Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Taymar Walters. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Taymar, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Growing up in middle school and high school, my nickname has always been T-man but once college rolled around I started growing out of that nickname. Then one day I was listening to a rap song called “Witness” by Ces Cru and one of the lyrics of that song had the words “Pee Lander” in it. I later learned that Pee Lander is the name of a Japanese-American punk rock band formed in the late 90s but I digress. After I kept hearing that term over and over again, I thought to myself “What if I replaced the Pee with the letter T?” and that’s when I came up with the name T-LANDER.

Now at the time that my name was formed, I was starting off my brand as a content creator on YouTube and Twitch but my real passion was game development. Since I was aspired to create my own indie game dev company I simply added the word studios next to my name and thus “T-LANDER STUDIOS” was born.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Taymar Walters but in the gaming world I go by the name of T-LANDER. Growing up as a kid, I have always loved playing video games and my curiosity over the gaming industry grew stronger as I got older, especially towards graduating college.

In May of 2020, I earned my bachelor’s degree in both Film Production and Computer Science with a concentration in Game Development. Even though I wanted a day job as a Software Engineer, I was still deeply interested in the process behind developing games but I soon discovered some of the harsh drawbacks of working for a triple A studio.

Cynical executives, discrimination in the workplace, numerous sexual harassment cases and the potential lack of creative freedom made me realize that I would be better off going solo and taking the Indie Game dev route. That’s why on December of 2021, I officially started my own LLC called T-LANDER STUDIOS.

While my indie game company is open to producing games across all genres (expect maybe horror), I do aspire to make 2D Pixel games since it is my favorite art style. I also try to incorporate my social media platforms into my company along with a little bit of video content creation. On top of that, I do my best to attend conventions in order to network with other gamer nerds and promote my business. Like most creatives, I do this to gain more followers while showing off more of my personality. Posting on my socials have also allowed me to grow a community of friends and likeminded people who enjoy what I create.

One project that is currently in production but I’m still the most proud of is Super Blowfish Castle. Super Blowfish Castle is a 3d Puzzle solving game where you help guide a lost blowfish through a series of obstacles to reach the end goal all by pressing one button. It’s been a simple idea with minimal viable product that I was able to expand on dramatically. Upon completion, I plan on releasing this game next year while developing a spinoff game and turning it into a franchise. There will be more details coming soon but I couldn’t be more excited about this game project and wait for you guys to play it,

Here at T-LANDER STUDIOS our mantra is to “go beyond what’s possible” and we are all about being creative and having fun.

Even though we’re still starting off small in the game, I guarantee that one day you will remember the name.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I have a contact page on my website with my business email and a widget where you can schedule an appointment with me. However, one other way I keep in touch with clients, followers or fans is through my discord server. Much like most indie game devs, I’ve always found discord to be the perfect hub for socializing and advertising your projects when it comes to the independent game industry or when it comes to just looking for gamers to play with.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what helped build my reputation the most was my YouTube channel and my livestreams on twitch. Even though I don’t make videos or livestream as often as I used to now, I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh with my let’s plays and review videos on YouTube, I have also made amazing memories putting on a show on twitch and making my livestreams very interactive towards the viewers while still having a wild time playing games with friends.

It’s important to note that I started building my brand right when the COVID-19 pandemic hit which meant a lot of social distancing and isolation for me. So video content creation does hold a place in my heart because it lead to me making so many new friends and having a bunch of laughs during a very lonely time period.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tlanderstudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tlandergaming
• Twitter: https://x.com/tlandergaming
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@tlandergaming?si=pfXKqNA8TtI34trP
• Other: https://linktr.ee/tlandergaming

Image Credits

the two self portraits were taken by my friend robyn. Here is her instagram: https://www.instagram.com/picturesbyrobyn/