Neal Hallford

About me:

* I was born on October 17, 1966 in Sapulpa, Oklahoma at Bartlett Memorial Hospital, giving me a legitimate claim that I was born on Route 66.

* Although I might not look it, I'm part Cherokee. I get it from both sides of my family.

* One of the oddest facts about me is that I was supposed to be born in the second week of August instead of October, meaning my mom carried me for 11 months instead of the usual 9. I attribute this oddity to the fact that the higher you get up the evolutionary ladder, the longer offspring gestate. Coincidence? The jury is still out.

* Both of my parents were schoolteachers. My mother, Betty, taught all the subjects for all the grades at the Salvation Army unwed mother's home in Sand Springs. My father, Henry, was the first vocational director for the Sand Springs School District and built its program.

* I have an older brother named Gene who will soon get his doctorate of communications, and currently teaches at the University of Oklahoma, my old alma mater.

* I love having animals around, but I'm especially fond of dogs.

Argo Says Hi

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And here's Andy, the newest addition to our family!



* During junior high, I got to be very close friends with Matt Harris whose older brother Sam would later become the first winner of Star Search and a big star on Broadway. (Sam's got his own MySpace page here.) Unwilling to be outdone, Matt released his first album, Slighty Elliptical Orbit, on Leon Russell's record label in 2002.

* I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and attended school in the Sand Springs School System. I graduated from Charles Page High School in 1984.

* I play three musical instruments: drums, keyboards, and most recently, acoustic slide guitar...none of them particularly well. This does not stop me from performing for my friends and family, or recording my efforts for the future embarassment of everyone. (My gee-tar and trademark hat pictured below).

* I've sadly only visited Europe once. In 1983, my brother and I went on a trip that took us to England, France, Scotland, and Ireland in 17 days. It was an absolutely insane trip, and I loved every minute of it.

* Between 1984 and 1987, I worked on and off at KTOW, a small country and western radio station in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. During my time there, a buddy and I produced a series of "weird-tales" radio dramas ala Twilight Zone that we called The Uncharted Regions. Episodes included "Shadow of the Bulldog Man", "Silent Night", "Calls Waiting", and "The October Harvest."

* In college I majored in journalism with an emphasis on radio, television and film production. (I minored in classical studies...ie. Greeks and Romans) I graduated from the Unviersity of Oklahoma in December of 1989.

* Since 1990, I've been writing and designing computer games for a variety of companies. Titles you might recognize include "Planet's Edge", "Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra", "Betrayal at Krondor", "Return to Krondor", "Dungeon Siege", "Lords of Everquest" and most recently, "Neopets: Pet Pet Adventures: The Wand of Wishing".

* I met my wife, Jana, in the Night Writer's Chat that regularly met on Friday nights on America Online. (The chat has since moved off AOL and onto the Internet at large). We later married on October 5, 1996 in the Victorian Rose Garden of the Tulsa Historical Society (at the time, located on the grounds of the Gilcrease Museum).

* On October 9th, 1995, I was in a train wreck aboard Amtrak's Sunset Limited, westbound from San Antonio to San Diego. Terrorists calling themselves the Sons of the Gestapo left four notes on the site claiming responsibility. I found two of them. Since that time, I've taped two interviews about the event which appeared in the US, UK and Canada. Both specials, "When Trains Crash: Blood on the Tracks" and "Derail: America's Worst Train Wrecks" periodically resurface on TLC and the Discovery Channel.

The Wreck of the Sunset Limited

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* In 2001 I co-authored a book with my wife Jana called Swords & Circuitry : A Designer's Guide To Computer Role-Playing Games. You can pick up copies at your local bookstore or through Amazon.com

* "In the Name of the King," a movie based very loosely on the story and characters I created for the computer game "Dungeon Siege," premiered on January 11, 2008. If you watch until the very end of the credits, you'll see my name at the top of the "special thank yous" list. I also have my own IMDB page page covering a few of my past games.

* I achieved my true geek credentials in December of 2004 when I was invited in to pitch a slate of episodes of "Star Trek: Enterprise." Although the show's cancellation prevented any of the shows I pitched from hitting the screen, I did get a full tour of the Enterprise set and got to sit in the coveted Captain's Chair before the set was struck.

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* Last year, Jana and I created a short direct-to-web documentary series to help promote the 2007 Beauty and the Beast convention.