Rebecca Heineman, a brilliant and accomplished programmer and video game creator, passed away today after an unexpected battle with cancer. She shared her battle on Bluesky, where she highlighted some of her many achievements, “First video game champion (1980 Atari 2600 Space Invaders National Champion). Created Bard’s Tale III: The Thief Of Fate & Dragon Wars.”
I’d like to share a few memories of the fun and joy she brought into my world, which is rather difficult on the day of her passing. I had the pleasure of first meeting Rebecca Heineman (aka Burger Becky) and Jennell Jaquays in 2014, courtesy of Bill Martens who knew them for many years. We got together for lunch in Seattle and I felt like I was meeting two rock stars – and I was! In fact, I met Becky years earlier by playing her games, but I didn’t know it at the time.
When I purchased my Apple IIGS, I had no money left over for software, so the only fun thing I had was a dealer demo of “Tass Times in Tonetown.” After spending one month watching that brief demo, taking in all the details of the beautiful graphics, and listening to the captivating music – over and over again – I purchased the full version. Next, my adventures took me to more games she worked on: Bard’s Tale, Battle Chess, Dragon Wars, Neuromancer, and Out of This World. She influenced my life with each of these Apple IIGS games – works of artistic expression and creativity. Naturally, I asked her to autograph them at our first meeting, where she was very humble while being happy and expressive. And then she geeked out a bit when I gave her a Firefly/Serenity documentary film I created, and her enthusiasm made me feel special too. She was kind, open, and made me feel like a friend she had known for years.
Next, in 2015, I had the genuine pleasure of interviewing Becky and Jennell with my friend John Leake. Sadly, Jennell passed away in 2024, and she was also a brilliant programmer and fantasy artist. It’s an interview worth reading if you haven’t seen it before.
There were other meetings and conversations, and Becky was always kind, thoughtful and naturally funny. She will be deeply missed and made many important contributions to the world. As I told her in an email I sent last month talking about computer games, “I find so much joy in these old relics that are ‘art’ in many ways – and you’re a key part of that art. You are appreciated!” I’m grateful that I got to know Becky a little bit, more would have been better.
