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View Full Version : Silas Warner creator of Castle Wolfenstein



Buyatari
04-23-2008, 11:57 PM
It is a stange feeling looking for information about someone and finding out they have been dead for few years now. In the videogame industry you can often reach out and communicate with these guys and Silas died just a few years back in 2004. So if I had looked him up then (his phone number was listed on his resume) I could have very possibly communicated with him. I guess its a sign you are getting older when all those people who took a part in creating your childhood memories die.

I did a quick search and couldn't find anything here on DP about him or his passing.

Taken from his resume

"Castle Wolfenstein", the first talking computer game program
Completed conversions:
"Gunship" for Amiga
"Silent Service" for Atari ST
"Red Storm Rising" for Commodore 64 (tape)
Created one third of "Red Storm Rising" for Commodore 64
Developed sound system for Apple IIgs, for "Pirates"
Singlehandedly programmed 384-megabyte CD-I game, "Jigsaw",
including creating artwork and sounds.
Created CD-I version of Novalogic's "Wolfpack" submarine game.
Developed movie play systems for CD-I product, and began conversion to Genesis product
Converted Nintendo game demo to CD-I in one week
Programmed and led design team for Sega CD version of "The Terminator"
Constructed system for playing QuickTime movies on Sega CD
Constructed prototype of 3-D racing game on Sony PlayStation
Designed 3-D graphics subsystem for Sega 32X

He was a rather unusual man. To quote Muse Software's founder Ed Zaron:

Silas is one of a kind. I'll never forget first meeting him. Silas is a big guy, maybe 6'8" and say 320lbs. Here's the picture, he was walking down mainstreet in downtown Baltimore wear a huge, sagging sports coat. He had a car battery (yes, car battery!) in one pocket, a CB radio in the other pocket and a whip antenna stuck down the back of his jacket. He was occasionally talking on the CB as he held two magazines open in one hand. One of Silas's favorite things was to read two mags simultaneously, kinda one inside the other, flipping back and forth.

willowmoon93
04-24-2008, 05:56 AM
I never would have known that he passed away either until now and it was very interesting reading about him. "Castle Wolfenstein" was an absolute classic game on the Apple II computer. I know it was available on the Commodore 64 & Atari computers also, but the original version for the Apple II is probably what is best known. Definitely a Top-10 game for the Apple II for action games and a personal favorite of mine as well.

koster
04-24-2008, 07:28 PM
There is an entry in DP's 2004 news archive (http://www.digitpress.com/news/news2004.htm) regarding his passing, with a link to a Gamespot article (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/03/18/news_6091777.html).

His wife mentions Robotwars (http://www.mobygames.com/game/apple2/robot-war/screenshots) [sic] as his best creation.

rkotm
04-24-2008, 07:38 PM
didnt know this either, read about him in Masters of Doom(amazing book).

Graham Mitchell
04-24-2008, 09:22 PM
Somehow I heard about this when I died and I searched for him on the net at that time, and found the same resume Buyatari did.

I have a feeling this guy died prematurely because I saw a pic of him during that search and he looked exactly like what your quoter describes. It's sad really.

Also, I have a lot of respect for this guy, but damn if I wouldn't like to do a psych eval on him. I don't know about you guys, but to me Castle Wolfenstein is a dark, creepy little game. Prior to seeing that game, I didn't think the Apple II was capable of displaying anything dark or creepy. I mean the guy comes up with the first talking computer game, and it's about killing Nazis. Awesome, but kind of weird.

Just my 2 cents.

Buyatari
04-25-2008, 12:18 AM
Also, I have a lot of respect for this guy, but damn if I wouldn't like to do a psych eval on him. I don't know about you guys, but to me Castle Wolfenstein is a dark, creepy little game. Prior to seeing that game, I didn't think the Apple II was capable of displaying anything dark or creepy. I mean the guy comes up with the first talking computer game, and it's about killing Nazis. Awesome, but kind of weird.

Just my 2 cents.

So you think thats a greater cause for alarm than him walking around with CAR BATTERY in one pocket of his jacket a cb radio in the other pocket an ANTENNA down his back WHILE reading 2 magazines at the same time DOWNTOWN !

I'm guessing this was pre-cel phone age.

rkotm
04-25-2008, 11:11 AM
So you think thats a greater cause for alarm than him walking around with CAR BATTERY in one pocket of his jacket a cb radio in the other pocket an ANTENNA down his back WHILE reading 2 magazines at the same time DOWNTOWN !

I'm guessing this was pre-cel phone age.

that or he was just crazy as hell.

Graham Mitchell
05-01-2008, 10:44 PM
So you think thats a greater cause for alarm than him walking around with CAR BATTERY in one pocket of his jacket a cb radio in the other pocket an ANTENNA down his back WHILE reading 2 magazines at the same time DOWNTOWN !

I'm guessing this was pre-cel phone age.

The car battery is eccentric. The desire to take on the unprecedented task of making a nazi-killing simulator is downright scary.

But you do have a point.