Tim Stryker

Timothy J. Stryker, better known as Tim Stryker or Stryker to friends (9 December1954 – 6 August 1996) was a computer programmer, best known as the creator of MajorBBS, a computer bulletin board software package.

Flash Attack

Stryker and Ken Wasserman wrote the game Flash Attack for the Commodore PET computer, one of the earliest real-time strategy computer games. He further developed a link cable, so that two PET computers could be linked to play against each other. The game was later rewritten for MS-DOS machines, and allowed up to four players in realtime, interconnected modems dialed into MajorBBS.

Aztarac

Stryker authored the Centuri arcade vector game Aztarac in 1983. Although not a huge commercial success and not produced in large numbers, this arcade game is highly prized by collectors not only for its rarity, but its strikingly beautiful graphics. During the attract mode of the game, quickly spinning the spinner control reveals a hidden message in the starfield: "Designed by T. Stryker".

MajorBBS / Galacticomm

MajorBBS 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, the company behind the MajorBBS software.

Electronic Democracy

Tim Stryker was a staunch advocate of electronic democracy, and began a movement called Superdemocracy to computerise voting and help people follow politics in cyberspace. He dreamed of creating the "perfect society based on compassion and love".

Death

Stryker suffered from severe depression, and was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound in the mountains of Colorado on August 6, 1996 at the age of 41.

Published works

*"Think a Little" (ISBN 1-56790-025-9)

References

*cite news|url=http://www.s-t.com/daily/10-96/10-08-96/b01li046.htm|title= Computer Genius, Entrepreneur Cuts Short Bright Future|publisher=Associated Press|date=Oct. 8, 1996 Article about Stryker's death.
* [http://www.portcommodore.com/flashatk.php Flash Attack] Page about Flash Attack, with notes on link cable
*KLOV game|id=6981|name=Aztarac
* [http://bbsdocumentary.com BBS: The Documentary] Historical Reference to BBSing, and the people who created the systems.
* [http://www.themajorbbs.com The Major BBS Restoration Project] Historical information about Galacticomm, The Major BBS, and it's software vendors.
* [http://timeline.textfiles.com/1996/] Short obituary piece including some notes about Stryker's vision for an Electronic Democracy.