E! True ZX Games Story: Lode Runner
Eighties was the marvelous time of innovative game concepts, and this is what we at ZX Games (http://www.zxgames.com) really love and have passion for. We are not really sure what that time was all about, but somehow a single person could come up with a brilliant idea and turn it into a game selling millions of copies.
Developing a game today is a whole different thing. We really do not welcome the idea of having a huge team of developers and writers and animators and etc to create one complex game that will need some time to grow on you and yet will not be original. Simplicity and minimalism is what distinguishes a good game; ingenious thinking is what marks a bright mind.
Today's featured game is Lode Runner. Released in 1983, it's amazing that the game still sells and people buy it everyday. Can you imagine this? Not a day passes by without having at least one person interested in purchasing Lode Runner...
* Game Inventor: Douglas E. Smith
* Occupation at the time of invention: student, major in Physics
* Location at the time of invention: University of Washington, Seattle
Douglas Smith lived in Renton, Washington before going to Seattle to get into the Computer Science Department at the University. However, as irony would have it, the future inventor of Lode Runner failed twice to qualify for Computer Sciences and had to settle on Physics major. Eventually Douglas dropped out of the University in the wake of Lode Runners success and became a millionaire.
The earliest version of Lode Runner was written in Fortran on the Universitys VAX 1. It was called Kong because of its similarities to Donkey Kong. Since developing video games was not authorized use of the Universitys resources, the game was known as graph until its completion. Running graph on the University machine required the user entering a secret password. This password became common knowledge among students, and soon it was reported that around 80 of the total man-hours to the development of the Fortran version and 0 royalties on gross sales. One of the others offered him $100,000 flat. He made the right choice and picked Broderbund. Later Douglas blamed Sirius for leaking a copy of Miner, which was widely distributed in southern California.
Broderbund gave him the advance with no strings attached other than he could not market it elsewhere. To get the royalties, Douglas would have to complete the game with four major points:
1. Animation
2. Sound Effects
3. New Title Page
4. 150 Levels
With new incentive, Douglas worked around the clock, dropping his classes for the quarter (Spring, 1983). At that time he only had about 30 levels and it is said that he was not creative enough to think of another 120. So he let the neighborhood kids come over and design new levels with Douglas' screen editor. He paid the kids on a per level basis for every one that ended up in the final release.
Broderbund had an ex-Walt Disney animator working in-house. For a cut of the profits, he would design a nice title page. Douglas took him up on his offer.
The game's snakes were tuned into running stick figures, because Douglas could not come up with proper animation and simply borrowed the four-frame running man sequence from Broderbund's Choplifter game (hence, the name Bungelings).
The game was ready by Summer of 1983 under the Lode Runner title.
Douglas offered James Bratsanos a flat payment for his role in the development of the Fortran version. James was surprised to receive anything at all, and accepted.
Douglas' royalties started pouring in. He broke Choplifter's Broderbund record of $77,000 in one month royalties. Rumors go around that Douglas grossed $2 millions in total royalties. Although he had to pay a substantial part of the income as taxes to the government, with the net profit he was able to buy a Porche 911 Carrera, a Bayliner Speedboat and a house in Issaquah, Washington.
However, soon with the money going out fast, Douglas realized that he did not have enough to retire on. He started his own company called QAD. The name stood for Quick And Dirty. Unfortunately we do not know what the company was about. What we know is that Douglas did not have much luck with it. So, soon he undertook a new venture named Ralph. Ralph was to become a new video game for the Apple II microcomputer. However the project quickly became overdue and eventually failed. Douglas decided to go back doing what he was best at, and that is making new and improved versions of Lode Runner.
If you have any idea where Douglas E. Smith is now and what he is up to these days, please share this information with us at mail@zxgames.com. As a reward, we will give you any of our games free of charge...
..or just play our remake of Lode Runner (http://www.zxgames.com/en/loderunner.shtml), which is as close to the original as possible and needs no emulators to run.
Mikhail Zhilkin of ZX Games (Sales, Support and Public Relations). Apart from being ZX Games founder, Mikhail is doing his post-graduate study in Physics, lives in Tokyo, Japan and expresses his extreme pacifism by not doing compulsory military service in his home country. Mikhail enjoys playing soccer and ZX Spectrum games.
Handle Black
Enlarged Heart
Autism Symptoms
Kitchen Remodel
Emcee
Bird Flu Symptoms
Green Tea
Myparanormalspace
Datahere
Cytomel T3
Yoga
Rss
Debt Consolidation
Recent Sightings Of Mothman
Voip
Claustrophobia
Test
Cat Treats
Video Card
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Landscaping
Dhea Side Effects
Kid Online Games
Gardening
Richard Hoagland
Pap Smear
Bathroom Accessories
Learn Maths
Workaholic Symptoms
Bela Lugosi
Accountancy
Datahere
Face Painting
Notebook Computers
330
Alfalfa Sprouts
Congestive Heart
Home Theater
Es300
Tipshere
Car Insurance
Metal Leaf
Vitiligo
Emcee
Cat Repellants
Wireless Network Setup
Nolvadex Tamoxifen
Seeds
Silverfish Insect
Sailingcroatia
Tara Reid Bikini
Mono
Horse Blankets
Morel Mushrooms
Bounty Hunters
Handle Black
Genitalwartspictures
Randy Savage
Scabies
Staffing Agency
Ourgetawayspace
Blogging
Hot Tub Cover
Dropshipping
Who Invented Velcro
Online Dvd Rentals
Piracetam Side Effects
Aquarium Care
Online Auctions
Retin A Wrinkles
White Water Rafting
Cake Decorating
Mountain Biking
Tamoxifen Citrate
Myparanormalspace
Fainting Goat
Test
Drop Dead
Cytomel
Small Game Hunting
Hybrid Cars
Shark
Lasik Eye Surgery
Mycontrolpanels
Asbestos
Myparanormalspace
Sports Memorabilia
Quilting
Airlineflightsinfo
Wine
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Albuterol Sulfate
Leaf Necklace
Frilled Shark
Dyslexia Symptoms
Leaf Necklace
Taos Hum
Bird Flu Symptoms
Lucid Dreaming
Emcee
Jessica Alba Gallery
Voip
Tamoxifen Citrate
Hemorrhoids Pictures
Human Tapeworms
Apple Ipods
Info Facts
Migraine
Retin A
Lds
Biographyinfo
Echolocation Dolphins
Emcee
Debt Consolidation
Garden Furniture
Staffing Agency
Votehealthnews
Asbestos
Pap Smear
Vacuum Cleaners
Tv Video Card
Cigars
Drop Dead
Fenbendazole
Cake Decorating
Ourgetawayspace
Walls
Sports Memorabilia
Landscaping
Bowling
Cat Treats
Myparanormalspace
Bob Lazar
Congestive Heart
Knuckles
Hot Tub Cover
Background Check
French
Tapeworms
Tara Reid Bikini
Gardening
Lucid Dreaming
Shark
Es300
Rappaport
Efudex
Scabies
Bathroom Accessories
Nolvadex
Gardening
Myparanormalspace
Iphone
Studies On Acrophobia
Laser Eye Surgery
Voip
Online Banking
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Votehealthnews
Theseus And The Minotaur
Background Check
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Retin A Wrinkles
Test
Tipshere
Apple Ipods
Learn Chinese
Home Theater
Winsor Pilates
330
Ouija Board
Scrapbooking
Bob Lazar
Echolocation Dolphins
Autism Symptoms
Recent Sightings Of Mothman
Office Chairs
Ohare Ufo
Myparanormalspace
Prescriptions
Handle Black
Learninghere
Padma Lakshmi Model
Wine
Landscaping
Jessica Alba Gallery
Sleep Deprivation
Nolvadex Tamoxifen
Ouija Boards
Kitchen Remodel
Where Is Dubai
Leticia Cline
Bipolar Disorder
Asbestos
Road Trip
Lds
Ufos
Rich Franklin
Metal Leaf
Spyderco
Insulin Resistance Tips
Blogging
Bird Flu Symptoms
Tips Here
Tips Here
Hemorrhoids Pictures
Morgellons Disease Research
Spyderco
Franks Box
Rimonabant Buy
Fedor Emelianenko
Sleep Deprivation
Bob Lazar
Gardening
Body Building
Autism Symptoms
White Water Rafting
Fainting Goat
Debt Consolidation
Retin A Wrinkles
Handle Black
Nolvadex
Retirement
Orchids
Testrss
Cat Repellants
Cigars
Online Auctions
Ouija Boards
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Dyslexia Symptoms
Vegetarian
Kid Online Games
Sky Diving
Home Theater
Lucid Dreaming
Ufos
Apple Ipods
Bird Flu Symptoms
Ron And Fez
Orchids
Ourgetawayspace
Online Auctions
Retirement
Hot Tub Cover
Echolocation Dolphins
How To Make Jello Shots
Leticia Cline
Cytomel T3
Mono
Onychocryptosis
Quilting
Learn Maths
Yoga
Morel Mushrooms
Bowling
Test
Scotch
Michael Dudikoff
Voip
Satellite Radio
Music Online
Tara Reid Bikini
Albuterol Sulfate
Retin A
Retin A Wrinkles
Insulin Resistance Tips
Cell Phones
Rich Franklin
Bowling
Green Tea
Pap Smear
Emohair
Test
Music Online
Oxycontin
Bowling
Video Product Creation
Tips Here
Scabies
Bikini Waxing
Amityvillehorror
Knuckles
Universal Studios Tours
Graphic Design
Landscaping
Horse Blankets
Ouija Boards
Retin A
Workaholic Symptoms
Hiccup Cure
Human Tapeworms
Ohare Ufo
Sports Memorabilia
Retin A Wrinkles
Dhea Side Effects
Mountain Biking
Voip
Face Painting
Randy Savage
Developing a game today is a whole different thing. We really do not welcome the idea of having a huge team of developers and writers and animators and etc to create one complex game that will need some time to grow on you and yet will not be original. Simplicity and minimalism is what distinguishes a good game; ingenious thinking is what marks a bright mind.
Today's featured game is Lode Runner. Released in 1983, it's amazing that the game still sells and people buy it everyday. Can you imagine this? Not a day passes by without having at least one person interested in purchasing Lode Runner...
* Game Inventor: Douglas E. Smith
* Occupation at the time of invention: student, major in Physics
* Location at the time of invention: University of Washington, Seattle
Douglas Smith lived in Renton, Washington before going to Seattle to get into the Computer Science Department at the University. However, as irony would have it, the future inventor of Lode Runner failed twice to qualify for Computer Sciences and had to settle on Physics major. Eventually Douglas dropped out of the University in the wake of Lode Runners success and became a millionaire.
The earliest version of Lode Runner was written in Fortran on the Universitys VAX 1. It was called Kong because of its similarities to Donkey Kong. Since developing video games was not authorized use of the Universitys resources, the game was known as graph until its completion. Running graph on the University machine required the user entering a secret password. This password became common knowledge among students, and soon it was reported that around 80 of the total man-hours to the development of the Fortran version and 0 royalties on gross sales. One of the others offered him $100,000 flat. He made the right choice and picked Broderbund. Later Douglas blamed Sirius for leaking a copy of Miner, which was widely distributed in southern California.
Broderbund gave him the advance with no strings attached other than he could not market it elsewhere. To get the royalties, Douglas would have to complete the game with four major points:
1. Animation
2. Sound Effects
3. New Title Page
4. 150 Levels
With new incentive, Douglas worked around the clock, dropping his classes for the quarter (Spring, 1983). At that time he only had about 30 levels and it is said that he was not creative enough to think of another 120. So he let the neighborhood kids come over and design new levels with Douglas' screen editor. He paid the kids on a per level basis for every one that ended up in the final release.
Broderbund had an ex-Walt Disney animator working in-house. For a cut of the profits, he would design a nice title page. Douglas took him up on his offer.
The game's snakes were tuned into running stick figures, because Douglas could not come up with proper animation and simply borrowed the four-frame running man sequence from Broderbund's Choplifter game (hence, the name Bungelings).
The game was ready by Summer of 1983 under the Lode Runner title.
Douglas offered James Bratsanos a flat payment for his role in the development of the Fortran version. James was surprised to receive anything at all, and accepted.
Douglas' royalties started pouring in. He broke Choplifter's Broderbund record of $77,000 in one month royalties. Rumors go around that Douglas grossed $2 millions in total royalties. Although he had to pay a substantial part of the income as taxes to the government, with the net profit he was able to buy a Porche 911 Carrera, a Bayliner Speedboat and a house in Issaquah, Washington.
However, soon with the money going out fast, Douglas realized that he did not have enough to retire on. He started his own company called QAD. The name stood for Quick And Dirty. Unfortunately we do not know what the company was about. What we know is that Douglas did not have much luck with it. So, soon he undertook a new venture named Ralph. Ralph was to become a new video game for the Apple II microcomputer. However the project quickly became overdue and eventually failed. Douglas decided to go back doing what he was best at, and that is making new and improved versions of Lode Runner.
If you have any idea where Douglas E. Smith is now and what he is up to these days, please share this information with us at mail@zxgames.com. As a reward, we will give you any of our games free of charge...
..or just play our remake of Lode Runner (http://www.zxgames.com/en/loderunner.shtml), which is as close to the original as possible and needs no emulators to run.
Mikhail Zhilkin of ZX Games (Sales, Support and Public Relations). Apart from being ZX Games founder, Mikhail is doing his post-graduate study in Physics, lives in Tokyo, Japan and expresses his extreme pacifism by not doing compulsory military service in his home country. Mikhail enjoys playing soccer and ZX Spectrum games.
Handle Black
Enlarged Heart
Autism Symptoms
Kitchen Remodel
Emcee
Bird Flu Symptoms
Green Tea
Myparanormalspace
Datahere
Cytomel T3
Yoga
Rss
Debt Consolidation
Recent Sightings Of Mothman
Voip
Claustrophobia
Test
Cat Treats
Video Card
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Landscaping
Dhea Side Effects
Kid Online Games
Gardening
Richard Hoagland
Pap Smear
Bathroom Accessories
Learn Maths
Workaholic Symptoms
Bela Lugosi
Accountancy
Datahere
Face Painting
Notebook Computers
330
Alfalfa Sprouts
Congestive Heart
Home Theater
Es300
Tipshere
Car Insurance
Metal Leaf
Vitiligo
Emcee
Cat Repellants
Wireless Network Setup
Nolvadex Tamoxifen
Seeds
Silverfish Insect
Sailingcroatia
Tara Reid Bikini
Mono
Horse Blankets
Morel Mushrooms
Bounty Hunters
Handle Black
Genitalwartspictures
Randy Savage
Scabies
Staffing Agency
Ourgetawayspace
Blogging
Hot Tub Cover
Dropshipping
Who Invented Velcro
Online Dvd Rentals
Piracetam Side Effects
Aquarium Care
Online Auctions
Retin A Wrinkles
White Water Rafting
Cake Decorating
Mountain Biking
Tamoxifen Citrate
Myparanormalspace
Fainting Goat
Test
Drop Dead
Cytomel
Small Game Hunting
Hybrid Cars
Shark
Lasik Eye Surgery
Mycontrolpanels
Asbestos
Myparanormalspace
Sports Memorabilia
Quilting
Airlineflightsinfo
Wine
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Albuterol Sulfate
Leaf Necklace
Frilled Shark
Dyslexia Symptoms
Leaf Necklace
Taos Hum
Bird Flu Symptoms
Lucid Dreaming
Emcee
Jessica Alba Gallery
Voip
Tamoxifen Citrate
Hemorrhoids Pictures
Human Tapeworms
Apple Ipods
Info Facts
Migraine
Retin A
Lds
Biographyinfo
Echolocation Dolphins
Emcee
Debt Consolidation
Garden Furniture
Staffing Agency
Votehealthnews
Asbestos
Pap Smear
Vacuum Cleaners
Tv Video Card
Cigars
Drop Dead
Fenbendazole
Cake Decorating
Ourgetawayspace
Walls
Sports Memorabilia
Landscaping
Bowling
Cat Treats
Myparanormalspace
Bob Lazar
Congestive Heart
Knuckles
Hot Tub Cover
Background Check
French
Tapeworms
Tara Reid Bikini
Gardening
Lucid Dreaming
Shark
Es300
Rappaport
Efudex
Scabies
Bathroom Accessories
Nolvadex
Gardening
Myparanormalspace
Iphone
Studies On Acrophobia
Laser Eye Surgery
Voip
Online Banking
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Votehealthnews
Theseus And The Minotaur
Background Check
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Retin A Wrinkles
Test
Tipshere
Apple Ipods
Learn Chinese
Home Theater
Winsor Pilates
330
Ouija Board
Scrapbooking
Bob Lazar
Echolocation Dolphins
Autism Symptoms
Recent Sightings Of Mothman
Office Chairs
Ohare Ufo
Myparanormalspace
Prescriptions
Handle Black
Learninghere
Padma Lakshmi Model
Wine
Landscaping
Jessica Alba Gallery
Sleep Deprivation
Nolvadex Tamoxifen
Ouija Boards
Kitchen Remodel
Where Is Dubai
Leticia Cline
Bipolar Disorder
Asbestos
Road Trip
Lds
Ufos
Rich Franklin
Metal Leaf
Spyderco
Insulin Resistance Tips
Blogging
Bird Flu Symptoms
Tips Here
Tips Here
Hemorrhoids Pictures
Morgellons Disease Research
Spyderco
Franks Box
Rimonabant Buy
Fedor Emelianenko
Sleep Deprivation
Bob Lazar
Gardening
Body Building
Autism Symptoms
White Water Rafting
Fainting Goat
Debt Consolidation
Retin A Wrinkles
Handle Black
Nolvadex
Retirement
Orchids
Testrss
Cat Repellants
Cigars
Online Auctions
Ouija Boards
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Dyslexia Symptoms
Vegetarian
Kid Online Games
Sky Diving
Home Theater
Lucid Dreaming
Ufos
Apple Ipods
Bird Flu Symptoms
Ron And Fez
Orchids
Ourgetawayspace
Online Auctions
Retirement
Hot Tub Cover
Echolocation Dolphins
How To Make Jello Shots
Leticia Cline
Cytomel T3
Mono
Onychocryptosis
Quilting
Learn Maths
Yoga
Morel Mushrooms
Bowling
Test
Scotch
Michael Dudikoff
Voip
Satellite Radio
Music Online
Tara Reid Bikini
Albuterol Sulfate
Retin A
Retin A Wrinkles
Insulin Resistance Tips
Cell Phones
Rich Franklin
Bowling
Green Tea
Pap Smear
Emohair
Test
Music Online
Oxycontin
Bowling
Video Product Creation
Tips Here
Scabies
Bikini Waxing
Amityvillehorror
Knuckles
Universal Studios Tours
Graphic Design
Landscaping
Horse Blankets
Ouija Boards
Retin A
Workaholic Symptoms
Hiccup Cure
Human Tapeworms
Ohare Ufo
Sports Memorabilia
Retin A Wrinkles
Dhea Side Effects
Mountain Biking
Voip
Face Painting
Randy Savage
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