Simon Bennett is a BAFTA and multi-award winning serial entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in founding, growing and selling businesses in the Creative Sectors.
RollingSound (2003-2011), a unique remote Multimedia Training Company working with 'At Risk' Young People grew to over 100 staff and was sold to a National Education Provider.
Backwater (2005-2012) made its name as a film production agency, working on B2B and Music Video projects, the team worked with household names from the Music Industry and major UK brands and was sold in a management buy-out.
As Director of Roll7, Simon spearheaded the video game studio's incubation at RollingSound and has managed through two five year business plans at the studio with fellow directors Thomas Hegarty and John Ribbins. In 2018 Roll7 celebrates 10 years at the forefront of Creativity and Quality in video games by releasing it's 5th original IP and most ambitious title to date; Laser League (EDGE 9/10, ESSENTIAL Eurogamer, 2 Golden Joystick Nominations).
After seriously considering whether we ever wanted to make another game, we set about radically changing the way we worked. No crunch and a positive work life balance were the foundation to our plans and it led to the companies' most successful period; culminating in our highest rated game ever and eventual acquisition by Private Division in 2021. This talk will detail, the how, what and why of how we achieved it.
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Develop:Brighton offers you an inspiring mix of top-notch speakers, practical how-to sessions, insights into the latest trends and technologies, plus fantastic networking opportunities. Find out about the different conference pass options and prices here or...
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Kish Hirani
Terra Virtua
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Jo Twist, OBE
Ukie
Develop:Brighton’s a great conference. It’s got a spread of people from all parts of the games industry talking about such a wide range of topics.
David Amor
Mag Interactive
A lot of the opportunities that come from being here are speaking to other developers who are doing exactly the same thing as you. And there are some good parties – it’s very much a pleasurable work experience!
Gemma Foster
Dlala Studios
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Hannah Flynn
Failbetter Games
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TT Games
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Ian Livingstone, CBE
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Tetsuya Mizuguchi
Enhance Games
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Haden Blackman
Hangar 13
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Grace Carroll
Creative Assembly
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