Douglas E. Smith

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]

Douglas E. Smith
Smith circa 1985
Born	(1960-10-28)October 28, 1960
Died	September 7, 2014(2014-09-07) (aged 53)
Occupation	Video game programmer
Notable work	Lode Runner

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.