Legendary game designer, programmer, Space Invaders champion, and LGBTQ trailblazer Rebecca Heineman has died - OG troon game programmer Burger Bill has died

PC Gamer (Archive)



Game developer Rebecca Heineman has died after being diagnosed with cancer last month. The news was shared to Bluesky by Heineman's friend, Heidi McDonald, while the most recent post on Heineman's GoFundMe is a goodbye message stating that her health was rapidly deteriorating, and she was entering palliative care. Heineman was 62, and the GoFundMe will remain live to help her family make final arrangements.

Born in 1963, Heineman initially made a mark on the industry by winning a national Space Invaders tournament in 1980 in New York, becoming the first formally recognized US champion of any videogame. She went on to have a far-reaching career, being credited on 67 games according to MobyGames.

Heineman co-founded Interplay in 1983 alongside Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, and Troy Worrell. The developer and publisher was the source of many foundational PC games, including Wasteland, Fallout, and Baldur's Gate. Heineman designed and programmed a number of games at Interplay, with her most prominent design credit being The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate.

Heineman's friend and colleague from Interplay, Brian Fargo, shared a remembrance of the developer on X. "Rebecca Heineman sadly passed away," Fargo wrote. "Known her since the 80s when I'd drive her to work, one of the most brilliant programmers around. A real gut punch earlier today when she messaged me: 'We have gone on so many adventures together! But, into the great unknown! I go first!!!'"

Later, in the '90s and 2000s, Heineman made a name primarily as a programmer, particularly on ports like the Macintosh versions of Wolfenstein 3D, Baldur's Gate, and Icewind Dale. The saga of Heineman overcoming a deranged businessman to solo program the ill-fated 3DO port of Doom in mere weeks has become a bit of an internet legend: Here's Digital Foundry and Heineman herself recounting the tale.

Heineman publicly came out as transgender in the 2000s, and was married to fellow games industry legend Jennell Jaquays. Heineman was the recipient of Gayming's 2025 Gayming Icon award, with the site writing that "her advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion, accessibility, and diversity in tech has inspired countless developers and players."

Jaquays died of complications from Guillain–Barré syndrome in January 2024, and Heineman was blindsided last month by an aggressive cancer diagnosis. She turned to GoFundMe to help with the costs of treatment, where fans, friends, and industry peers showed up to support the developer.

Heineman shared the message last night that her health was rapidly declining.

"It's time. According to my doctors. All further treatments are pointless," Heineman wrote. "So, please donate so my kids can create a funeral worthy of my keyboard, Pixelbreaker! So I can make a worthy entrance for reuniting with my one true love, Jennell Jaquays."

Game developers have begun sharing their own condolences and remembrances in the wake of Heineman's death.

 

[Corbax]

When watching vids about 3DO Doom I was surprised when the programmer in the story was female. Should've expected it have been a tranny.

Yeah, I thought it was a cool tidbit. Oh well.

 

[Megaton Punch]

Yeah, I thought it was a cool tidbit. Oh well.

If you assume any female programmer you hear about is a tranny, you'll be right roughly 90% of the time. Even the OG ones. The troon plague hit programmers first, decades before it became mainstream.

 

[PetiteFeet]

Why does gaming cause people to troon out?

Autism.

 

[Whiskey]

Why does gaming cause people to troon out?

It's just the most popular hobby that doesn't require you to be social. If it wasn't gaming it would be television or writing. Gaming just weirdly focuses on its talentless middlemen.

 

[deleuzeon]

A real gut punch earlier today when she messaged me: 'We have gone on so many adventures together! But, into the great unknown! I go first!!!'"

Troons are horrific narcissists right up until the deathbed.

 

[Rudolf's Friend]

Honestly surprised this dude never got a thread when he was alive. Seems like he would make the perfect candidate for one. Well there’s always the Lolcows of History board for him to be in.

 

[Water Store Remark]

I think 'infamous' is more appropriate. From Masters of Doom:
Romero marched into the kitchen at id, waving a crudely drawn caricature of Burger Bill, the renowned gamer rumored to keep hamburgers for days in his desk. Tom, Kevin, and Adrian followed, cackling. Romero stapled Bill’s picture to the chair, then grabbed a steak knife from the drawer. It was time for revenge.

Bill had been contracted by id to convert or port Wolfenstein for the Super Nintendo. But with the deadline approaching, he still hadn’t delivered an iota. He finally admitted that there was a problem: he had made the mistake of signing id’s contract while employed by the game publisher Interplay. His contract with Interplay stipulated that any work an employee did was property of the company; the Super Nintendo port, therefore, was now owned by Interplay.

The id guys flipped. “See,” Romero said, “this is just the kind of bullshit you get when you rely on other people.” Tom took out a pencil and sketched a hideous caricature of Bill with burger meat dripping from his greasy mouth. Romero swiped it from his hands and said it was time for Bill to pay the price. In the kitchen, they took turns stabbing the picture, yelling and laughing and egging each other on. They began attacking the chair, knifing it, stomping it, trashing it. Days later, when Bill came to visit, the ruins were still on the floor. He took one look at the knife with his name scrawled on the blade and asked meekly, “Um, what’s this?” Then they fired him. Carmack would do the port himself.

I didn't realize this Onion sketch was based on a real person:

 

[Inco G. Nito]

And here naïve me was thinking that 3DO doom port I listened to a video about at work like 2 years ago was made by an actual woman. Soundtrack's still pretty cool though.

 

[Mr. Duck]

I think 'infamous' is more appropriate. From Masters of Doom:
Romero marched into the kitchen at id, waving a crudely drawn caricature of Burger Bill, the renowned gamer rumored to keep hamburgers for days in his desk. Tom, Kevin, and Adrian followed, cackling. Romero stapled Bill’s picture to the chair, then grabbed a steak knife from the drawer. It was time for revenge.

Bill had been contracted by id to convert or port Wolfenstein for the Super Nintendo. But with the deadline approaching, he still hadn’t delivered an iota. He finally admitted that there was a problem: he had made the mistake of signing id’s contract while employed by the game publisher Interplay. His contract with Interplay stipulated that any work an employee did was property of the company; the Super Nintendo port, therefore, was now owned by Interplay.

The id guys flipped. “See,” Romero said, “this is just the kind of bullshit you get when you rely on other people.” Tom took out a pencil and sketched a hideous caricature of Bill with burger meat dripping from his greasy mouth. Romero swiped it from his hands and said it was time for Bill to pay the price. In the kitchen, they took turns stabbing the picture, yelling and laughing and egging each other on. They began attacking the chair, knifing it, stomping it, trashing it. Days later, when Bill came to visit, the ruins were still on the floor. He took one look at the knife with his name scrawled on the blade and asked meekly, “Um, what’s this?” Then they fired him. Carmack would do the port himself.

I was aware of the SNES Wolf3D fiasco, but i wasn't aware Tranny Heineman was the programmer who did jack shit, it was so bad that id had to halt development on Doom just to get this port done quickly, nowadays when Romero tells the story, he omits the identity of the lazy programmer, now i know why.

Timestamped.

Basically he did jack shit in 9 months, and id had to port the game themselves in 3 weeks.

EDIT: Archive of the segment.

 

[ZipDisk]

No one deserves to die like that but the masters of doom Burger Bill shit is being actively scrubbed whenever anyone posts it off of the farms.

Which, if you Dennis Nedry your desk, you SHOULD be fired.

 

[Kola]

So he worked on a couple of games in the 80s and 90s, then did fuck all for decades, trooned out, and suddenly he's "legendary"?

 

[neger psykolog]

RIP.
You don't have to love the artist to be able to love the art.
Cancer sucks. May they rest in peace.

Thank you for interplay.

 

[ZipDisk]

Burger Bill tried to use his contract to give doom to Interplay, and instead of tolerating that narcicism, iD fired him and stabbed the fuck out of his chair.

Like that's lame as shit, but they kicked burger dipshit the fuck out.

I just realized in modern era burger bill would have forced a COC referendum.

 

[Tingle]

Another old game dev dead? Man, what a shame to hea-
>tranny
Oh, nevermind.

I think 'infamous' is more appropriate. From Masters of Doom:
Romero marched into the kitchen at id, waving a crudely drawn caricature of Burger Bill, the renowned gamer rumored to keep hamburgers for days in his desk. Tom, Kevin, and Adrian followed, cackling. Romero stapled Bill’s picture to the chair, then grabbed a steak knife from the drawer. It was time for revenge.

Bill had been contracted by id to convert or port Wolfenstein for the Super Nintendo. But with the deadline approaching, he still hadn’t delivered an iota. He finally admitted that there was a problem: he had made the mistake of signing id’s contract while employed by the game publisher Interplay. His contract with Interplay stipulated that any work an employee did was property of the company; the Super Nintendo port, therefore, was now owned by Interplay.

The id guys flipped. “See,” Romero said, “this is just the kind of bullshit you get when you rely on other people.” Tom took out a pencil and sketched a hideous caricature of Bill with burger meat dripping from his greasy mouth. Romero swiped it from his hands and said it was time for Bill to pay the price. In the kitchen, they took turns stabbing the picture, yelling and laughing and egging each other on. They began attacking the chair, knifing it, stomping it, trashing it. Days later, when Bill came to visit, the ruins were still on the floor. He took one look at the knife with his name scrawled on the blade and asked meekly, “Um, what’s this?” Then they fired him. Carmack would do the port himself.

What an idiot. And based Carmack coming in clutch and doing the whole thing himself, like always. Now that guy deserves the title of "legendary."

 

[deleuzeon]

Now that guy deserves the title of "legendary."

As a proper legend he doesn't need journalists to tell people that he is.

 

[X Prime]

Yeah, all I knew this troon from is Bard's Tale. All the stories about him leave out the Doom thing. Should have known better that something was up.

 

[ZipDisk]

It isn't leave out, it's flat out being scrubbed right now. Like when I heard people saying the SNES port of doom was good I was like "No it fucking wasn't, what is this shit?"

 

[teddyrancid]

I think 'infamous' is more appropriate. From Masters of Doom:
Romero marched into the kitchen at id, waving a crudely drawn caricature of Burger Bill, the renowned gamer rumored to keep hamburgers for days in his desk. Tom, Kevin, and Adrian followed, cackling. Romero stapled Bill’s picture to the chair, then grabbed a steak knife from the drawer. It was time for revenge.

Bill had been contracted by id to convert or port Wolfenstein for the Super Nintendo. But with the deadline approaching, he still hadn’t delivered an iota. He finally admitted that there was a problem: he had made the mistake of signing id’s contract while employed by the game publisher Interplay. His contract with Interplay stipulated that any work an employee did was property of the company; the Super Nintendo port, therefore, was now owned by Interplay.

The id guys flipped. “See,” Romero said, “this is just the kind of bullshit you get when you rely on other people.” Tom took out a pencil and sketched a hideous caricature of Bill with burger meat dripping from his greasy mouth. Romero swiped it from his hands and said it was time for Bill to pay the price. In the kitchen, they took turns stabbing the picture, yelling and laughing and egging each other on. They began attacking the chair, knifing it, stomping it, trashing it. Days later, when Bill came to visit, the ruins were still on the floor. He took one look at the knife with his name scrawled on the blade and asked meekly, “Um, what’s this?” Then they fired him. Carmack would do the port himself.

I bought a copy of this last year but haven't found time to read it yet, this makes me want to dig it out asap

 

[deleuzeon]

I bought a copy of this last year but haven't found time to read it yet, this makes me want to dig it out asap

Another fun anecdote from that book is Carmack taking all the walls out of the studio and setting his desk up in the middle of the panopticon because John Romero, who is brown, was a lazy fucking nigger playing multiplayer with fans all day instead of working. Unsurprising that Romero, who is brown, went on to a completely forgettable career afterwards.

 

[BoobWhiskers]

Guy abandoned a wife and children to chase tranny coom and marry another tranny, not exactly worthy of admiring.

Went and checked out the 'beloved Jennell Jacquays, another gaming industry legend' following your statement and ah, yes, I see:


And to think, people are always telling me that programming and gaming is such a misogynistic and female-exclusionary field! Don't they know about all these Strong Wymyn? (it's bullshit anyways, but how rude of them to exclude all the trannies!)