# David Crane on Reddit (u/PitfallCreator)

Part of Founders and CEOs on Reddit, researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-07. Interactive version: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/founders-on-reddit/david-crane

David Crane: Creator of Pitfall! and co-founder of Activision.

- Reddit account: [u/PitfallCreator](https://www.reddit.com/user/PitfallCreator/) (AMA only)
- How we know it's theirs: [His 2012 r/IAmA AMA, posted from this account](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/yli88/)
- Where they post, in the records we retrieved: r/IAmA (17)
- Known activity in the posts we found: 2012 to 2012
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Crane_(programmer)

## Moments

### u/PitfallCreator in r/IAmA, Aug 21, 2012 · Early days

Replying to a redditor:

> I'm 34, and Pitfall! was one of the most memorable games from my childhood. Thanks for the memories, even if buggy detection robbed me of a few swings I KNOW I made. Seriously, you got me grounded at least once for the tantrum that inevitably ensued. Question: How many explorer…

> I don't know the numbers of patches given, but at one point Pitfall was receiving 14,000 submissions per week with photos of their screens.  We had a department of 10 people answering letters.

Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/yli88/iam_david_crane_creator_of_pitfall_and_cofounder/c5wntl1/ · 95 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/PitfallCreator in r/IAmA, Aug 21, 2012 · Early days

Replying to a redditor:

> Pitfall! How many developers were on that game? Was it just you? How about graphics and music? The rope swinging sound effect is definitely memorable! Great game. I look forward to seeing your new project!

> In those days a game was made by one person.  I did every pixel of graphics, every sound effect, and wrote every line of code.  But that was then.
>
> Now, game artists can draw much better than I can.  Music composers can make better music.  SFX specialists, etc.  To make a game today requires a dozen specialists.
>
> But because I have done it all, I can keep those professionals dancing to my tune - making the game I envision.  That is the way the development process has evolved, and I evolved with it.

Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/yli88/iam_david_crane_creator_of_pitfall_and_cofounder/c5wnw4o/ · 88 points as of Nov 7, 2026

### u/PitfallCreator in r/IAmA, Aug 21, 2012 · The why

Replying to the post "IAM David Crane, creator of Pitfall! and co-founder of Activision. ".

> How many times have I played Pitfall?  Thousands.  The way to make a game fun is to play it over and over, tweaking the smallest game play element until it is perfect.

Full thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/yli88/iam_david_crane_creator_of_pitfall_and_cofounder/c5wnkj7/ · 62 points as of Nov 7, 2026