Lode Runner#Legacy

{{More citations needed section|date=November 2017}}

File:Lode Runner.jpg

The player controls a stick figure who must collect all the gold in a level while avoiding guards who try to catch the player. After collecting all the gold, the player must reach the top of the screen to reach the next level. There are 150 levels in the game, which progressively challenge players' problem-solving abilities or reaction times.{{cite news|url=http://kotaku.com/5936566/nearly-thirty-years-old-and-lode-runner-is-still-kicking-my-ass|title=Nearly Thirty Years Old, and Lode Runner Is Still Kicking My [Butt]|author=Mike Fahey|website=Kotaku|date=21 August 2012|access-date=21 September 2015}}

Levels have a multi-story, brick platform motif, with ladders and suspended hand-to-hand bars that offer multiple ways to travel. Guards can pick up gold bars by running over them, but any individual guard may carry no more than one bar at a time. The player can dig holes into floors to temporarily trap guards and may safely walk atop any who have fallen into holes. Should a guard be carrying a bar of gold when he falls into a hole, he will drop it and the player can pick it up. Holes dug by the player fill themselves in after a short delay. A trapped guard who cannot escape a hole before it fills is consumed and immediately respawns in a random location at the top of the level. Unlike guards, the player's character may not climb up out of a hole, and he will be killed if it fills before he can escape by other means. Floors may contain trapdoors, through which the player and guards will fall, and bedrock, through which the player cannot dig.

The player can dig a hole only to either side of his position and may not dig directly beneath his own feet. In order to dig through multiple layers of bricks, the player must create a gap whose width is at least equal to the number of layers. However, exceptions to this rule arise when the player digs from the position of standing on a ladder, or hanging from a hand-to-hand bar, which allows the player to repeatedly dig and descend one row. This kind of digging is involved in solving many of the levels.

The player starts with five lives; each level completion awards an extra life. Should a guard catch the player, one life is subtracted, and the current level restarts. The player's character can fall from arbitrary heights without any injury but cannot jump, and players can trap themselves in pits from which the only escape is to abort the level, costing a life, and begin again.

Image:Lode Runner enemies.gif

The guards do not always take the shortest path to the player and can move in counterintuitive ways. Sometimes, when the player and a guard are on the same ladder, for instance, the guard will move away from the player. In general, depending on their exact positioning relative to Lode Runner, the guards sometimes appear to be repelled. Mastering the game involves developing the intuition to predict the movement of the guards.

The player may come into contact with a guard directly from above, with the stick figure's feet touching the guard's head. This is what enables the player to walk over guards who are temporarily stuck in a hole that has been dug. It is also possible to make this contact while both the guard and the player are in free fall, since the player not only runs faster than the guards, but also falls faster; moreover, it is possible to survive the feet-to-head contact while a guard is standing on a platform and begins to move. Both forms of contact are necessary to solve some levels. Sometimes it is necessary to liberate a trapped guard by digging while standing on his head but then moving rapidly in the opposite direction when the guard begins marching to freedom. In a few levels, it is necessary to use a falling guard as a bridge to reach an otherwise unreachable area. One subtlety is that if a down movement is initiated while standing on a guard's head, or briefly touching the guard's head during free fall, the consequences are fatal.

In some levels, guards can be deliberately trapped in various ways. For instance, they can be lured into entering a part of the level from which there is no escape. In some situations, the player can liberate trapped guards by digging them out. In some levels, the player must exploit the guards by having them collect gold pieces which are positioned such that whoever collects them will become trapped. When the guard collects the piece and becomes trapped, the player can release the guard and then later steal the gold when the guard drops it or falls into a hole.

In some levels, there are gold pieces that can be collected only by killing guards by digging holes to trap them. Deceased guards come back to life from locations near the top of the screen, which may allow them to reach parts of the level that cannot be reached by the player.

Some levels require careful ordering of traversal, because they are divided into zones connected by passages which are impossible to traverse in the reverse direction. If a gold piece remains in an unreachable zone, the player may have to abort the level to start again, losing a life, unless there is a way to coax a guard into bringing the gold.

Some of the game's puzzles in the advanced levels are time-sensitive. The player must dig in order to penetrate the interior of some cavern to collect gold, and quickly return the same way before the digging repairs itself, enclosing Lode Runner in that cavern with no means of escape.

Some puzzles require deliberate timing among the digging actions because Lode Runner must run over previously dug-out tiles that have just repaired themselves, while having enough time to pass through ones which have not yet repaired.

Around late 1980, high school student James Bratsanos heard from a friend about a new arcade video game, Space Panic by Universal, which involves climbing platforms and ladders while digging holes to trap monsters. Bratsanos was intrigued by his friend's description of the concept, and he wanted to develop it further. He began writing a Commodore PET program, called Suicide, using simple text-based graphics. Due to his lack of programming experience, there were no pre-programmed levels, but he instead built "an engine that could interpret a game level and then run a processing loop on the monsters". This novel design later evolved into the concept of a level editor.{{cite magazine |last1=Grannell |first1=Craig |title=Lode Runner |magazine=Retro Gamer |date=January 2013 |issue=111 |pages=20–7 |url=https://issuu.com/michelfranca/docs/retro_gamer____111}}{{cite web |last1=Maher |first1=Jimmy |title=Lode Runner |url=https://www.filfre.net/2020/12/lode-runner/ |website=The Digital Antiquarian |date=December 18, 2020 |access-date=20 April 2021}}

At the University of Washington in 1981, Bratsanos met two other students, architecture student Douglas E. Smith and Tracy Steinbeck. Following the release of Nintendo's arcade platformer Donkey Kong that year, the three students began working on a program called Kong, which evolved the concepts of Suicide. Bratsanos later left the project to pursue his studies, and Smith continued to develop Kong into the prototype of what later became Lode Runner.{{cite news | date =1999-02-17| work= IGN | title = Lock'n'Lode | url = http://ign64.ign.com/articles/066/066952p1.html}} Kong was written for a Prime Computer 550 minicomputer limited to one building on the UW campus. Kong was soon ported to VAX minicomputers, which had more terminals available on campus. The game was programmed in Fortran using ASCII character graphics. When Kong was ported to the VAX, some Pascal sections were mixed into the original Fortran code.{{cite news|url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/09/13/lode-runner-creator-douglas-e-smith-passes-away/|title=Lode Runner Creator Douglas E. Smith Passes Away|author=Thomas Schulenberg|website=Engadget|date=13 September 2014|access-date=7 August 2015}}

Over one weekend in 1982, Smith recreated a crude, playable version in 6502 assembly language on an Apple II Plus and renamed the game Miner. Through the end of the year, he refined that version, which was black-and-white with no joystick support. He submitted a rough version to Broderbund around October 1982 and received a one-line rejection letter in response to the effect of "Thank you for submitting your game concept. Unfortunately, it does not fit within our product line." Smith borrowed money to purchase a color monitor and joystick and continued to improve the game. Around Christmas of 1982, he submitted the game once more, now renamed Lode Runner, to four publishers and received offers from all four: Sierra, Sirius, Synergistic, and Broderbund. He took the deal with Broderbund.

Like its text-based Kong predecessors, the submitted game had only simple animation where characters move across the screen in block increments. It was too primitive for an acceptable commercial product as Broderbund wanted detailed pixel-level movement.{{cite web| date =1991-04-07| title = Loderunner: Ancient History! (Usenet posting to rec.games.programmer) | url = http://entropymine.com/jason/lr/misc/ldhist.html}} Smith was given a $10,000 advance by Broderbund to develop the inter-square animation and to provide 150 levels of play.

Smith's new game would be one of the first to include a level editor for user generated content, allowing players to create levels for the game. In a 2010 interview, game designer John Romero claimed that Smith added the level-editing function at the request of neighborhood kids he had testing the game, and "a ton" of the levels they designed ended up in the final game.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opLCzUsjRowC&pg=PA7 | title=Honoring the Code: Conversations with Great Game Designers | publisher=CRC Press | last=Barton |first=Matt | date=2010 | page=7 | isbn=978-1466567535}}

{{More citations needed section|date=November 2017}}

Lode Runner was originally released on June 23, 1983.{{cite web |title=Lode Runner (Registration Number PA0000226732) |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov |website=United States Copyright Office |access-date=1 June 2021}} The original microcomputer versions were for the Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, VIC-20, Commodore 64, and IBM PC compatibles.{{cite book |title=Software Catalog For Apple, Atari, IBM PC, Commodore 64, and VIC-20 |chapter=Compatibility Chart |year=1983 |publisher=Broderbund Software |pages=8–9 |url=http://www.atarimania.com/catalog-atari-broderbund-software-_196_8.html |access-date=2015-02-08}} The VIC-20 version was released on cartridge, including the level editor. The Commodore 64 had both a disk and cartridge release, with the latter having 32 levels. The IBM PC port was originally on a self-booting disk and is incompatible with video cards other than CGA.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} A 1986 MS-DOS release runs on any video card.

The Famicom version was released by Hudson Soft in 1984 (North American NES release in 1986) and became one of the earliest third-party games made for that system. It has 50 levels, scrolling screens, added music, and graphics redone in a more cartoon-like style. In addition, fruits and vegetables randomly appear which may be grabbed for additional points. A level editor was included, which in Japan used the Famicom's Family BASIC tape drive to save one's work; however, as with many US localisations, the NES lacked the tape drive and thus there is no way to save levels created with the US release.

An arcade version of Lode Runner was produced by Irem in 1984. It was notably the first time an American computer game was adapted into a Japanese arcade game.{{Cite magazine |last=Adams |first=Roe R. |date=September 1985 |title=Come Cast A Spell With Me |url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_5.4/page/n20 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=21, 33 |volume=4 |issue=3}} It had some added features like the ability to hang off the ends of ladders and an improved enemy AI.

A port for the Macintosh 128K followed in January 1985;{{cite magazine |title=1985 Index |magazine=Computer Entertainer |date=January 1986 |volume=4 |issue=10 |page=6 |url=http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/newsletters/video_game_update/computer_entertainer_jan86.pdf#page=6}} it runs on machines up to OS 6 and can be used on System 7 with a patch. Other versions include those for the Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, a licensed version for MSX published by ASCII Corporation, SG-1000, Windows 3.1x, and Game Boy.

Broderbund released an enhanced version, Championship Lode Runner, in 1985, with 50 levels and a higher difficulty. The company offered a commemorative certificate to anyone who could submit proof of having beaten the game (and submitted proof of purchase to show that their copy of the game was not pirated). It was ported to the Apple, Atari, C64, MSX, and IBM PC, as well as the NES (although that version did not reach North America).

The Atari 8-bit version of Lode Runner was converted to cartridge and re-released by Atari Corporation in 1987, as one of the series of releases for the Atari XEGS console. This version contains all 150 levels and the level editor, which requires a disk drive.

Lode Runner was very successful. It was Broderbund's second best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987,{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1987-12-computegazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_54_1987_Dec#page/n17/mode/2up | title=The Commodore Games That Live On And On | work=Compute's Gazette | date=December 1987 | access-date=24 January 2015 | author=Ferrell, Keith | pages=18–22}} and sales had surpassed 300,000 copies by August 1984.{{cite web|first=Susan|last=Blocker|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89260965/the-gazette/|title=Iowan designs hot-selling video game|newspaper=The Gazette|page=20|date=August 23, 1984|access-date=November 20, 2021|via=Newspapers.com}} It was the top-selling computer game in the United States during 1983. By 1985, the game had sold just as many copies in Japan. {{As of|1999}}, Hudson Soft's Famicom (NES) version had sold about 1.5 million cartridges in Japan and all versions of the game had sold over 3 million units worldwide, including more than 2 million sales in Japan alone.{{cite web |date=February 17, 1999 |title=Lock'n'Lode |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/18/locknlode |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511123027/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/02/18/locknlode |archive-date=May 11, 2019 |accessdate=April 22, 2017 |work=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}

Softline in 1983 praised Lode Runner, calling it "smooth, thoughtful, and quite addictive". The magazine approved of its large number of unique levels, level editor ("the possibilities are astounding"), and emphasis on "wits and strategy" over violence.{{cite news | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1983&pub=6&id=12 | title=Lode Runner | work=Softline | date=Jul–Aug 1983 | access-date=28 July 2014 | author=Albert, Dave | pages=23–24}} Computer Gaming World praised Lode Runner{{'}}s unusually easy-to-use level editor and the strategy necessary for an arcade title, describing it as "one of the few thinking men's arcade games".{{cite magazine | date = October 1983 | last = Besnard | first = John | magazine = Computer Gaming World | title = Lode Runner | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1983&pub=2&id=12 | page = 20}} In August 1984, Computer Gaming World held a contest for the best reader-built level.{{citation |title=Lode Runner Contest |date=August 1984 |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1984&pub=2&id=17 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |page=22}} Praises for the introduction of strategy into the "climbing game" genre and for the intuitive level editor were repeated in Video magazine's review of the game as well as praise for its graphics and animation, with the Apple II version being described as "stand[ing] out far ahead of the pack".{{cite magazine |last1= Kunkel |first1= Bill |author-link1= Bill Kunkel (journalist)|last2= Katz |first2= Arnie |author-link2= Arnie Katz|date= November 1983 |title= Arcade Alley: Wintertime Winners |magazine= Video|publisher= Reese Communications|volume= 7|issue= 8|pages= 38–39|issn= 0147-8907}}{{rp|39}}

Ahoy! in 1984 called the game "a top-notch action game that requires both a quick mind and an agile joystick". With the "easy-to-use game generator", the magazine concluded that "Lode Runner is one of the best games available for the C-64. Unconditionally and wholeheartedly recommended".{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/Ahoy_Issue_03_1984-03_Ion_International_US#page/n57/mode/2up | title=Lode Runner | work=Ahoy! | date=Mar 1984 | access-date=27 June 2014 | author=Davies, Lloyd | pages=59–60}} PC Magazine gave the game 16.25 out of 18 points. The magazine called the game "a tour de force of American ingenuity ... the first release in a long, long time that can honestly bear the title, 'computer game' ... Lode Runner uses the power of the PC to create something much more than a video version of Ping Pong. This game requires thought, too." The magazine praised the IBM PC version's graphics, increasingly difficult level design, and the level editor.{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9eJxx_ZGKngC&pg=PA335 | title=Haute Cuisine and Hot Dogs | work=PC Magazine | date=1984-04-17 | access-date=24 October 2013 | author=Sandler, Corey | pages=335}} The Commodore 64 Home Companion said that "there's lots of education hidden in" the level editor, concluding that Lode Runner "is one of the first of a new breed of computer game that lets the player be a creator".{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/The_Commodore_64_Home_Companion#page/n167/mode/2up|title=Broderbund Software|work=The Commodore 64 Home Companion|year=1984|access-date=August 19, 2016|pages=166–167}}

By 1985, the game was still selling well, with Video magazine reporting that it was the 6th best-selling recreational title in March{{cite magazine|last1= Ditlea |first1= Steve |last2= Onosco |first2= Tim |last3= Kunkel |first3= Bill |author-link3= Bill Kunkel (journalist)|date= February 1985 |title= Random Access: Best Sellers/Recreation |magazine= Video|publisher= Reese Communications|volume= 8|issue= 11|pages= 34–35|issn= 0147-8907}}{{rp|35}} and April of that year.{{cite magazine |last1= Onosco |first1= Tim |last2= Kohl |first2= Louise |last3= Kunkel |first3= Bill |author-link3= Bill Kunkel (journalist)|last4= Garr|first4= Doug |author-link4= Doug Garr|date= March 1985 |title= Random Access: Best Sellers/Recreation |magazine= Video|publisher= Reese Communications|volume= 8|issue= 12|pages= 42–43|issn= 0147-8907}}{{rp|43}} Zzap!64 called the Commodore 64 version "not one of the most recent games but certainly one of the best ... a classic for a long time to come ... graphically minuscule and aurally crude, the game's sheer addiction kept my eyes propped open until the owls went to bed".{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/zzap64-magazine-002/ZZap_64_Issue_002_1985_Jun#page/n71/mode/2up | title=Lode Runner | work=Zzap!64 | date=June 1985 | access-date=26 October 2013 | pages=73 | type=review}} In 1986 Ahoy! described the Commodore 64 version's graphics as "sparse, but attractive" with "evocatively animated" characters.{{Cite magazine |last1=Kunkel |first1=Bill |last2=Katz |first2=Arnie |date=April 1986 |title=Think Fast! Action-Strategy Games for the Commodore 64 |url=https://archive.org/details/ahoy-magazine-28/page/n40/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2024-09-04 |magazine=Ahoy! |pages=41–45}}

In 1984, Lode Runner was awarded "1984 Computer Game of the Year" at the 5th annual Arkie Awards. Judges praised its "outstanding design", and described it as "fascinating", "irresistible", and as "the thinking player's climbing conquest".{{cite magazine |last1= Kunkel |first1= Bill |author-link1= Bill Kunkel (journalist)|last2= Katz |first2= Arnie |author-link2= Arnie Katz|date= February 1984 |title= Arcade Alley: The 1984 Arcade Awards, Part II |magazine= Video|publisher= Reese Communications|volume= 7|issue= 11|pages= 28–29|issn= 0147-8907}}{{rp|28}} Softline readers named Lode Runner the most popular Apple and fourth most-popular Atari program of 1983.{{cite news | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1984&pub=6&id=16 | title=The Best and the Rest | work=St.Game | date=Mar–Apr 1984 | access-date=28 July 2014 | pages=49}} In 1993 the Spectrum version of the game was voted number 37 in the Your Sinclair Official Top 100 Games of All Time.{{cite magazine |title=YS Top 100 Games of All Time|magazine=Your Sinclair|date=September 1993}} GameSpot named Lode Runner as one of the "Greatest Games of All Time".{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/greatestgames/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525052230/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/greatestgames/index.html|title=The Greatest Games of All Time|archive-date=25 May 2011|work=gamespot.com}} In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Lode Runner the 80th-best computer game ever released.{{cite magazine | author=Staff | title=150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1996 | issue=148 | pages=63–65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98}} Time in 2010 rated Lode Runner #1 game in "The 10 Greatest Games for the Apple II" list.{{cite news

|url = https://techland.time.com/2010/01/06/the-10-greatest-games-for-the-apple-ii/

|title = The 10 Greatest Games for the Apple II

|first = Lev

|last = Grossman

|magazine = Time

|date = January 6, 2010}} Game Informer placed the game 52nd on their top 100 video games of all time in 2001.{{Cite magazine|last=Cork|first=Jeff|title=Game Informer's Top 100 Games Of All Time (Circa Issue 100)|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/11/16/game-informer-s-top-100-games-of-all-time-circa-issue-100.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119071214/http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/11/16/game-informer-s-top-100-games-of-all-time-circa-issue-100.aspx|url-status=live|archive-date=November 19, 2009|access-date=2020-12-01|magazine=Game Informer|language=en}}

Orson Scott Card wrote in Compute! in 1989 that its editor was the first game that let him and his family express their creativity through gaming.{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-01-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_104_1989_Jan#page/n13/mode/2up | title=Gameplay | work=Compute! | date=January 1989 | access-date=10 November 2013 | author=Card, Orson Scott | pages=12}} Tetris designer Alexey Pajitnov stated in 2008 that Lode Runner was his favorite puzzle game for many years.{{cite web|url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/interview-man-who-changed-everything|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907030140/http://www.next-gen.biz/features/interview-man-who-changed-everything|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-09-07|title=Interview: The Man Who Changed Everything|access-date=2008-01-01}}

In 1984, Irem developed an arcade conversion of Lode Runner.{{cite web |url =http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8441| title =Lode Runner| publisher =The International Arcade Museum |access-date =5 Oct 2013}} It contains 24 remixed levels from the 150 original levels. Irem brought many of its arcade-inspired levels to the Famicom Disk System with the names Super Lode Runner and Super Lode Runner II. In Japan, Game Machine listed Lode Runner on their August 1, 1984 issue as being the most successful table arcade cabinet of the month.{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=241|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=1 August 1984|page=27|lang=ja}} The arcade version has numerous sequels, including these:

• Lode Runner: The Bungeling Strikes Back (1984), selecting 30 levels based on the original game developed for the arcade. The gameplay is almost exactly the same (save the addition of a two-player mode) and the only heavy modification was the graphics and advancement to a 512-color palette. In Japan, Game Machine listed Lode Runner: The Bungeling Strikes Back on their March 1, 1985 issue as the seventh most successful table arcade unit of the month.{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=255|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=1 March 1985|page=21|lang=ja}}
• Lode Runner: Majin No Fukkatsu (1985), also known as Lode Runner: The Golden Labyrinth, developed by Irem. In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their December 15, 1985 issue as the top-grossing table arcade unit during that month.{{cite magazine|date=15 December 1985|title=Best Hit Games 25|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19851215p.pdf#page=13|magazine=Game Machine|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|issue=273|page=25|lang=ja}} It went on to be Japan's ninth highest-grossing table arcade game during the first half of 1986.{{cite magazine |title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '86 上半期 |trans-title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: First Half '86 |magazine=Game Machine |issue=288 |publisher=Amusement Press, Inc. |date=15 July 1986 |page=28 |lang=ja |url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19860715p.pdf#page=15}}
• Lode Runner: Teikoku Karano Dasshutsu (1986)
• Lode Runner: The Dig Fight (2000)

• Lode Runner: The Lost Labyrinth, 1990 updated version for the TurboGrafx-16 featuring all 150 levels of the 1983 set.
• Lode Runner: The Legend Returns, a 1994 Sierra incarnation of the original game with enhanced graphics and tools.
• Lode Runner Online: The Mad Monks' Revenge, the 1995 remake which replaced all the elements of the previous plus new online play.
• Lode Runner 2 (1998), a game with isometric 3D gameplay.
• Lode Runner (1998), a compilation game for PlayStation, which includes Lode Runner: The Legend Returns and Lode Runner Extra.
• Lode Runner 3-D (1999) for the Nintendo 64.

Several versions of Lode Runner were not released in the U.S., such as Lode Runner Twin and Power Lode Runner (1999, SFC), which vary gameplay, mostly by adding different characters and scenarios. Another title, Battle Lode Runner, was originally exclusive to Japan, but made available on 23 April 2007 as the first Japan-only game to appear on Nintendo's Virtual Console service.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2007/04/battle_lode_run/|title=Battle Lode Runner First Japan-Only Retro Game on U.S. Virtual Console|author=Chriskohler|magazine=Wired|date= 23 April 2007|access-date=9 August 2015}} The original Lode Runner followed in June 2007. There is also a Cubic Lode Runner, a 3-D Lode Runner variant released only in Japan for the GameCube and PlayStation 2.{{cite web|url=http://www.hudson.co.jp/gamenavi/gamedb/softinfo/hu_select/load/load1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304202409/http://www.hudson.co.jp/gamenavi/gamedb/softinfo/hu_select/load/load1.html|title=キュービックロードランナー公式サイト|archive-date=4 March 2007|work=hudson.co.jp}}

The NES version, developed by Hudson Soft, marked the first appearance of Bombermen as the opposing robots.{{cite news|url=http://www.gamesradar.com/seemingly-unrelated-games-you-probably-didnt-know-were-set-same-universe/|title=Seemingly Unrelated Games [Which] You Probably Didn't Know Were Set in the Same Universe|author=David Houghton|website=GamesRadar+|date=23 November 2012|access-date=8 August 2015}} The end screen to Bomberman for the NES notes that the original White Bomberman has turned human and hints at his appearance in another game, with the Lode Runner behind him. In the Japanese version, the reference is more direct: "Congratulations - Bomber Man becomes Runner - See you again in Lode Runner".

In Japan, the Famicom version of Lode Runner allows editing and creating levels to share with friends using a Famicom Data Recorder.{{cite web | url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/27929/nintendos-expansion-ports-famicom-basic-and-data-recorder | first=Danny | last=Bivens | work=Nintendo World Report | date=October 26, 2011 | title=Famicom BASIC and Data Recorder - Feature | access-date=September 29, 2019}}

Hudson Soft released a version of Lode Runner for Nintendo DS in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.hudson.jp/puzzle/loderunner/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119065606/http://www.hudson.jp/puzzle/loderunner/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 19, 2007|title=コナミ 商品・サービス - KONAMI|author=KONAMI|work=hudson.jp}}

An unreleased version of the game for the Atari Lynx was discovered in 2008 on an old Atari Corp. hard drive.{{cite web|title=Lode Runner Found and Released!|url=https://atariage.com/forums/topic/128853-lode-runner-found-and-released/|website=Atari Age Forums|date=July 16, 2008}}

Image:Loderunner.jpg version]]

A remake of Lode Runner, developed by Tozai and Southend Interactive, was released on April 22, 2009. The game features revamped 3D graphics, additional game modes, cooperative and competitive multiplayer support, six new block types and a level editor, as well as live leaderboards and a timeline of the game's history.[http://www.gamerankings.com/xbox360/944469-lode-runner/index.html Lode Runner for Xbox 360] on GameRankings[http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/974/974611p1.html Lode Runner (X360) Review] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423080156/http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/974/974611p1.html |date=2009-04-23}}, IGN

Lode Runner Classic was made available as an Xbox Live enhanced game for Windows Phone 7 series of phones on July 18, 2012. It features the graphics, gameplay, and 150 levels from the original Lode Runner game.{{cite news|url=http://wmpoweruser.com/lode-runner-classic-another-new-xbox-live-title-in-windows-phone-marketplace/|title=Lode Runner Classic, Another New Xbox LIVE Title in Windows Phone Marketplace|author=Pradeep|website=WMPoweruser|date=18 July 2012|access-date=23 September 2015|archive-date=25 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925102323/http://wmpoweruser.com/lode-runner-classic-another-new-xbox-live-title-in-windows-phone-marketplace/|url-status=dead}} Lode Runner Classic was released for iOS and Android phones on January 17, 2013.{{cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/01/17/lode-runners-30th-anniversary-sees-it-reborn-for-ios-and-android/|title=Lode Runner's 30th Anniversary Sees the Gaming Classic Reborn for iOS and Android|author=Dan Crawley|work=VentureBeat|date=17 January 2013|access-date=23 September 2015}}

Lode Runner 1 is a remake of the original NES game, and has the same mechanic, in brand new 2D graphics. It is different to the other same-year release in the series, Lode Runner Legacy. It was released for free on Android, iPhone and iPad on May 18, 2017.{{cite news|url=https://toucharcade.com/2017/05/19/lode-runner-1-is-a-well-made-adaptation-of-lode-runner-and-completely-free/ |title='Lode Runner 1' is a Well-Made Adaptation of 'Lode Runner' and…Completely Free? |author=Carter Dotson |website=TouchArcade |date=May 19, 2017 |access-date=June 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430155819/http://toucharcade.com:80/2017/05/19/lode-runner-1-is-a-well-made-adaptation-of-lode-runner-and-completely-free |archive-date=April 30, 2018 |url-status=dead}} The game was discontinued in 2020 and its servers shut down in 2021, rendering the game unplayable due to a mandatory Google account check.{{Cite web |title=Lode Runner 1 - Apps on Google Play |url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nexon.devcat.loderunner |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20201112020306/https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nexon.devcat.loderunner |archive-date=2020-11-12 |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=play.google.com |language=en|quote=This is Lode Runner1 Team. We are sorry to deliver the sad news that the global service of Lode Runner1 will be terminated on 2020/11/17 18:00 (UTC-8).}}

A new Lode Runner game was announced for the Intellivision Amico. It is being made in partnership between Intellivision Entertainment and Tozai Games.{{cite press release|title=Intellivision® Reveals Initial Details For The Upcoming Amico™ Home Video Game Console!|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/intellivision-reveals-initial-details-for-the-upcoming-amico-home-video-game-console-300734998.html|website=PR Newswire|access-date=October 13, 2020}}

Dion Olsthoorn licensed the original Lode Runner from Tozai to create a version for the Atari 2600.{{cite web|title=Lode Runner™ for Atari 2600

|date=19 August 2022 |url=https://forums.atariage.com/topic/339630-lode-runner%E2%84%A2-for-atari-2600/#comment-5108404}} on Atari Age The ZeroPage Homebrew channel featured the gameplay and an interview with the programmer on their Twitch Livestream on October 8, 2022.{{cite web|title="Lode Runner™ (Atari 2600) Exclusive World Premiere PLUS Interview with Developer Dion Olsthoorn| website=YouTube | date=9 October 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp4MfAQ9fO8}} on YouTube

• Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory (1984)
• Ultimate Wizard (1984)
• Ladder (video game) (1982)

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{moby game|id=-group/lode-runner-series|name=Lode Runner series}}
• {{KLOV game|id=8441}}
• {{Internet Archive game|id=msdos_Lode_Runner_1983_1983}}
• [https://www.igdb.com/collections/lode-runner Lode Runner series] at IGDB
• [http://loderunnerwebgame.com/game/ Lode Runner] can be played for free in the browser
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131006092123/http://loderunner.home.insightbb.com/ The Lode Runner Museum]
• [https://akakan.seesaa.net/article/LODE000.html The Lode Runner PC-98 Version Museum]

{{Lode Runner Series}}

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