Russell Lieblich

Developer BIO

Russell Lieblich made a name for himself as an experienced game musician who was also a proficient programmer. He pioneered the genre of rhythm/music-based games with the C64 classics Web Dimension and Master of the Lamps.

Lieblich was born and raised in New York City. He went to college in Brooklyn, then studied music and physics at the University of California in San Diego. He finished with a Masters Degree in music. Lieblich played the piano and the saxophone.

After his studies, Lieblich spent some years at Los Angeles' Venice Beach, alternately writing music and surfing. When Russel lost his job in the course of a musician's strike in 1980, he applied for a job with Mattel's newly founded video games division. Lieblich was the fifth person Mattel hired for the Intellivision squad, which later grew to 200 people. Lieblich worked as a sound programmer for games such as Nightstalker and Astrosmash. He quit after half a year because he couldn't stand the department leader.

In fall 1982, Activision was hiring programmers with experience on the Intellivision system. Lieblich got the job. For Activision, he created the music-driven Web Dimension and the flying carpet game Master of the Lamps (programmed by Peter Kaminski).

During the 1980s and 90s, Lieblich created music for Activision classics such as Little Computer People, Aliens and MechWarrior. He later worked as a composer for projects such as EA's PGA Tour Pro or Atari's Duke Nuke Nukem: Time to Kill. At the same time, he returned to performing live at jazz gigs and in lounge clubs.

Russell Lieblich died on January 26, 2005 following a heart attack outside his home on Long island, New York, at the age of 53.

Also Known As

• Russel Lieblich
• Russ Lieblich

Websites

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Games Credited

Duke Nukem: Time to Kill (1998), GT Interactive Software Corp.
Knockout Kings (1998), Electronic Arts, Inc.
PGA Tour Gold (1998), Electronic Arts, Inc.
PGA Tour Pro (1997), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Tigershark (1997), GT Interactive Software Corp.
Golden Gate Killer (1995), Grolier Interactive
Dominus (1994), U.S. Gold Ltd.
Elitserien 95 (1994), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Mutant League Hockey (1994), Electronic Arts, Inc.
NHL 95 (1994), Electronic Arts, Inc.
A-Train Construction Set (1993), Ocean Software Ltd.
Bill Walsh College Football (1993), Electronic Arts, Inc.
Fates of Twinion (1993), Sierra On-Line, Inc.
Shadow of Yserbius (1993), Sierra On-Line, Inc.
A-Train (1992), Maxis Software Inc., Ocean Software Ltd.
Leather Goddesses of Phobos 2 (1992), Activision, Inc.
Les Manley in: Lost in L.A. (1992), Accolade, Inc.
The Manhole: New and Enhanced (1992), Activision Publishing, Inc.
SimLife (1992), Maxis Software Inc.
SpellCraft: Aspects of Valor (1992), ASCII Entertainment Software, Inc.
Sargon 5: World Class Chess (1991), Activision Publishing, Inc.
F-14 Tomcat (1990), Activision, Inc.
Joe Montana Football (1990), SEGA of America, Inc.
Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye (1990), Activision, Inc.
Deathtrack (1989), Activision, Inc.
Face Off! (1989), Gamestar
Ghostbusters II (1989), Activision, Inc.
The Manhole (1989), Activision Publishing, Inc.
MechWarrior (1989), Activision, Inc.
Stealth ATF (1989), Activision, Inc.
Tongue of the Fatman (1989), Activision, Inc.
The Last Ninja (1988), Activision Publishing, Inc.
Gee Bee Air Rally (1987), Activision, Inc.
GFL Championship Football (1987), Activision, Inc.
Star Rank Boxing II (1987), Activision, Inc.
Aliens: The Computer Game (1986), Activision, Inc.
Hacker II: The Doomsday Papers (1986), Activision, Inc.
Howard the Duck (1986), Activision, Inc.
Portal (1986), Activision, Inc.
Tass Times in Tonetown (1986), Activision, Inc.
The Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth (1986), Activision, Inc.
Master of the Lamps (1985), Activision, Inc.
Night Stalker (1982), Mattel Electronics
Snafu (1981), Mattel Electronics
Utopia (1981), Mattel Electronics