Elizabeth Ryan (formerly Tylko) is an American game developer and programmer. She worked for General Computer Corporation (GCC) in the 1980s and was the 9th employee and first woman video game programmer at GCC. She programmed the 1982 Atari, Inc. arcade game Quantum as well as working on games for the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, and Atari 7800.
Elizabeth (Betty) Ryan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Other names | Betty Ryan Tylko |
| Occupation(s) | Computer programmer Video game developer |
| Known for | Quantum |
| Children | 4 |
Early life and education
editRyan received a Bachelor of Arts in Engineering and Applied Sciences from Harvard University. She had four children.[1]
Career
editRyan joined General Computer Corporation in 1982, as its the ninth employee and first female employee. She programmed the arcade video game Quantum in her basement. Ryan worked on the Atari 5200 and Atari 7800 ports of Pole Position and Dig Dug. She also worked on the AtariLab educational software.[2] Her sister, Carol Ryan Thomas, was hired later as a game tester and debugger.[3]
Ryan has spoken about her work in game development for the American Classic Arcade Museum.[4] Since 2003, she has been working in web development with her son, John Tylko.[5]
Games
edit- Quantum (arcade, 1982)
- Pole Position (Atari 2600, 1982) port from arcade
- Dig Dug (1983) port from arcade
- AtariLab (1983)
Unreleased
edit
References
edit- ^ Bjørn & Rosner 2022, pp. 377–378.
- ^ Bjørn & Rosner 2022, p. 377.
- ^ "Carol Ryan Thomas". atariwomen. 14 May 2019.
- ^ "ACAM Education Program". www.classicarcademuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- ^ "Tylko Design :: Website Design and Development". www.tylkodesign.com. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- ^ "AtariProtos: Milipede". www.atariprotos.com. Archived from the original on 2003-01-23. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
Works cited
edit- Bjørn, Pernille; Rosner, Daniela (2022). "Intertextual Design: The Hidden Stories of Atari Women". Human-Computer Interaction. 37 (4). Taylor & Francis: 370–95. doi:10.1080/07370024.2020.1861947.
External links
edit- Betty Ryan Tylko at Atari Women