Chris Hecker

Christopher Bryan Hecker is a programmer and commentator associated with independent video games.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hecker was a student at Parsons in New York city, studying the fine arts towards work as an illustrator. An article in Byte Magazine sold him on programming and he dropped out of school to begin work on graphics and games.

Related Topics:
Parsons - New York city - Byte Magazine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hecker worked at Microsoft developing 3D graphics drivers for the Windows operating system. He left the company in the 1990s to start Definition 6, an Oakland, California based games and computer graphics consulting company that pushed the OpenGL standard for graphics display.

Related Topics:
Microsoft - Windows operating system - Oakland, California - OpenGL

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hecker sits on the advisory board for the Game Developers Conference. For many years he was Editor-At-Large of Game Developer Magazine. He uses both of these platforms, and just about any stage he can get, to lobby for the development of an independent games movement. Lamenting the lack of innovation in gameplay, Hecker has pushed for alternative markets and models for small-scale video game production.

Related Topics:
Game Developers Conference - Game Developer Magazine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2002, with a few of his friends (largely Looking Glass Studios veterans), Hecker co-founded the successful Indie Game Jam.

Related Topics:
Looking Glass Studios - Indie Game Jam

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hecker spent many years working independently on a game based on the sport of rock climbing. In 2004, he took a job with Maxis, working with Will Wright on Spore. It is interesting to note that though Hecker is respected within the game industry, as of 2005 he still has not shipped a single game (this will likely change when Spore is released).

Related Topics:
Rock climbing - Maxis - Will Wright - Spore - Spore

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He lives in Northern California with his wife, Jen Pahlka, and their child.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~