Pyroto Mountain
Encyclopedia
Pyroto Mountain is an online game based on answering trivia and skill-testing questions. It was originally developed to run as a stand-alone bulletin board system
(BBS), later as a BBS door
, and more recently as a web
application.
by Timothy Campbell of Pinnacle Software in the Montreal
suburb Mount Royal. At the time, it was a complete BBS system that replaced the standard "forums" concept with a similar system hosted in a fantasy setting. Users took on the persona of characters climbing the mountain, talking to each other through "spells" as opposed to conventional messaging commands. In order to gain access to these spells, the user had to climb the mountain levels by answering trivia questions asked by the various "guardians", the computer itself. Players started able to answer only one question a day, and successful answers increased the player's rank, or position on the Mountain. Eventually they would grow to gain magical powers, allowing them to interact with other players, notably using the dreaded "REDUCE" command which would send the target down the mountain.
The new system first went online in February 1986, running on an original 4.77 MHz PC clone. One odd feature of the software is that it made a clicking sound on the server machine for every user keystroke, allowing the sysop (Campbell) to keep track of the activity by listening to the system. In mid-1986 the product was re-packaged as a BBS "door", allowing it to run as a stand-alone program "within" an existing BBS system. The first sale occurred in autumn of 1986. As the BBS world started to saturate in the late 1980s the system became more popular, although generally limited to a few specific markets; Montreal, Toronto and Phoenix. Campbell also wrote a spin-off version in 1988 known as Sapphire, which replaced the fantasy setting with more traditional commands. It was marketed to users who needed a small zero-maintenance system. By the time the BBS market was being eroded by the internet
in the mid-1990s, about 200 officially licensed copies of Pyroto had been sold. The last copy of Pyroto sold as a BBS was in 1995.
An interview with Timothy Campbell, in which he discussed Pyroto Mountain, can be seen on the BBS Documentary
.
In 1999 Campbell sold all rights for Pyroto Mountain to James Ludwick, who created the company Pyroto, Inc to market it. Campbell continued working with the system in an effort to adapt it to the web, including the ability to scale out to multiple "mountains". In its web-based version, users could also submit new questions into the system. Based upon how well these articles were received, the users grew in stature. Users could then use their stature to assist, impede or attack other users. Ludwick also adapted the basic system into a new game known as MultiMegaCorp, replacing the mountain setting with a business one.
Pyroto Mountain is no longer run as a public website, but by educational institutions for research and development. The current owners, Pyroto Inc. claim to continue to sell commercial licenses.
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
(BBS), later as a BBS door
BBS door
A door is a computer program, on a bulletin board system, that runs outside of the main bulletin board program. Sometimes called external programs, doors are the most common way to add games, utilities, and other extensions to BBSes. From the 1990s on, most BBS software had the capability to...
, and more recently as a web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
application.
History
Pyroto was originally designed in January 1986 in Turbo PascalTurbo Pascal
Turbo Pascal is a software development system that includes a compiler and an integrated development environment for the Pascal programming language running on CP/M, CP/M-86, and DOS, developed by Borland under Philippe Kahn's leadership...
by Timothy Campbell of Pinnacle Software in the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
suburb Mount Royal. At the time, it was a complete BBS system that replaced the standard "forums" concept with a similar system hosted in a fantasy setting. Users took on the persona of characters climbing the mountain, talking to each other through "spells" as opposed to conventional messaging commands. In order to gain access to these spells, the user had to climb the mountain levels by answering trivia questions asked by the various "guardians", the computer itself. Players started able to answer only one question a day, and successful answers increased the player's rank, or position on the Mountain. Eventually they would grow to gain magical powers, allowing them to interact with other players, notably using the dreaded "REDUCE" command which would send the target down the mountain.
The new system first went online in February 1986, running on an original 4.77 MHz PC clone. One odd feature of the software is that it made a clicking sound on the server machine for every user keystroke, allowing the sysop (Campbell) to keep track of the activity by listening to the system. In mid-1986 the product was re-packaged as a BBS "door", allowing it to run as a stand-alone program "within" an existing BBS system. The first sale occurred in autumn of 1986. As the BBS world started to saturate in the late 1980s the system became more popular, although generally limited to a few specific markets; Montreal, Toronto and Phoenix. Campbell also wrote a spin-off version in 1988 known as Sapphire, which replaced the fantasy setting with more traditional commands. It was marketed to users who needed a small zero-maintenance system. By the time the BBS market was being eroded by the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
in the mid-1990s, about 200 officially licensed copies of Pyroto had been sold. The last copy of Pyroto sold as a BBS was in 1995.
An interview with Timothy Campbell, in which he discussed Pyroto Mountain, can be seen on the BBS Documentary
BBS: The Documentary
BBS: The Documentary is a 3-disc, 8-episode documentary about the subculture born from the creation of the bulletin board system filmed by computer historian Jason Scott Sadofsky of textfiles.com....
.
In 1999 Campbell sold all rights for Pyroto Mountain to James Ludwick, who created the company Pyroto, Inc to market it. Campbell continued working with the system in an effort to adapt it to the web, including the ability to scale out to multiple "mountains". In its web-based version, users could also submit new questions into the system. Based upon how well these articles were received, the users grew in stature. Users could then use their stature to assist, impede or attack other users. Ludwick also adapted the basic system into a new game known as MultiMegaCorp, replacing the mountain setting with a business one.
Pyroto Mountain is no longer run as a public website, but by educational institutions for research and development. The current owners, Pyroto Inc. claim to continue to sell commercial licenses.