Been working on Chris for awhile now. . . . he's a busy busy man, and I can respect that. I also like that he said "I'm busy. . . but if your patient, we can get this done. . " , O.K. actually I think the REAL quote was more like. . . "Jesus dood, quit bugging me, your worse than that JeffK!! dude. . . 

um, O.K., maybe he didn't say that either, but I know for a fact, that if there WAS GOING to be a no holds barred deathmatch between me and JeffK, Chris would definitely be my corner man. . right Chris?? um, hello?? 

heh.. well actually I made all that up. . . (except for me kicking JeffK's little ass) So now that we've covered all the stuff Chris Rhinehart HASN'T really said. . let's move on to the stuff he did actually say...

1.) How'd you get started in the Games game and/or who was your inspiration.

My main inspiration was hundreds of games on the Apple //.  Playing all of those games got me interested in attempting to write my own games.  The first games I wrote were lame little games on the Apple // (I wrote a little clone of the Ultima games and some simple little action games). 

Eventually I bought a PC (486DX2 / 50) and learned C and PC assembly.  I wrote a 3D engine (a cross between Doom and Wolfenstein), and that engine was what got me hired at Raven Software in 1994.  From there I worked on Heretic, Hexen, MageSlayer, and Take No Prisoners and contributed bits of programming to CyClones and Necrodome.

After MageSlayer, I quit with a group other Raven employees and started Human Head Studios.  We’re currently working on our first title, RUNE, which will be published by Gathering of Developers later this year.

2.) What's the most memorable thing to happen to you in recent history ( opposed to  ancient history)

When I intentionally kicked Jeff DeWitt in the groin and he cried like a little girl.  Oh no, wait.  That’s FUTURE history. 

Just kidding.  It’s hard to think of the most recent memorable thing, as my mind is currently hazy due to crunchmode.

3.) People you admire in the industry. ( please limit your answer to 2 people and EXCLUDE me, thats a given. . )

Shit, I have to exclude you.  Well, I’m gonna wuss out and not pick any particular person.  I’d have to say I admire and am impressed by people in the industry who actually try and push games in new and exciting directions, as opposed to riding the wave of what is currently popular.

4.) What's the most annoying thing to deal with as a Programmer.

I’d have to say that the most annoying this is tracking down the obscure bugs.  The majority of the bugs in a given project are usually simple to track down and usually won’t take a lot of time to figure out.  The ones that really suck are the bugs that take several days to locate and they turn out to be a stupid oversight.

5.) Does your WIFE/GIRLFRIEND  still nag you to "Get off that damn computer before I break it" now that your a famous Game DOOD.

No wife.  No girlfriend.  It’s nice to not have someone nag you to get off the damn computer, but then again, having a wife/girlfriend would probably keep me from working such crazy hours.

6.) Tips you can give young-programmer-jedi in training

Work hard, produce stuff you are proud of, and never stop learning.

7.) Drink of Choice

At work:  Water.  Out partying:  my favorite drink is whichever one is in my hand.

8.) Tunes of Choice
 

Lately, I’ve been listening to A Perfect Circle and the new Alice Cooper, Brutal Planet.  Very cool music and excellent background music for programming.   Well, that and finding mp3s that annoy my coworkers (such as Britney Spears, and theme songs to old 70s TV shows).

9.) Babe of Choice

Similar to the drinks… my favorite babe is the one sitting on my lap.  :)  Although, after reading your Asia Carrera interview, she went up a few notches on my list.

10.) The real answer to no. #9 for the married guys who had to say their wives.

No wife, so my answer stays.

11.) HumanHead. . .what kinda name is that?? Heh. . . does your mom say to people "My sonny works for the HumanHead place!!"

Actually, I get odd looks anytime I’m in a place where I have to mention Human Head (banks, filling out applications and so on).  Usually people think that I work at a hair salon.  Of course, those looks are nothing compared to the looks when I tell them that I actually work at a game company.  Their reaction to that is “Oh cool!  I didn’t know that there was one around here!”  And then they look to see if I own a Ferrari.

and the bonus question

Since we are old friends, and hang out together all the time, share a little something with us that many people might be suprised to know about you.

I was a member of Mensa for a while, I can cough up pennies and M&Ms after I have swallowed them, and I’ve only seen the first of the three Godfather movies.  How’s that?

A big thanks goes out to Chris, and good luck with Rune. . . . I can't wait. Just to let everyone know, once Human Head ships Rune, we'll hit Chris up for some autographed copies for you guys. .  For more information on Chris and the gang, you can go here:

and to the actual Human Head website itself. . . here.