Douglas Edwin Smith (October 28, 1960 – September 7, 2014), usually credited as Doug Smith, was an American video game designer and programmer best known as the author of the 8-bit game Lode Runner (1983), considered a seminal work of the 1980s.

[4] He wrote the game on a VAX-11/780 in Fortran with some Pascal and assembly over the course of a summer, where it was played by students who provided feedback and levels.

After his nephew asked to play on the Apple II Plus he ported it over a 3-day weekend in 6502 assembly language.

He borrowed money to purchase a color monitor and joystick and continued to improve the game.

[6] His credits include titles like Lemmings, Final Fantasy VII, and Secret of Mana.