First released in 1984 for Macintosh computers,[1]: 65 early versions of Red Ryder were written by Wat Buchanon as a Microsoft BASIC program with documentation included on the disk filled with humor aimed at Apple and programmers.
[2]: 152 After Wat Buchanon died, his friend Scott Watson entirely rewrote Red Ryder keeping the manual in a similar humorous style.
[3]: 71 Watson's releases were a standalone Macintosh applications[2]: 152 programmed in C and the new author expanded features taking into account requests from Red Ryder users.
[2][1] Commended were its inexpensive price,[6]: 92 rich settings and features and excellent support (answering user questions by phone).
[2]: 158 Despite powerful features and popularity among home users, Red Ryder was never successful in the business market, which preferred MacTerminal by Apple or Smartcom II by Hayes.