Tim Stryker
| Tim Stryker | |
|---|---|
Stryker from Galacticomm newsletter in ca. 1996
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| Born |
Timothy J. Stryker 9 December 1954 |
| Died | 6 August 1996 (aged 41) Colorado |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Stryker |
| Occupation | Computer programmer |
| Known for |
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Timothy J. Stryker, better known as Tim Stryker or Stryker (9 December 1954 – 6 August 1996) was a computer programmer, best known as the creator of MajorBBS, a computer bulletin board software package.
Stryker graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School in 1972, and received his bachelor's degree in physics from Brown University in 1977.
Stryker and Ken Wasserman wrote the game Flash Attack for the Commodore PET computer, and developed a cable so that two PET computers could be linked to play against each other. One of the earliest real-time strategy computer games, it was later rewritten for MS-DOS machines, and allowed up to four players in realtime, interconnected modems dialed into MajorBBS.
Stryker authored the Centuri arcade vector game Aztarac in 1983. Although not a commercial success, this arcade game is highly prized by collectors not only for its rarity, but for its graphics. During the attract mode of the game, quickly spinning the spinner control reveals a hidden message in the starfield: "Designed by T. Stryker".
Stryker founded Galacticomm in 1985, and created MajorBBS which supported real-time teleconference, gaming, discussion forums, user profiles (registry), and file transfer sections.
Later in Galacticomm's development, Stryker hired Scott Brinker, originally of Moonshae Isles BBS, who created many of the early games available for MajorBBS, including the original game Kyrandia. The two of them were the heart of Galacticomm.
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