Douglas E. Smith
Douglas E. Smith | |
|---|---|
 Douglas E. Smith circa 1985 | |
| Born | October 28, 1960 |
| Died | September 7, 2014 (aged 53) |
| Occupation | Video game programmer |
| Notable work | Lode Runner |
Douglas E. Smith (28 October 1960 – 7 September 2014) was a video game designer best known as the author of the 8-bit game Lode Runner (1983) considered a seminal work of the 1980s.[1][2]
Smith, of Renton, Washington, wrote his most famous game while an architecture student at the University of Washington.[3] He wrote the core game over the course of a single weekend in 6502 assembly language on an Apple II+. He borrowed money to purchase a color monitor and joystick and continued to improve the game. Around Christmas of 1982, he submitted the game to four publishers and quickly received offers. He took the deal with Brøderbund and the game was published in 1983.[3] It was one of the first games to include a level editor.[4]
During the 1990s, he was executive producer of the English-language version of Secret of Mana and contributed to the localization of Chrono Trigger. He was the executive producer of Secret of Evermore.
References
- ^ "In Memoriam, Douglas E. Smith, 1960 - 2014". Tozai Games. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ Owen S. Good (13 September 2014). "Douglas Smith, creator of 1980s PC-gaming milestone Lode Runner, dies". Polygon. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Lock'n'Lode", IGN, 1999-02-17
- ^ Roberto Dillon (2011). The Golden Age of Video Games: The Birth of a Multibillion Dollar Industry. CRC Press. p. 148. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
External links
- Douglas E. Smith at IMDb
- Douglas E. Smith at MobyGames (complete game credits)
 | This biographical article relating to a video game specialist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |