Lorne Lanning

Lorne M Lanning
Lanning at Moscone Center in 2009
Born	March 20, 1964 (1964-03-20)
Occupation	Game designer, Writer, Voice actor, Film director
Known for	Oddworld

Lorne Lanning is an American game designer, writer and voice actor. He is also co-founder and president of the video game developer, Oddworld Inhabitants. He is best known for creating the Oddworld series including the games Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus and Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath.

Lanning is also known for his voice talent and has voiced many characters in the Oddworld games including Oddworld's signature character Abe, Munch and the Stranger, as well as Alf (Abe's Exoddus), the Vykkers Humphrey and Irwin (Munch's Oddysee), Blisterz Booty, Doc Vykker, Castraider and Sekto (Stranger's Wrath), General Dripik and Director Phleg (Abe's Exoddus) and the Sligs (Abe's Oddysee, Abe's Exoddus and Munch's Oddysee). Lanning provided every character voice for Abe's Oddysee alone but was later joined by other Oddworld Inhabitants crew members to voice characters in Abe's Exoddus, Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath but with Lanning still voicing the majority of the characters.

His creative vision in game design and property development at Oddworld Inhabitants has gained him worldwide recognition, including several documentaries and his character creations featured on the cover of Wired Magazine.

Lanning claims he has always had a fascination with video games, stating that his father was an engineer for Coleco.

Career

Lanning studied photo-realism and commercial illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. While attending the School of Visual Arts, he worked as studio manager and assistant painter to Jack Goldstein. Working with Goldstein inspired Lanning to attend the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.

In 1988 Lanning worked as a Technical Director at the TRW Engineering Visualization Lab in Redondo Beach, California. He moved on to Rhythm & Hues Studios in Hollywood, California in 1989, where he started as a Technical Director before becoming an Art Director. His final role at the company was as a Visual Effects Supervisor.

In 1994, Lanning and Sherry McKenna co-founded video game development company, Oddworld Inhabitants. Oddworld was dedicated to mixing storytelling, animation and interactivity. Oddworld has sold over 5 million games and won more than 100 industry awards.

In 2001 Lanning and McKenna were named to Wired magazine's list of "gamemaking gods".

In 2005 Lanning shuttered his game development studio and relocated to the San Francisco Bay area to focus on other forms of entertainment media such as television and film.

Lanning serves on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the Advisory Board to the President of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, the Advisory Board for the CGSociety, and the Advisory Board for the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Is also an annual Jury member for Ballistic Publishings annual "EXPOSÉ" Digital art book and also an ongoing Jury member for Into the Pixel "Best in Video Game Art" sponsored by the AIAS and LACMA.

In 2006 Lanning and McKenna sign a development deal with Vanguard Animation to release Lanning's latest universe, Citizen Siege, as a science fiction action thriller fully animated CG motion picture. Lanning set to direct and Sherry McKenna to Executive Produce with John Williams (Shrek producer) producing.

Lanning also engages in public speaking for the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and their ongoing Digital Frontier efforts to help bridge the gap between video games and public education.

In 2007, Lanning provided the voice for the character of himself on the G4TV show Code Monkeys, where he proposed Oddworld as a game. After the proposal He was electrocuted, thrown down a well and eaten by a bear all in the episode.

Lanning appearred in a panel discussion at VideoGame Expo on November 3, 2007 following a public screening of Spencer Halpin's Moral Kombat, a documentary about the violence in videogames issue, to debate Jack Thompson, both of whom are featured prominently in the film.

According to a May 2008 interview, Lanning has stated that after a multi-year hiatus, he is currently restarting gaming production for Oddworld.

In an interview with Just Add Water's Stewart Gilray in September 2011, it was hinted that Lanning was giving Just Add Water free rein over the HD remakes of the Oddworld series whilst he worked on undisclosed "new projects".

External links

• Oddworld Executive Profiles
• Adventure Classic Gaming interview with Lorne Lanning (April 2008)
• Wired article including Lanning
• Games First interview with Lorne Lanning
• Video Interview with Lorne Lanning at Conceptart.org's Revelations
• Lorne Lanning at the Internet Movie Database