Christian Whitehead, also known by his alias The Taxman, is an Australian

video game programmer A game programmer is a software engineer, programmer, or computer scientist who primarily develops codebases for video games or related software, such as game development tools. Game programming has many specialized disciplines, all of which fall ...

and designer. He is most recognized for his work creating updated ports of early games in

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

's ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers mo ...

'' series, as well as being the lead developer of an original game in the series, ''

Sonic Mania ''Sonic Mania'' is a 2017 platform game published by Sega for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Produced in commemoration of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series' 25th anniversary, ''Sonic Mania'' pays homage to the original S ...

''. He has also developed multiple remakes of classic ''Sonic'' games and most recently, the remasters in ''

Sonic Origins is a 2022 '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game compilation by Sega. It features remasters of the first four platform games in the ''Sonic'' series originally released for the Sega Genesis and the Sega CD; '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' (1991), ''Sonic ...

''.

Career

In 2006, Whitehead worked as a freelance 3D animator with the company Kine Graffiti. Since 2009, he has focused on game development, developing various

fangame A fangame is a video game that is created by fans. They are usually based on one, or in some cases several, video game entries or franchises. Many fangames attempt to clone or remake the original game's design, gameplay, and characters, but ...

s based on the ''

'' series. In 2009, Whitehead produced a "proof-of-concept" video of ''

Sonic CD is a 1993 platform game for the Sega CD developed and published by Sega. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he attempts to save an extraterrestrial body, Little Planet, from Doctor Robotnik. Like other '' Sonic'' games, Sonic runs and ...

'' running on an iPhone using his own custom engine, the "

Retro Engine The Retro Engine is a multiplatform game engine developed by Australian programmer Christian Whitehead, best known for its use in Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. Overview Unlike most modern game engines, the Retro Engine is primarily tail ...

". In an interview with Steven O'Donnell of '' Good Game: Spawn Point'', Whitehead proclaims that he spent "about a year or so" convincing Sega to let him work on the ''Sonic CD'' port. In 2009, a video regarding ''Sonic CD'' from Whitehead was taken down, leading ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

'' to report that Whitehead possibly faced a

cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not dis ...

letter from Sega, which Whitehead claimed was false. The port was released for

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

, iPhone and Android in 2011. His remake was so successful that he, along with developer Simon "Stealth" Thomley of the studio Headcannon, would later be commissioned to remaster ''

'' and ''

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 1992 platform game developed by Sega Technical Institute (STI) for the Sega Genesis. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic as he attempts to stop Doctor Eggman from stealing the Chaos Emeralds to power his space stationnamed T ...

'' for mobile devices. Although he, along with Headcannon, released a proof-of-concept video for a ''

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a 1994 platform game developed and published by Sega for the Genesis. Like previous '' Sonic'' games, players traverse side-scrolling levels while collecting rings and defeating enemies. They control Sonic and Tails, who attempt to retri ...

'' remaster in 2014, Sega did not greenlight the port. In 2015, it was announced that Whitehead would be involved in his first non-''Sonic'' game, ''

Freedom Planet 2 ''Freedom Planet'' is a 2D platform video game developed and published by American video game designer Sabrina DiDuro, for her studio GalaxyTrail. The player controls one of three anthropomorphic animal protagonists: the dragon girl Lilac, the ...

''. In 2017, Whitehead, in collaboration with Headcannon and PagodaWest Games, developed and released their own original title in the ''Sonic'' series, titled ''

''. In 2018, ''Sonic Mania'' became ''Sonic Mania Plus'', with the release of the Encore DLC. ''Sonic Mania Plus'' was developed by Whitehead, Headcannon, PagodaWest Games, and the now included HyperKinetic. Whitehead also contributed to the development of Sonic Origins, providing a new version of the engine used in the remasters. Whitehead is currently working on ''Freedom Planet 2'', built with the Unity engine, for PC, Mac, and Linux. In late 2018, Whitehead and other development members behind ''Sonic Mania'' founded their own studio Evening Star Studio, where he serves as creative director and lead engine architect.

Works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Christian Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian computer programmers Australian video game designers Indie video game developers Sonic the Hedgehog Video game programmers