Gene Ball is a computer science researcher and computer programmer. Ball obtained a bachelors degree from the University of Oklahoma, and attended graduate school at the University of Rochester, completing a masters degree and finishing his doctorate in 1982. While at Rochester, he met Rick Rashid, and together they created Alto Trek , one of the earlier networked multiplayer computer games. From 1991 until 2001 he was a researcher at Microsoft, leading the Persona Project, which focused on developing lifelike computer characters that could conversationally interact with users.