's degree in physics from Brown University 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 do 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 pla ...

''Flash Attack'' (1980) for the

personal computer. It is written in a custom

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

-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 ope ...

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

modems A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more ca ...

dialed into

. 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 ...

'' released by

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

attract mode This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 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 bulletin board software (a bulletin board system server) developed between 1986 and 1999 by Galacticomm. In 1995 it was renamed Worldgroup Server and bundled with a user client interface program n ...

. It supports real-time teleconference, gaming, discussion forums, user profiles (registry), and file transfer sections. Later, Stryker hired

Scott Brinker Scott Brinker, born 28 September 1971 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, is a computer programmer and entrepreneur. He currently serves as the VP of platform ecosystem of HubSpot, a customer relationship management (CRM) platform and is known for his m ...

, originally of Moonshae Isles BBS, who created many of the early games available for

, including '' Kyrandia''.

Personal life & death

Tim Stryker was a staunch advocate of

electronic democracy E-democracy (a combination of the words electronic and democracy), also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, is the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in political and governance processes. The term is believ ...

, 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 (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

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