Fergus McNeill

McNeill, born in 1969,[http://www.heroescentre.co.uk/hall-of-fame/entertainment/entertainment-fergus-mcneill/ Heroes Centre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712162602/http://www.heroescentre.co.uk/hall-of-fame/entertainment/entertainment-fergus-mcneill/ |date=12 July 2023 }}, Award-winning interactive entertainment developer & Author. grew up in Scotland, living in Helensburgh[https://thelochsidepress.com/2013/02/13/key-figure-in-games-industry-backs-heroes-project/ The Lochside Press], Key figure in games industry backs Heroes project and later in Fintry. When he was 11, his family moved to Hampshire, England, where he attended Swanmore Secondary School. Whilst there, he wrote his first games, which attracted coverage in the specialist computer press,Micro Adventurer Magazine, issue 17 and this led to him abandoning college plans in order to pursue a full-time career in the games industry.

McNeill started developing adventure games using The Quill software. Initially, these were sold by mail-order under the Delta 4 brand, before publishing deals with CRL and Silversoft brought the titles to a larger audience. This led to McNeill working with Terry Pratchett to create the first Discworld game[http://www.gamebase64.com/oldsite/gameofweek/21/gotw_colourofmagic.htm Gamebase64], The Colour of Magic and, later on, adapting Murder off Miami by Dennis Wheatley.{{cite web|url=http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/industry/publishers/delta4.htm |title=Planet Sinclair: The Sinclair Industry: Publishers: Delta 4 |publisher=Nvg.ntnu.no |accessdate=8 October 2012}} After an affiliate label deal with Activision,{{cite magazine |title=Fergus McNeill Interview|magazine=The Classic Adventurer|issue=2|publisher=|date=2018|page=22|url=http://classicadventurer.co.uk/pdf/02-A4.pdf|access-date=13 July 2021}} McNeill set up a new studio for SCi in Southampton, focusing on PC games. While there, he oversaw development on movie tie-ins including The Lawnmower Man, and scripted the award-winning Kingdom O' Magic. He also co-produced (and provided the race announcer's voice-over for) Stainless Software's controversial racing game Carmageddon.{{cite web |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=26753&tab=credits |title=Carmageddon Splat Pack - Credits |publisher=allgame |date=3 October 2010 |accessdate=8 October 2012 |archive-date=15 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115103856/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=26753&tab=credits |url-status=dead }}

After SCi, he moved to Smoking Gun Productions, where he worked on a range of football management titles and interactive DVD games,{{cite web|url=http://www.gamershell.com/news_1890.html |title=News: Rangers Football Coach announced |publisher=Gamershell.com |date=27 March 2002 |accessdate=8 October 2012}} before joining InfoSpace / IOMO as studio director in 2005. Two years later, McNeill and other staff from IOMO relaunched the studio as FinBlade.{{cite web |last=Obrien |first=Stuart |url=http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/finblade-opens-its-doors/01032 |title=FinBlade opens its doors | Mobile Entertainment |publisher=Mobile-ent.biz |date=6 August 2007 |access-date=8 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730002012/http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/finblade-opens-its-doors/01032 |archive-date=30 July 2012 }} In 2019 he took on the role of game director at Stainless Games.

In 2011, he signed a three-book deal with Hodder & Stoughton.{{cite web|url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/hodder-buys-thriller-games-developer.html |title=Hodder buys thriller from games developer |publisher=The Bookseller |date=20 July 2010 |accessdate=8 October 2012}}

• Eye Contact (Detective Harland series #1) first published in 2012
• Knife Edge (Detective Harland series #2) first published in 2013
• Cut Out (Detective Harland series #3) first published in 2014

A Detective Harland novella entitled Broken Fall was released in 2015.

A standalone historical thriller, Ashes of America, was published in 2019.

The standalone crime thriller Up Close and Fatal was published in 2022.

Early interactive fiction titles and PC CD games

• Sherwood Forest - Delta 4
• The Dragonstar Trilogy - Delta 4
• Quest for the Holy Joystick - Delta 4
• Return of the Holy Joystick - Delta 4
• Bored of the Rings{{cite web|url=http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/040/advent.htm |title=Sinclair User 40 - Adventure |access-date=27 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812191800/http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/040/advent.htm |archive-date=12 August 2007 }} - Delta 4 / CRL / SilverSoft
• Robin of Sherlock{{cite web|url=http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/046/advent.htm |title=Sinclair User 46 - Adventure |access-date=12 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512000346/http://www.sincuser.f9.co.uk/046/advent.htm |archive-date=12 May 2008 }} - Delta 4 / CRL / SilverSoft
• Galaxias - Delta 4
• The Colour of Magic - Delta 4 / Piranha Software
• The Boggit - Delta 4 / CRL
• The Big Sleaze{{Cite web|url=http://www.crashonline.org.uk/43/bsleaze.htm|title = CRASH 43 - Big Sleaze}} - Delta 4 / Piranha Software
• Murder off Miami - CRL
• Mindfighter - Abstract Concepts / Activision
• The Smirking Horror - Delta 4 / Destiny
• The Town with No Name - Delta 4
• Psycho Killer - Delta 4
• The Lawnmower Man - SCi
• Cyberwar - SCi
• XS - SCi
• Kingdom O' Magic - SCi
• Carmageddon (co-producer for SCi) - Stainless Software / SCi
• Robosaurs versus the Space Ba$tards - Smoking Gun Productions
• Space Ba$tards: Sudden Justice - Smoking Gun Productions
• Club Manager series - Smoking Gun Productions

More recently{{when|date=January 2024}}, McNeill has worked on the following apps:

• Battleship - FinBlade / EA
• Battleship for iPad - FinBlade / EA
• Deadliest Catch - FinBlade / HandsOn
• Grooveyard - FinBlade
• Movie Quiz - FinBlade
• Ninja Ranch - FinBlade / AppyNation
• Pictureka! - FinBlade / EA
• Red Bull GP - FinBlade / SSP / Red Bull
• The Men Who Stare At Goats - FinBlade / SSP / Momentum Pictures
• Tennis Slam - FinBlade
• WordSearch - FinBlade
• Fry - Virtually Stephen Fry - HeadCastLabs
• Puzzler World - Puzzler Media
• Link-a-Pix - Puzzler Media
• Crosswords - Puzzler Media
• Wordsearch - Puzzler Media
• Pathfinder - Puzzler Media
• Sudoku - Puzzler Media
• Puzzle Paradise - Puzzler Media
• Puzzler - Puzzler Media
• Name Game - Puzzler Media

• Golden Joystick Award (runner up, 1985)Bored of the Rings, Adventure Game of the Year category: Golden Joystick Award#1985
• Sinclair User Classic Award (5 times)Sinclair User magazine, issue 40 (July 1985), issue 46 (January 1986), issue 53 (August 1986), issue 57 (December 1986), issue 65 (August 1987)
• Amtix Accolade Award (1986)Amtix magazine, issue 11 (September 1986)
• Crash Smash Award (twice)Crash magazine, issue 32 (September 1986), issue 43 (August 1987)
• CGR Golden Triad Award (1996)Computer Game Review magazine, March 1996

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.fergusmcneill.co.uk/ Fergus McNeill website & blog]
• [http://www.evewhite.co.uk/ Eve White (literary agent)]
• [http://www.hodder.co.uk/ Hodder & Stoughton (publisher)]
• [http://www.finblade.co.uk FinBlade] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327133404/http://finblade.co.uk/ |date=27 March 2018 }}
• [http://www.lysator.liu.se/adventure/Delta_4_Software.html Graphic adventures by Fergus McNeill]

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Category:Living people

Category:21st-century British novelists

Category:Scottish crime fiction writers

Category:British video game designers

Category:Interactive fiction writers

Category:People from Helensburgh

Category:Scottish voice directors

Category:1969 births