Neal Hallford

Neal Hallford is an author, game designer, filmmaker and audio producer living in San Diego, California. He was the narrative lead on the hit computer role-playing games "Betrayal at Krondor" and "Dungeon Siege" and continues to work in the computer gaming industry as a freelancer, mentor, consultant, and independent developer. Along with his wife Jana (a registered member of the Haudenosaunee with ties to the Kahnawake Reserve near Montreal), he has produced short films, audio dramas, and is the director of photography for a soon-to-be released Star Trek-related documentary "The Con of Wrath." Most recently, Neal authored "Heroes of Might & Magic: 30th Anniversary Retrospective," the definitive history of the best-selling strategy gaming franchise. The book was published internationally by Ubisoft and Dark Horse Books in several languages.

Neal grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and spent most of his weekends in Stilwell, Oklahoma on his family's land in the Cherokee Reservation. He regrets that he wasn't taught much about his native heritage while he was growing up. His grandmother felt that speaking Cherokee or engaging with his cultural heritage could only harm him in "the white man's world" so other than learning a few words and watching his grandmother make Canuchi, he was effectively shut out from the indigenous part of his ancestry.

Today Neal is doing what he can to reconnect with the language and stories and traditions of his grandmother's people. He is proud to be a registered member of the Cherokee Nation, and supports other indigenous creators who are likewise trying to reconnect with their own cultures and to share with the rest of the world.