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Adam Heine
Last Wednesday was Adam Heine’s last day here at Black Isle
Studios. Often times when people turn in their two weeks in this
industry, it’s because the grass on the other side in question
conjures up perceived opportunity, the promise of more creative
freedom, ego stroking, and/or the almighty extra buck or two. In
Adam’s case, however, his departure from our halls had nothing to do
with “the usual”, for he absolutely loved his job here at Black Isle
(or at least, that’s what he TOLD us). Rather, Adam left so that he
could commit more time to his friends, family, and wonderful new
wife Cindy. Adam had been commuting from San Diego to Irvine on a
daily basis for almost a year and a half, and it occurred to him
that he was losing two hours of life on the road. Both his tenacity
in dealing with that commute and his subsequent recent decision to
leave something he truly enjoys to be closer to the people he loves
paint the clearest picture of what it was like to work with this
man. He is one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever met, and I
know that I speak on behalf of everyone that has worked with Adam
here at Black Isle when I say that he will be truly missed and never
properly replaced.
Adam loves games, and he injected his passionate enthusiasm for
them into the recent Black Isle releases. He, like many of us,
devoted (and still devotes) a large portion of his free time to the
fantastic world of electronic escapism. His favorites were the
excellent adventure games of LucasArts (along with strong interest
in all things console) and it delighted Adam that he could work for
a development team that also enjoyed focusing a large portion of
design on storytelling. He graduated from the University of
California at San Diego in 1999 with a degree in Computer Science,
while then serving as an intern for Team Torment, and quickly
demonstrated that not only was he a formidable programmer in his own
right, but that he had ideas flowing out of his mind from a lifetime
spent enjoying those of others. Working with Adam quickly changed
your mindset from “This is probably impossible considering our
current limitations” to “I bet Adam can figure out a way to do this”
(and if he couldn’t, he almost always had an alternative design and
implementation that made you forget about your own silly idea
anyhow!) In fact, because of Adam, lim-lims became pets, cutscenes
executed with fantastic character, the Brothel teemed with
interaction rather than people just standing around, Carceri’s chaos
kept the player on their toes at all times, and… you get the idea.
Over the course of 2000, Adam has served more a designer for our new
project, rapidly belting one clever idea after another.
We are an industry of kids who refused to grow up, and there are
times when because of that, it’s seemingly impossible for any of us
to act “professionally”. It’s not uncommon to feel beaten down by
the silly cynicism, ego, and pettiness that is exhibited by some
individuals on a regular basis. Adam came and showed us how EVERYONE
should approach this industry, and he has left an undeniable mark
upon everything we do. I can only hope that life one day allows Adam
to balance his personal and professional time in such a manner that
it reopens the door to our industry, because losing him isn’t just a
detriment to Black Isle Studios, it’s a loss to the entire gaming
community. You are an amazing guy Adam, and we are all better people
for having worked with you.
Sincerely,
Scott Warner
Designer, Black Isle Studios
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