Difference between revisions of "Joseph B. Hewitt"
From Sega Retro
m |
(Career) |
||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
| education=[[wikipedia:University of Nevada, Las Vegas|University of Nevada, Las Vegas]] (1986-1988; BSc Computer Science){{ref|https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph/}}{{fileref|Joseph B. Hewitt IV Profile.pdf|page=4}}, [[wikipedia:College of Southern Nevada|College of Southern Nevada]] (1995-1998; BA Photography & Creative Writing){{ref|https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph/}}{{fileref|Joseph B. Hewitt IV Profile.pdf|page=4}} | | education=[[wikipedia:University of Nevada, Las Vegas|University of Nevada, Las Vegas]] (1986-1988; BSc Computer Science){{ref|https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph/}}{{fileref|Joseph B. Hewitt IV Profile.pdf|page=4}}, [[wikipedia:College of Southern Nevada|College of Southern Nevada]] (1995-1998; BA Photography & Creative Writing){{ref|https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph/}}{{fileref|Joseph B. Hewitt IV Profile.pdf|page=4}} | ||
| twitter=joseph4th | | twitter=joseph4th | ||
| − | + | }}'''Joseph B. Hewitt IV''' is an American video game developer and former [[Westwood Studios]] senior artist and programmer{{ref|https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph/details/experience/}}, most known for his design work on the groundbreaking real-time strategy game ''[[Dune II: Battle for Arrakis]]''.{{ref|https://ghostarchive.org/archive/sfSUM|2=https://old.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/wzm6fk/put_it_back_in_the_stone_my_dude/}} He also created the early [[Mega Drive]] art production tool [[MegaWICE]], included with [[Sega of America]]'s official Genesis development kit.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831035450/https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/2bq86g/i_am_game_designer_joseph_hewitt_ive_been_in_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf}}{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129141257/https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads%2Fmega-wice-westwood-icon-character-editor.37292%2F}}{{fileref|Joseph B. Hewitt IV Profile.pdf|page=3}} | |
| + | |||
| + | ==Career== | ||
| + | {{PAGENAME}} was first introduced to the world of video games in the mid 1980s, when his mother enrolled him in the Las Vegas-based Computer Learning Center for Children, a business which also developed educational software under the name Unicorn Software. Hewitt began working for the company in 1985 as both an artist and designer, developing software while tutoring children in computers at the same time. His first release was the [[Commodore 64]] game ''Animal Kingdom''. Hewitt lists one of his early inspirations was a behind-the-scenes documentary on the 1984 film ''[[wikipedia:The Last Starfighter|The Last Starfighter]]'' demonstrating the use of computers in generating visual effects for the spacecraft scenes - "I thought that 3D stuff was cool and I wanted to do that for a living."{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831035450/https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/2bq86g/i_am_game_designer_joseph_hewitt_ive_been_in_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[File:JosephBHewitt 2.png|thumb|right|200px]] | ||
| + | Brett Sperry, co-founder of [[Westwood Associates]], had worked for Unicorn Software for a brief time, and hired Hewitt as an act of generosity. He served as a key figure within Westwood for 14 years, but never actually got to work in 3D, as his technical proficiency saw him almost exclusively assigned to tasks like 2D art implementation. "While everybody was learning [[wikipedia:Autodesk 3ds Max|3D Studio]] and doing stuff that would eventually become ''[[wikipedia:Command & Conquer (1995 video game)|Command & Conquer]]'', I was working on ''[[The Lion King]]'' taking pictures and crunching them down into 8x8 character graphics where lots of tiles were cleverly repeated when rebuilding the entire picture in as few characters as possible." Once development on ''The Lion King'' had concluded, Hewitt slowly began working on ''Command & Conquer'' assets, and was soon incorporated into the development team proper.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831035450/https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/2bq86g/i_am_game_designer_joseph_hewitt_ive_been_in_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | Hewitt remained working for Westwood Studios until [[Electronic Arts]] began laying off developers. During his time with the company, Hewitt was involved in the art or design of all but 2 or 3 of the company's games. Following his layoff, he migrated to [[Sony Online Entertainment]] as a customer service representative for the launch of ''[[wikipedia:Star Wars Galaxies|Star Wars Galaxies]]''. While working with Sony, he attempted to acquire a position as a designer for ''[[wikipedia:EverQuest|EverQuest]]'', but left after it became clear this wasn't going to happen.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831035450/https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/2bq86g/i_am_game_designer_joseph_hewitt_ive_been_in_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | He then spent 5 years in Australia working as a director for Auran Games and Interzone Games. In 2009, he returned to Las Vegas and joined Brett Sperry’s new company Jet Set Games as a designer, later graduating to Creative Director. While Hewitt left the position in 2009, he still resides in Vegas, and is currently looking to return to the video game industry.{{ref|1=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831035450/https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/2bq86g/i_am_game_designer_joseph_hewitt_ive_been_in_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf}} | ||
==Production history== | ==Production history== | ||
| Line 27: | Line 37: | ||
==Interviews== | ==Interviews== | ||
{{InterviewList|{{PAGENAME}}}} | {{InterviewList|{{PAGENAME}}}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Photographs== | ||
| + | :''Main article: [[:Category:Photos of {{PAGENAME}}|Photos of {{PAGENAME}}]] | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 21:44, 12 December 2023
|
| Joseph B. Hewitt IV |
|---|
| Place of birth: United States |
| Employment history: |
| Role(s): Senior Artist[1], Programmer |
| Education: University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1986-1988; BSc Computer Science)[4][5], College of Southern Nevada (1995-1998; BA Photography & Creative Writing)[4][5] |
| Twitter: @joseph4th |
Joseph B. Hewitt IV is an American video game developer and former Westwood Studios senior artist and programmer[1], most known for his design work on the groundbreaking real-time strategy game Dune II: Battle for Arrakis.[6] He also created the early Mega Drive art production tool MegaWICE, included with Sega of America's official Genesis development kit.[7][8][2]
Career
Joseph B. Hewitt was first introduced to the world of video games in the mid 1980s, when his mother enrolled him in the Las Vegas-based Computer Learning Center for Children, a business which also developed educational software under the name Unicorn Software. Hewitt began working for the company in 1985 as both an artist and designer, developing software while tutoring children in computers at the same time. His first release was the Commodore 64 game Animal Kingdom. Hewitt lists one of his early inspirations was a behind-the-scenes documentary on the 1984 film The Last Starfighter demonstrating the use of computers in generating visual effects for the spacecraft scenes - "I thought that 3D stuff was cool and I wanted to do that for a living."[7]
Brett Sperry, co-founder of Westwood Associates, had worked for Unicorn Software for a brief time, and hired Hewitt as an act of generosity. He served as a key figure within Westwood for 14 years, but never actually got to work in 3D, as his technical proficiency saw him almost exclusively assigned to tasks like 2D art implementation. "While everybody was learning 3D Studio and doing stuff that would eventually become Command & Conquer, I was working on The Lion King taking pictures and crunching them down into 8x8 character graphics where lots of tiles were cleverly repeated when rebuilding the entire picture in as few characters as possible." Once development on The Lion King had concluded, Hewitt slowly began working on Command & Conquer assets, and was soon incorporated into the development team proper.[7]
Hewitt remained working for Westwood Studios until Electronic Arts began laying off developers. During his time with the company, Hewitt was involved in the art or design of all but 2 or 3 of the company's games. Following his layoff, he migrated to Sony Online Entertainment as a customer service representative for the launch of Star Wars Galaxies. While working with Sony, he attempted to acquire a position as a designer for EverQuest, but left after it became clear this wasn't going to happen.[7]
He then spent 5 years in Australia working as a director for Auran Games and Interzone Games. In 2009, he returned to Las Vegas and joined Brett Sperry’s new company Jet Set Games as a designer, later graduating to Creative Director. While Hewitt left the position in 2009, he still resides in Vegas, and is currently looking to return to the video game industry.[7]
Production history
- The Lion King (Mega Drive; 1994) — Background Art[9] (as Joseph B Hewitt IV)
- The Lion King (Game Gear; 1994) — Game Designers (as Joseph B. Hewitt IV)
- Command & Conquer (Saturn; 1996) — Artists[10] (as Joseph B. Hewitt IV)
- MegaWICE (Mega Drive; unreleased) — Created by (as Joseph B. Hewitt IV)
Interviews
Photographs
- Main article: Photos of Joseph B. Hewitt
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph/details/experience/
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 File:Joseph B. Hewitt IV Profile.pdf, page 3
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 File:Joseph B. Hewitt IV Profile.pdf, page 2
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph/
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 File:Joseph B. Hewitt IV Profile.pdf, page 4
- ↑ https://old.reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor/comments/wzm6fk/put_it_back_in_the_stone_my_dude/ (Ghostarchive)
- ↑ https://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?threads%2Fmega-wice-westwood-icon-character-editor.37292%2F (Wayback Machine: 2023-11-29 14:12)
- ↑ File:Lion King MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Command & Conquer Saturn credits.pdf