Meet Lanny

Meet Lanny Gilbertson, a seasoned developer who transformed decades of technical experience into indie game development success. With roots tracing back to classic text adventure games like Colossal Cave Adventure and Zork, Lanny's journey took him through software development education, energy sector engineering, and eventually back to his first love: creating games. After years of honing technical skills in various industries, he enrolled in Circuit Stream's Game Development Bootcamp to reignite his creative passion and launch his own indie game studio, "Nibiru Imagineering."

Discovering Game Development

Lanny's relationship with games and development began at a very young age, thanks to his father's passion for computers. "I have always been into games, computers and development. At a very young age, I got into Text adventure games like Colossal Cave Adventure, Zork and Zork II," he recalls. His father, a computer hobbyist who later attended DeVry Institute of Technology, introduced him to both 3D games like Wolfenstein and programming concepts through old computer magazines featuring BASIC tutorials for text adventure games.

This early exposure sparked a fascination that would define Lanny's career path. In 2004, he graduated from a technical institute with a diploma in Software Development and E-Commerce, along with Microsoft certifications in VB.NET and SQL. However, the job market led him into the energy sector, where he discovered his technical development skills translated well to programming PLCs and HMI systems with ladder logic.

Working for a large energy company since 2011, Lanny has been involved in developing, testing, troubleshooting, and documenting software and hardware solutions. Currently, he's developing an automated reporting and data visualization application using Unity — a perfect bridge between his professional work and game development aspirations.

Experience in the Game Development Bootcamp

The Game Development Bootcamp became a transformative experience that "reignited my initial passion for learning software development in the first place." For Lanny, the program wasn't just about learning new skills, it was about rediscovering the creative energy that first drew him to programming.

"I am once again channeling the creative flow of energy at a higher rate. I think I have also become a lot more open in showing all the stages of my work and openly expressing my ideas."

The bootcamp's structure was built upon the skills Lanny had developed earlier in life, strengthening his foundation while providing new tools and confidence. The most impactful aspects were the midterm and capstone projects, which "really did push me hard to dig deeper than I have in a long time."

However, the journey wasn't without challenges. Working on a demanding 35-day on, 35-day off rotation in Saudi Arabia, Lanny faced significant obstacles: "The internet connection most of the time was non-existent. The time zones were off by 11 hours, and I work several different shifts depending on operations. Keeping up while working was tough."

Building Skills and Achieving Success

Despite the challenges, Lanny's dedication paid off significantly. The bootcamp enhanced his C# programming skills and introduced him to new areas like animation editing in Unity, Shader Graph, and VFX Graph. More importantly, "the course did push me to learn all I could outside of what was taught, expanding upon what was taught."

The additional skills and confidence from the program had an immediate professional impact: "I have 'levelled up' at the company I have been at since 2011, moving into a more development-driven role." But perhaps most importantly, the bootcamp gave him the push he needed to 'finally explore and enter into the Indie Game space and create my own Indie Game Studio.'

Creating Nibiru Imagineering

Today, Lanny is developing a 3D point-and-click adventure game through his solo indie game company, "Nibiru Imagineering." The project aims to bring back "the humour and complexity of 90s Point and Clicks" like Space Quest, King's Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry, but in 3D rather than the traditional 2D format.

When he's not working on game development or his energy sector role, Lanny enjoys animation, 3D modelling, and Star Trek.

Key Skills and Lessons Learned

Through the bootcamp, Lanny significantly enhanced his programming foundation with advanced C# techniques and best practices that built upon his years of BASIC and VB.NET experience. He mastered Unity's animation systems, learning to create and edit complex animations that bring his 3D adventure game characters to life. The program also introduced him to Unity's visual scripting tools, including Shader Graph and VFX Graph, which he now uses to create stunning visual effects for his projects.

Perhaps most importantly, the course pushed Lanny to become a more independent learner, encouraging him to explore and expand beyond the taught materials. This creative problem-solving approach has become central to his development philosophy. The program's emphasis on hands-on projects gave him both the technical skills and creative confidence needed to pursue his indie game development dreams while also advancing his career in the energy sector.

Advice for Future Students

For aspiring game developers, Lanny offers practical wisdom born from experience:

"Practice daily. You will 'fail' a lot. That is the nature of programming. From the failures we learn."

His advice emphasizes the importance of persistence and embracing the learning process, understanding that setbacks are an essential part of growth in programming and game development.

Connect with Lanny on LinkedIn or check out his work at Nibiru Imagineering.

Ready to Launch Your Game Development Career?

Whether you're looking to reignite a long-forgotten passion or start fresh in game development, our bootcamp provides the hands-on experience and industry knowledge you need to succeed.

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