Rebecca Heineman
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Rebecca Ann Heineman is an American
video game designer Video game design is the process of designing the rules and content of video games in the Video game development#Pre-production, pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, storyline and characters in the Video game development ...
and
programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...
. Heineman was a founding member of video game companies
Interplay Productions Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...
, Logicware, Contraband Entertainment, and Olde Sküül. She has been
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
for Olde Sküül since 2013.


Early life

Rebecca Ann Heineman was born William Salvador Heineman on October 30, 1963, and raised in
Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...
. When she was young, she could not afford to purchase games for her
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS), it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridg ...
, so she taught herself how to copy cartridges and built herself a sizable pirated video game collection. Eventually, she became discontented with just copying games and reverse-engineered the console's code to understand how the games were made. In 1980, Heineman and a friend traveled to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to compete in a regional branch of a national ''
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...
'' championship. Although she did not expect to fall under the top 100 contestants, she won the competition. Later that year, she also won the championship in New York. Heineman is hence considered to be the first national video game tournament champion.


Career

After she won the tournament, Heineman was offered a writing job for monthly magazine ''
Electronic Games ''Electronic Games'' was the first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States and ran from October 15, 1981, to 1997 under different titles. It was co-founded by Bill Kunkel, Joyce Worley, and Arnie Katz. History The h ...
'' and a consultancy job for a book called ''How to Master Video Games''. During this time, she mentioned to one magazine publisher that she had reverse-engineered Atari 2600 code, and the publisher arranged a meeting between Heineman and the owners of game publisher
Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...
. As she met with them, she was hired as a
programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...
instantaneously. Heineman, aged 16 at the time, moved across the U.S. for her new job, canceling her plans to acquire a
high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...
. At Avalon Hill, Heineman created a manual for the company's programming team, the studio's
game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games which generally includes relevant libraries and support programs such as a level editor. The "engine" terminology is akin to the term " software engine" u ...
, and the base code for several software projects, including her own first game, ''London Blitz'', before leaving the company. Heineman returned to California to work for another developer, Boone Corporation. For Boone, she programmed the games '' Chuck Norris Superkicks'' and ''
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
'', acquiring knowledge of programming for
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
,
Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...
, VIC-20 and IBM PC, of video game hardware, as well as video game design. Boone ceased operations in 1983, so Heineman got together with Brian Fargo, Jay Patel and Troy Worrell, and the four founded
Interplay Productions Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...
(later known as Interplay Entertainment). Heineman acted as lead programmer for the company, working on '' Wasteland'', ''
The Bard's Tale ''The Bard's Tale'' is a fantasy role-playing video game franchise created by Michael Cranford and developed by Brian Fargo's Interplay Productions (1985–1992) and inXile Entertainment (2004–present). The initial title of the series was ...
'', various ports of '' Out of This World'', and the
Mac OS Mac operating systems were developed by Apple Inc. in a succession of two major series. In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the classic Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system ...
and 3DO ports of ''
Wolfenstein 3D ''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a 1992 first-person shooter game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen for DOS. It was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game '' Castle Wolfenstein'', and is the third installment ...
''. Heineman went on to design '' The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate'', '' Dragon Wars'', '' Tass Times in Tonetown'', '' Borrowed Time'', '' Mindshadow'', '' The Tracer Sanction'', and programmed various ports of '' Battle Chess'', among others, for Interplay. As the company grew to more than 500 employees, Heineman, wishing to return to her small-team roots, left the company in 1995 and co-founded Logicware, where she acted as chief technology officer and lead programmer. Aside from original games such as '' Defiance'', Heineman oversaw the company's porting activities, which included ''Out of This World'', '' Killing Time'', '' Shattered Steel'', '' Jazz Jackrabbit 2'' and a canceled Mac OS port of ''
Half-Life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay. Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to: Film * Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang * ''Half Life: ...
''. In 1999, Heineman founded Contraband Entertainment, operating as its
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
. The company developed several original games alongside ports to various platforms for other developers. Projects led by Heineman include '' Myth III: The Wolf Age'' and '' Activision Anthology'', and Mac OS ports for '' Aliens vs. Predator'', '' Baldur's Gate II'' and '' Heroes of Might and Magic IV''. During this time, she also provided consultancy work directly for other companies: She acted as "Senior Engineer III" for
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
, upgraded engine code for Barking Lizards Technologies and
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
, optimized code for Sensory Sweep Studios, acted as senior software architect for
Bloomberg L.P. Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately-held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Ze ...
and
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
, provided training on
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
development for
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
's development studios, and worked on the kernel code for the
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...
and
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
at
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
. During her tenure at Amazon, Heineman was, in addition to her technological role, also the "Transgender Chair" of Amazon's
LGBTQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...
group, known as Glamazon. Contraband was wound down in 2013, and Heineman founded a new company, Olde Sküül, together with
Jennell Jaquays Jennell Allyn Jaquays (born Paul Jaquays; October 14, 1956 – January 10, 2024) was an American game designer, Game art design, video game artist, and illustrator of tabletop role-playing games (RPGs). Her notable works include the ''Dungeons & ...
, Maurine Starkey, and Susan Manley. At Olde Sküül, Heineman acts as CEO. Heineman acted as lead programmer for the '' Battle Chess: Game of Kings''.


Personal life

Around 2003, Heineman was diagnosed with
gender dysphoria Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to inconsistency between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The term replaced the previous diagnostic label of gender i ...
and began transitioning to live as a woman. She formally changed her given name to Rebecca Ann. Since the transition, Heineman has been living as a
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
. She has five children and was married to
Jennell Jaquays Jennell Allyn Jaquays (born Paul Jaquays; October 14, 1956 – January 10, 2024) was an American game designer, Game art design, video game artist, and illustrator of tabletop role-playing games (RPGs). Her notable works include the ''Dungeons & ...
until the death of the latter. Heineman resides in
El Cerrito, California El Cerrito (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Little Hill") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, and forms part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a population of 25,962 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...
, where her company Olde Sküül is located.


Board service

Heineman has been part of the
advisory board An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to the ...
of the Videogame History Museum since 2011, and was part of the
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
of LGBTQ+ organization
GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...
.


Accolades

Heineman is recognized as the first national video game tournament champion for winning the 1980 National Space Invaders Championship. ''Sailor Ranko'', a ''
Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into ...
''-based fanfiction comic by Heineman based on an earlier work written by Duncan Zillman, has won multiple awards. In 2017, she became an inductee for the International Video Game Hall of Fame.


Games

* ''Robin Hood'' (1983, VIC-20 port) * '' Chuck Norris Superkicks'' (1984, C64/VIC-20 ports) * ''
The Bard's Tale ''The Bard's Tale'' is a fantasy role-playing video game franchise created by Michael Cranford and developed by Brian Fargo's Interplay Productions (1985–1992) and inXile Entertainment (2004–present). The initial title of the series was ...
'' (1985) * '' Borrowed Time'' (1985) * '' Racing Destruction Set'' (1986, Atari 8-bit port) * '' Tass Times in Tonetown'' (1986) * '' The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate'' (1988) * ''
Neuromancer ''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian author William Gibson. Set in a near-future dystopia, the narrative follows Case, a computer hacker enlisted into a crew by a powerful artificial intelligence and a traumatis ...
'' (1988) * '' Battle Chess'' (1989, ports) * '' Crystal Quest'' (1989, Apple IIgs port) * '' Dragon Wars'' (1989) * '' Track Meet'' (1991) * '' RPM Racing'' (1991) * '' Another World'' (1992, SNES port) * '' Rescue Rover'' (1993, Apple IIgs port) * ''Interplay's 10 Year Anthology: Classic Collection'' (1993) * '' Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness'' (1994, Apple IIgs port) * ''
Wolfenstein 3D ''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a 1992 first-person shooter game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen for DOS. It was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game '' Castle Wolfenstein'', and is the third installment ...
'' (1995, Mac/3DO ports) * '' Kingdom: The Far Reaches'' (1995) * '' Doom'' (1996, 3DO port) * '' Killing Time'' (1996, PC port) * '' Defiance'' (1997) * ''
Tempest 2000 is a 1994 tube shooter video game originally developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation for the Atari Jaguar. Part of Atari Corp.'s ''2000'' series, it is a Video game remake, remake of the 1981 arcade game ''Tempest (video game) ...
'' (1998, Mac port) * ''Remington Top Shot: Interactive Target Shooting'' (1998) * '' Redneck Rampage'' (1999, Mac port) * '' Jazz Jackrabbit 2'' (1999, Mac port) * ''Galactic Patrol'' (1999, Mac port) * '' Bugdom'' (1999) * '' Myth III: The Wolf Age'' (2001) * '' Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'' (2001, Mac port) * '' Nanosaur Extreme'' (2002) * '' Icewind Dale'' (2002, Mac port) * '' Hexen II'' (2002, Mac port) * '' Activision Anthology'' (2002) * '' Medal of Honor: Rising Sun'' (2003) * '' Pitfall: The Lost Expedition'' (2004) * '' Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault'' (2004) * '' GoldenEye: Rogue Agent'' (2004) * '' Medal of Honor: European Assault'' (2005) * '' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars'' (2007) * ''
Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as the Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for Novelty records in ...
'' (2007) * '' Chip's Challenge'' (2015, Windows re-release) * '' Battle Chess: Game of Kings'' (2015)


See also

* List of programmers * List of women in the video game industry *
Women and video games The relationship between women and video games has received extensive academic and media attention. Since the 1990s, female gamers have commonly been regarded as a minority. However, industry surveys have shown that over time, the gender ratio h ...
*
Women in computing Women in computing were among the first programmers in the early 20th century, and contributed substantially to the industry. As technology and practices altered, the role of women as programmers has changed, and the recorded history of the fi ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heineman, Rebecca 1963 births American transgender women American lesbians American video game programmers Interplay Entertainment people LGBTQ people from California Living people Microsoft people People from Whittier, California Transgender lesbians Women video game programmers LGBTQ video game developers