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. Smith, of Renton, Washington, wrote his most famous game while an architecture student at the University of Washington. 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 Broderbund and the game was published in 1983. It was one of the first games to include a level editor.