Editing Dave Lebling

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Short description|American computer game writer (born 1949)}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2010}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = David Lebling
| image       = Dave Lebling.jpg
| image_size  =
| caption     = Lebling in 2010
| birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1949|10|30}}
| birth_place =
| alma_mater  =
| death_date  = 
| death_place = 
| occupation  = [[Video game designer]], [[computer programmer]]
| spouse      = 
| known_for   = ''[[Zork]]'', co-founder of [[Infocom]]
}}

'''Peter David Lebling''' (born October 30, 1949) is an American [[interactive fiction]] [[game designer]] ([[implementer (video games)|implementor]]) and programmer who has worked at various companies, including [[Infocom]] and Avid.

==Life and career==
He was born in [[Washington, D.C.]], grew up in [[Maryland]], and attended [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]], where he obtained a degree in [[political science]] before becoming a member of its Laboratory for Computer Science.

After encountering the original ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure|Adventure]]'' game (also called ''Colossal Cave''), he was fascinated by the concept and—together with [[Marc Blank]], [[Tim Anderson (Zork)|Tim Anderson]] and [[Bruce Daniels]]—set out to write an adventure game with a better [[parser]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lebling |first1=P.D. |last2=Blank |first2=M.S. |first3=T.A.| last3=Anderson |year=1980 |title=Zork:A Computerized Fantasy Simulation Game |journal=IEEE Computer |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=51–59 |publisher=IEEE Computer Society |doi=10.1109/MC.1979.1658697 |s2cid=7845131 }}</ref> which became ''[[Zork]]''. In 1979, he became one of the founders of Infocom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_55/332-The-Short-Happy-Life-of-Infocom|title=The Short, Happy Life of Infocom|publisher=[[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]]|first=Lara|last=Crigger|date=July 25, 2006|access-date=October 28, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127183302/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_55/332-The-Short-Happy-Life-of-Infocom |archive-date=November 27, 2010}}</ref>

His games include ''[[Zork]] I,'' ''II'' and ''III'', ''[[Starcross (video game)|Starcross]]'', ''[[Suspect (computer game)|Suspect]]'', ''[[Spellbreaker]]'', ''[[The Lurking Horror]]'', ''[[Maze (1973 video game)|Maze]]'' and ''[[James Clavell's Shōgun]]''.

After Infocom's end in 1989, Lebling worked on a [[Graphical user interface|GUI]] [[spreadsheet]] program, joined [[Avid Technology|Avid]] (a company doing special effects for broadcast and film), and designed server applications at [[Ucentric]].

Lebling currently resides in [[Concord, Massachusetts]] with his wife. He is a programmer for British defense contractor [[BAE Systems]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby developer|id=201|name=Dave Lebling's profile}}
*[http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/ Interview with Dave Lebling] at Adventure Classic Gaming (2001)

{{Infocom games}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebling, Dave}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Pioneer Award recipients]]
[[Category:American video game designers]]
[[Category:American video game programmers]]
[[Category:Infocom]]
[[Category:Interactive fiction writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:People from Maryland]]
[[Category:People from Washington, D.C.]]


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