Lode Runner creator Douglas E. Smith passes away
Douglas E. Smith, creator of 1983 puzzler Lode Runner, has passed away. Tozai Games, the current holder of the Lode Runner license, tweeted its condolences yesterday and asked for fans to reflect on their personal highlights with Smith's iconic classic.
According to Tozai's timeline for the series, Smith's development of Lode Runner began during his time at the University of Washington, where he created a prototype called "Kong." The interest and support of his peers pushed Smith to work full time and submit a finished version called "Miner" to publishers, with Broderbund distributing it as Lode Runner for the Apple 2, Atari 8-bit, MSX and Commodore 64 in 1983.
Lode Runner's legacy of ports and successors includes a 2012 release of Lode Runner Classic, which added features to the original version that Broderbund Software distributed.
[Image: TozaiGames]
