Rebecca Heineman
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Ann Heineman is an American video game programmer
. A long-time veteran of the computer game industry (originally credited mostly as Bill Heineman), Heineman was a founding member of Interplay Productions, Logicware, Contraband Entertainment. She has also been affiliated at various times with Barking Lizards Technologies
, Electronic Arts
, Bloomberg
, Microsoft
, MacPlay
and Ubisoft
, among other game companies
. She is currently working for Sony Computer Entertainment
in the Foster City office.
She won the National Space Invaders Championship, sponsored by Atari
, in November, 1980, making her the first person to ever win a national video game contest.
In the mid-1980s, Heineman programmed the cult
classic graphic adventure games Tass Times in Tonetown
and The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate
. Heineman also programmed the Macintosh
, Super Nintendo and Apple IIGS
ports of Another World
, as well as some other lesser-known games, such as Mindshadow, Borrowed Time, Battle Chess
, and The Tracer Sanction.
Due to her love of storing hamburger
s in her desk drawers, her friends call her "Burger" (and when they would call for her, she would sometimes respond "Burger").
In April 2001, she began writing novels based on Sailor Moon
, Ranma 1/2, The Terminator
, Ace Ventura
and Independence Day
.
In November 2003, she was diagnosed with gender identity disorder
and began transitioning
to a woman.
On March 17, 2008, she launched a webcomic called Sailor Ranko based on her novels set in the Sailor Ranko universe created by Duncan Zillman and Kevin D. Hammel, based on characters from Sailor Moon
and Ranma 1/2. The art for the webcomic was done by Allison Decker while paneling and lettering was done by Joseph Fanning.
Game programmer
A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebase for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella term of "game programmer"...
. A long-time veteran of the computer game industry (originally credited mostly as Bill Heineman), Heineman was a founding member of Interplay Productions, Logicware, Contraband Entertainment. She has also been affiliated at various times with Barking Lizards Technologies
Barking Lizards Technologies
Barking Lizards Technologies was an American video game developer that developed for mobile phones, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Wii and personal computer. Founded in 2001, Barking Lizards Technologies was based in Richardson, Texas...
, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, Bloomberg
Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, MacPlay
MacPlay
MacPlay was the name used by a series of two American publishers of Macintosh computer games. No game has been published under the MacPlay brand name since 2004.- 1990 - 1997 Period :...
and Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
, among other game companies
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
. She is currently working for Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
in the Foster City office.
She won the National Space Invaders Championship, sponsored by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
, in November, 1980, making her the first person to ever win a national video game contest.
In the mid-1980s, Heineman programmed the cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
classic graphic adventure games Tass Times in Tonetown
Tass Times in Tonetown
Tass Times in Tonetown is a 1986 adventure-themed computer game by Activision for multiple computer platforms. It was written by veteran Infocom designer Michael Berlyn and his long-time collaborator Muffy McClung Berlyn, and programmed by Bill Heineman of Interplay Productions, in cooperation with...
and The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate
Bard's Tale III
The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate is a computer fantasy role-playing game created by Interplay Productions in 1988. It is the second sequel to The Bard's Tale. It was designed by "Burger" Bill Heineman , Bruce Schlickbernd, and Michael A. Stackpole...
. Heineman also programmed the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, Super Nintendo and Apple IIGS
Apple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
ports of Another World
Another World (video game)
Another World, also known as Out of This World in North America and Outer World in Japan, is a 1991 cinematic platformer designed and developed by Eric Chahi...
, as well as some other lesser-known games, such as Mindshadow, Borrowed Time, Battle Chess
Battle Chess
Battle Chess is a computer game version of chess in which the chess pieces come to life and battle one another when capturing. It was released for the Commodore Amiga and subsequently on the 3DO, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, Apple IIe, Commodore 64, Amiga CDTV, CD32, Atari ST, Apple Macintosh, Acorn...
, and The Tracer Sanction.
Due to her love of storing hamburger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
s in her desk drawers, her friends call her "Burger" (and when they would call for her, she would sometimes respond "Burger").
In April 2001, she began writing novels based on Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
, Ranma 1/2, The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
, Ace Ventura
Ace Ventura
Ace Ventura is a fictional character, created by screenwriters Jack Bernstein, Tom Shadyac and Steve Oedekerk. Ace was played by Jim Carrey in the films He was voiced by Michael Daingerfield in the animated television series.-Biography:Ace is a...
and Independence Day
Independence Day (film)
Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
.
In November 2003, she was diagnosed with gender identity disorder
Gender identity disorder
Gender identity disorder is the formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe persons who experience significant gender dysphoria . It describes the symptoms related to transsexualism, as well as less severe manifestations of gender dysphoria...
and began transitioning
Transitioning (transgender)
Transitioning is the process of changing one's gender presentation to accord with one's internal sense of one's gender - the idea of what it means to be a man or woman...
to a woman.
On March 17, 2008, she launched a webcomic called Sailor Ranko based on her novels set in the Sailor Ranko universe created by Duncan Zillman and Kevin D. Hammel, based on characters from Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
and Ranma 1/2. The art for the webcomic was done by Allison Decker while paneling and lettering was done by Joseph Fanning.