Christian Whitehead

Christian Whitehead, who goes by the handle The Taxman, is an Australian programmer and designer best known for his work on classic Sonic the Hedgehog ports and as a lead developer on the original title Sonic Mania. He began his career in 2006 as a freelance 3D animator for Kine Graffiti, then shifted to game development in 2009. His first Sonic fangame, Retro Sonic, released in 2007, gained attention for its accuracy despite not being a ROM hack or mod. That project later merged with two other fangames, Sonic XG and Sonic Nexus, to become Retro Sonic Nexus.

In 2009, after Sega asked fans for port ideas, Whitehead created a proof-of-concept video showing Sonic CD running on an iPhone using his own custom engine, the Retro Engine. He spent roughly a year convincing Sega to let him work on the port, which eventually released in 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iPhone, and Android. A 2009 video of his work was taken down, leading to speculation about a cease and desist letter from Sega, but Whitehead denied this. The port’s success led to commissions for mobile remasters of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, developed with Simon “Stealth” Thomley of Headcannon.

A 2014 proof-of-concept for a Sonic 3 remaster was not greenlit by Sega, partly due to Michael Jackson’s involvement in the original music. In 2015, Whitehead worked on his first non-Sonic game, Freedom Planet 2. He then collaborated with Headcannon and PagodaWest Games on Sonic Mania, released in 2017, and its expanded version Sonic Mania Plus in 2018, which also involved Hyperkinetic Studios. Whitehead later contributed to Sonic Origins by providing an updated version of his engine, though he had no other role in that compilation.

In late 2018, Whitehead co-founded the studio Evening Star with other Sonic Mania developers, serving as creative director and lead engine architect. The studio signed a publishing deal with Private Division in 2022 and released its first game, Penny’s Big Breakaway, in 2024.

The Retro Engine, created for Retro Sonic in 2007, is designed for 2D games resembling those from 32-bit or earlier consoles, focusing on raster graphics and palette manipulation while also supporting widescreen and online features.