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'''Rebecca Ann Heineman''' is an American ] and ]. She is a long-time veteran of the ]. Heineman was a founding member of video game companies ], Logicware, Contraband Entertainment, and Olde Sküül. She has been acting as ] for Olde Sküül since 2013. '''Rebecca Ann Heineman''' (born '''William Salvador Heineman''') is an American ] and ]. A long-time veteran of the ] (originally credited as '''Bill Heineman'''), Heineman was a founding member of video game companies ], Logicware, Contraband Entertainment, and Olde Sküül. She acts as ] for Olde Sküül since 2013.


== Early life == == Early life ==
Rebecca Ann Heineman is an American video game designer and programmer who was raised in Whittier, California. When she was young, she could not afford to purchase games for her Atari 2600, so she taught herself how to copy cartridges and ended up building herself a sizable pirated video game collection. Eventually, she became discontent with just copying games and reverse-engineered the console's code to understand how the games were made. She is now considered a long-time veteran of the video game industry and became a founding member of the video game company Interplay productions in 2013. Rebecca Ann Heineman, formerly William Salvador Heineman, was born and raised in ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oldeskuul.com/rebecca_bio.php |title=Rebecca_Heineman |website=Olde Sküül}}</ref> When she was young, she could not afford to purchase games for her ], wherefore she taught herself how to copy cartridges and built herself a sizable pirated video game collection. Eventually, she became discontent with just copying games and ] the console's code to understand how the games were made.<ref name="Women in Gaming">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ad2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |title=Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play |first=Meagan |last=Marie |date=December 4, 2018 |publisher=] |isbn=9780241395066 |pages=32–33}}</ref> In 1980, Heineman and a friend traveled to ] to compete in a regional branch of a national '']'' 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 ]. Heineman is hence considered to be the first national video game tournament champion.<ref name="Women in Gaming" />

In 1980, Heineman and a friend traveled to Los Angeles to compete in a regional branch of a national Space Invaders 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 now considered to be the first national video game tournament champion.<ref>, Marie, Meagan (December 4, 2018). Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9780241395066.</ref>


== Career == == Career ==
After she won the tournament, Heineman was offered a writing job for monthly magazine '']'' 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 video game developer ]. As she met with them, she was hired as a ] instantaneously. Heineman, aged 16 at the time, moved across the U.S. for her new job, canceling her plans to acquire a ]. At Avalon Hill, Heineman created a manual for the company's programming team, the studio's ], and the base code for several software projects, including her first own game, '']'', before leaving the company.<ref name="Women in Gaming" />
Heineman has always had a passion for coding and game design. She has deep roots in the video game industry. Her first achievement dates back to 1980. She won the National Space Invaders contest. Her job consisted of porting games such as ''London Blitz'' to the Atari 2600. She was 14 years old at the time and had knowledge beyond her years when it came to the video game industry. She is best known for her tenure at Interplay Productions. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134614/the_burger_speaks_an_interview_.php?print=1|title=Gamasutra - The Burger Speaks: An Interview With An Archmage|website=www.gamasutra.com|access-date=2019-12-19}}</ref> She developed Fargo along with three other developers in 1983. Rebecca also developed ''Tass Times in Tonetown'' in 1986. It was an innovative point-and click adventure game. She also had a part in Interplay. It was a roleplaying computer game that was also known as the ''Bards Tale.''

Heineman returned to California to work for another developer, Boone Corporation. For Boone, she programmed the games '']'' and '']'', acquiring knowledge of programming for ], ], ] and ]s, of video game hardware, as well as ]. Boone ceased operations in 1983, so Heineman got together with ], Jay Patel and Troy Worrell, and the four founded ] (later known as Interplay Entertainment). Heineman acted as lead programmer for the company, working on '']'', '']'', '']'', and the ] and ] ports of '']''.<ref name="Women in Gaming" />

Heineman went on to design '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']'', 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 ] and lead programmer. Aside from original games, Heineman oversaw the company's porting activities, which included ''Out of This World'', '']'', '']'' and a canceled Mac OS port of '']''.<ref name="Women in Gaming" />

In 1999, Heineman founded her own video game developer, named Contraband Entertainment, operating as its ] (CEO). Aking to Logicware, Contraband developed several original games alongside ports to various platforms for other developers. Projects led by Heineman include '']'' and '']'', and Mac OS ports for '']'', '']'' and '' ]''. During this time, she also provided consultancy work directly for other companies: She acted as "Senior Engineer III" for ], upgraded engine code for ] and ], optimized code for ], acted as senior software architect for ] and ], provided training on ] development for ]'s development studios, and worked on the ] code for the ] and ] at ]. During her tenure at Amazon, Heineman was, in addition to her technological role, also the "Transgender Chair" of Amazon's ] group, known as Glamazon.<ref name="Women in Gaming" />


Contraband was wound down in 2013, and Heineman founded a new company, Olde Sküül, together with ], Maurine Starkey, and Susan Manley. At Olde Sküül, Heineman acts as CEO.<ref name="Women in Gaming" />
Rebecca also had a role in designing ''Dragon Wars'' in 1989. She was slowly building up her reputation of her excellent conversion skills of games to programs such as the Apple IIGS, Macintosh and many others. She has remained a key figure in the industry, unlike others who have come before her in the 80's. Her most recent position is senior engine programmer at Ubisoft, Toronto. She has also been a member of Microsoft's Kinect team.


== Personal life == == Personal life ==
During her time at Interplay, Heineman would often go out to a nearby burger shop and buy a bag full of 29-cent hamburgers, spending the rest of the day at the company eating those burgers and storing the remains on her desk. This earned her the nickname "Burger", and she was frequently called "Burger Bill" (nowadays "Burger Becky"). Heinemann also hid burgers inside the games she programmed as ] as a result.<ref name="Women in Gaming">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ad2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|title=Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play|last=Marie|first=Meagan|date=December 4, 2018|publisher=]|isbn=9780241395066|pages=32–33}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltQ6LYHpmQEC&pg=PT117 |title=Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture |first=David |last=Kushner |date=April 24, 2003 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0812972153 |page=117}}</ref> During her time at Interplay, Heineman would often go out to a nearby burger shop and buy a bag full of 29-cent hamburgers, spending the rest of the day at the company eating those burgers and storing the remains on her desk. This earned her the nickname "Burger", and she was frequently called "Burger Bill" (nowadays "Burger Becky"). Heinemann also hid burgers inside the games she programmed as ] as a result.<ref name="Women in Gaming" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltQ6LYHpmQEC&pg=PT117 |title=Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture |first=David |last=Kushner |date=April 24, 2003 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0812972153 |page=117}}</ref>


Around 2003, Heineman was diagnosed with ] and began ] to a woman.<ref name="The Burger Speaks" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://burgerbecky.livejournal.com/18628.html |title=A new day in a new life |first=Rebecca |last=Heineman |date=March 29, 2005 |website=]}}</ref> She formally changed her given name from William Salvador ("Bill") to Rebecca Ann.<ref name="The Burger Speaks">{{cite web |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134614/the_burger_speaks_an_interview_.php |title=The Burger Speaks: An Interview With An Archmage, Page 1 of 7 |first=Matt |last=Barton |date=December 27, 2010 |website=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qPPRBQAAQBAJ |title=Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games |first=Matt |last=Barton |date=February 22, 2008 |publisher=] |isbn=9781439865248 |page=197}}</ref> Since the transition, Heineman has been living as a ].<ref name="The Burger Speaks" /> She has five children and is married to ].<ref name="The Burger Speaks" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/04/01/year-s-transgender-and-gender-nonconforming-who-s-who |title=This Year's Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Who's Who |first=Dawn |last=Ennis |date=April 1, 2015 |website=]}}</ref> Heineman resides in ], where her company Olde Sküül is located.<ref name="Women in Gaming" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://burgerbecky.com/becky.htm |title=This is Burger Becky? |website=Burger Becky}}</ref>
In 2003, she started her transition into becoming a woman. She is now living in her truth as a lesbian. Her achievements, however, are seperate from her life of being of a video game designer and programmer. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134614/the_burger_speaks_an_interview_.php?print=1|title=Gamasutra - The Burger Speaks: An Interview With An Archmage|website=www.gamasutra.com|access-date=2019-12-19}}</ref> She is currently 46 years old and is married with five children. She is an accomplished writer, engineer and pastry chef. She especially enjoys baking cakes.


== Board service == == Board service ==
Heineman has been part of the ] of the ] since 2011. She is also on the ] of LGBTQ+ organization ].<ref name="Women in Gaming" /> Heineman has been part of the ] of the ] since 2011, and is part of the ] of LGBTQ+ organization ].<ref name="Women in Gaming" />


== Accolades == == Accolades ==
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* {{Official website|http://burgerbecky.com/}} * {{Official website|http://burgerbecky.com/}}
* {{cite web |last1=Stilphen |first1=Scott |title=...Rebecca Heineman |url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_rebecca_heineman.html |website=DP Interviews |publisher=Team DP |accessdate=March 22, 2019}} * {{cite web |last1=Stilphen |first1=Scott |title=...Rebecca Heineman |url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_rebecca_heineman.html |website=DP Interviews |publisher=Team DP |accessdate=March 22, 2019}}
*<nowiki>https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134614/the_burger_speaks_an_interview_.php?print=1</nowiki>
*<nowiki>http://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_rebecca_heineman.htm</nowiki>
*BARTON, MATT. HONORING THE CODE with Great Game Designers. CRC PRESS, 2017.
{{Bard's Tale series}} {{Bard's Tale series}}


Revision as of 18:58, 19 December 2019

American video game programmer

Rebecca Ann Heineman
BornWilliam Salvador Heineman
1963 or 1964 (age 60–61)
Whittier, California, US
Other namesBurger Becky, Burger Bill, Bill Heineman
Occupation(s)Video game designer, programmer
EmployerOlde Sküül
Known forThe Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate, Dragon Wars
SpouseJennell Jaquays
Children5

Rebecca Ann Heineman (born William Salvador Heineman) is an American video game designer and programmer. A long-time veteran of the video game industry (originally credited as Bill Heineman), Heineman was a founding member of video game companies Interplay Productions, Logicware, Contraband Entertainment, and Olde Sküül. She acts as chief executive officer for Olde Sküül since 2013.

Early life

Rebecca Ann Heineman, formerly William Salvador Heineman, was born and raised in Whittier, California. When she was young, she could not afford to purchase games for her Atari 2600, wherefore she taught herself how to copy cartridges and built herself a sizable pirated video game collection. Eventually, she became discontent 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 to compete in a regional branch of a national Space Invaders 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 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 video game developer Avalon Hill. As she met with them, she was hired as a programmer 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. At Avalon Hill, Heineman created a manual for the company's programming team, the studio's game engine, and the base code for several software projects, including her first own 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, acquiring knowledge of programming for Commodore 64, Apple II, VIC-20 and IBM PCs, 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 (later known as Interplay Entertainment). Heineman acted as lead programmer for the company, working on Wasteland, The Bard's Tale, Out of This World, and the Mac OS and 3DO ports of Wolfenstein 3D.

Heineman went on to design The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate, Dragon Wars, Tass Times in Tonetown, Borrowed Time, Mindshadow and The Tracer Sanction, 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, Heineman oversaw the company's porting activities, which included Out of This World, Shattered Steel, Jazz Jackrabbit 2 and a canceled Mac OS port of Half-Life.

In 1999, Heineman founded her own video game developer, named Contraband Entertainment, operating as its chief executive officer (CEO). Aking to Logicware, Contraband 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, upgraded engine code for Barking Lizards Technologies and Ubisoft, optimized code for Sensory Sweep Studios, acted as senior software architect for Bloomberg L.P. and Amazon, provided training on Xbox 360 development for Microsoft's development studios, and worked on the kernel code for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 4 at Sony. During her tenure at Amazon, Heineman was, in addition to her technological role, also the "Transgender Chair" of Amazon's LGBTQ+ group, known as Glamazon.

Contraband was wound down in 2013, and Heineman founded a new company, Olde Sküül, together with Jennell Jaquays, Maurine Starkey, and Susan Manley. At Olde Sküül, Heineman acts as CEO.

Personal life

During her time at Interplay, Heineman would often go out to a nearby burger shop and buy a bag full of 29-cent hamburgers, spending the rest of the day at the company eating those burgers and storing the remains on her desk. This earned her the nickname "Burger", and she was frequently called "Burger Bill" (nowadays "Burger Becky"). Heinemann also hid burgers inside the games she programmed as Easter eggs as a result.

Around 2003, Heineman was diagnosed with gender dysphoria and began transitioning to a woman. She formally changed her given name from William Salvador ("Bill") to Rebecca Ann. Since the transition, Heineman has been living as a lesbian. She has five children and is married to Jennell Jaquays. Heineman resides in El Cerrito, California, where her company Olde Sküül is located.

Board service

Heineman has been part of the advisory board of the Video Game History Museum since 2011, and is part of the board of directors of LGBTQ+ organization GLAAD.

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-based fanfiction created by Heineman, has won multiple awards. In 2017, she became an inductee for the International Video Game Hall of Fame.

Games

References

  1. ^ Barton, Matt (December 27, 2010). "The Burger Speaks: An Interview With An Archmage, Page 1 of 7". Gamasutra.
  2. "Rebecca_Heineman". Olde Sküül.
  3. ^ Marie, Meagan (December 4, 2018). Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play. Dorling Kindersley. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9780241395066.
  4. Kushner, David (April 24, 2003). Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture. Random House. p. 117. ISBN 978-0812972153.
  5. Heineman, Rebecca (March 29, 2005). "A new day in a new life". LiveJournal.
  6. Barton, Matt (February 22, 2008). Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games. CRC Press. p. 197. ISBN 9781439865248.
  7. Ennis, Dawn (April 1, 2015). "This Year's Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Who's Who". Advocate.
  8. "This is Burger Becky?". Burger Becky.

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