Brian Heins

Developer BIO

Brian Heins began his career in the video gaming industry at Xatrix Entertainment which had recently released the revolutionary Cyberia title. Interplay as the parent corporation allowed Xatrix as a studio to operate with great freedom. The leads at Xatrix were great mentors to Brian and Xatrix was a prefect place to get an education in game development. Since no schools had this as a curriculum, the best way to learn was doing it. Robert Stahl directed Brian artistically and even chose his model of the cryogenic mask to use on the cover of Cyberia 2. Xatrix was a dark studio, programmers worked around an octagonal glass core akin to the inside of the Death Star, artists worked in the external areas with ceilings 40 feet high. Very little light came into this world. Brian learned quickly the intricate relationship between art and technology and the people who could manage this were in control. This is a lesson that stayed with Brian all through his career. "You must allow art to push technology, any technology unused by art is wasted in this industry," said Brian. Leaving Xatrix for a larger opportunity at a smaller company was a risk that Brian took. At Equinoxe Design and Digital Entertainment Brian was able to hone his skills in game Cinema and work with Andy Chung, one of the best artists in film and games. After a few years at Equinoxe, Brian left the industry returning to games a few years later at Novalogic. Here he learned more than he would like to know about the politics of game design. Some great people worked at Novalogic during their transitions and were always watched closely by EA. Brian has since left the gaming industry stating, "Even though I'm not active in making games, I don't fell like I'm out. I'm waiting for the next revolution. I did what I could to motivate people and I got tired of limitations. We should be running massively powerful machines with all encompassing visuals in our games and until that is close to happening technologically, I'm not too interested in games." Brian now manages 3 international businesses in 3 unrelated industries education, design, and property. The saga continues...

Websites

• LynxAVR -- Personal and professional domain

Games Credited

Delta Force: Black Hawk Down (2003), NovaLogic, Inc.
Comanche 4 (2001), NovaLogic, Inc.
Heavy Gear II (1999), Activision, Inc.
Apocalypse (1998), Activision, Inc.
Pitfall 3D: Beyond the Jungle (1998), Activision, Inc.
Vigilante 8 (1998), Activision, Inc.
Dark Reign: The Future of War (1997), Activision, Inc.
Heavy Gear (1997), Activision, Inc.
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries (1996), Activision, Inc.
Spider (1996), BMG Interactive Entertainment
Cyberia 2: Resurrection (1995), Virgin Interactive Entertainment, Inc.