The imagists group

A Software company started in Burke, Virginia, in the bedroom of Clarence Bowman1 came at the tail end of the computer boom in 1987.

Their first title to be published was "Clash:Ethereal"2 for the Atari 800 computer. While it was critically well received3 it's sales were doomed by the ever-dwindling prices of 8-bit computers and the flourishing of more expensive 16-bit machines.

The Imagists Group was disbannded in 1989 due to poor sales and the dwindling 8-bit market. An Apple II version was also in the works, but development was halted earlier in the year because of a quickly shrinking market space.

The company had planned to make the transition to the newly released Macintosh computer, but the team had all moved in different directions and reforming the group proved impossible.

It was an important piece of software because it was a prime example of how great products can be produced at the end of a hardware life cycle and be quickly killed by the death of an industry.

It also signaled the last days of the garage-startup company, where a handfull of people could create an entire company and a single programmer could produce a complete product.

Because of the new level of sophistication of hardware, it was requiring more and more people to launch products in a timely manner.

Clarence Bowman, President and Founder, went on to attend the University of Utah4 before becoming a full time graphic designer and artist.

He currently is involved with a new company called Ellipse Technology5 who are specializing in secure digital delivery systems for a mass audience.

Sources
1 http://www.clarencebowman.com
2 Antic Magazine, VOL. 6, NO. 10 / FEBRUARY 1988 / PAGE 16
3 Antic Magazine, VOL. 7, NO. 3 / JULY 1988 / PAGE 44
5 http://www.ellipsetechnology.com