Charlie Hall, Polygon's new Features Writer

Ahoy Polynauts!

I've been lurking on these forums for a long time now, since they opened on The Verge really. I've spent many hours perusing the weekly update emails Shaun and his minions roll out, observing your ways and burgeoning traditions. But now I must emerge from my well concealed blind, put down my pen and notebook, and walk among you. Or at least near you.

Because I work here now.

I'm just as surprised as you are, honestly. I've been playing games since I was in the womb, I'm told, since my mother hit the kill screen in Pitfall! when I was only 7 months gestated. I cut my teeth on the Intellivision, then the Genesis, all the while logging many hours landing at Meigs Field on my family's AT&T PC 6300.

I've really only been writing about games since 2011. I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in English literature and minors in Creative Writing and Business. Deans had to physically restrain me from taking graduate-level composition classes in my senior year, as I maxed out both the prose and poetry skill tree there. After a short stint as a high school English teacher, I ended up leading government proposal efforts for a major IT reseller. I've written to NASA, to the Army and the Air Force, but eventually tired of having my efforts be merely "good enough for government work." I am hungry for new challenges.

My wife was a big influence on me. She was brave enough to leave her corporate job and start out as an independent lifestyle photographer, and her perspicacity inspired me to reach out to my two favorite games publications and ask if they'd have me as a writer. First Gamers With Jobs said yes, and later so did Armchair General. Since that time I've moonlighted as a freelancer for them, as well as Ars Technica, Paste Magazine, and now Polygon.

I'm a father, a husband, and an old soul. You're as likely to find me strolling the neighborhood enjoying a bowl of finely aged McClellan's as you are to see me chasing ghosts in Trials Evolution. I have a passion for militaria, a love of board games, and a soft spot for western RPGs and artsy indie games. I may also be the only person in all of the midwest to have a valid Bass Pro Shops range card and Wizards of the Coast DCI membership in my wallet at the same time.

I'm looking forward to hanging out with you all, and to working with Russ Pitts and the rest of the Polygon team at telling the stories that deserve attention in the gaming world.

You can follow me on Twitter @Charlie_L_Hall