Founder, HandCircus
London, United Kingdom
- Current
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- Founder at HandCircus
- Past
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- Freelance Digital Consultant at Freelance
- Creative Technologist at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
- Interactive Designer at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
- Head of Research and Development at Randommedia
- Creative Technologist at Preloaded
- Web Developer at Poolside London Ltd (subsidiary of Deepgroup)
- Production Assistant at InCA Productions
- Education
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- Nielson Norman Group
- St. Martin's College
- University of Bristol
- Recommended
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2 people have recommended Simon - Connections
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connections
- Industry
- Computer Games
- Websites
Simon Oliver’s Summary
With 8 years experience spread across digital agencies and the games industry, Simon has acquired a wide range of experience in the different disciplines that combine to create interactive content. From computer vision art installations and online multi-user games, to enterprise-level rich-media portals and learning interfaces for children, he has been a core part of a wide spectrum of projects.
Simon's roles have been varied, including R&D, prototyping, game design, interaction design, 3D modelling, software engineering and software architecture. This has given him a unique perspective on the way that ingredients of an interactive project come together. This unique perspective has facilitated the proposal of innovative solutions and assisted cross-discipline problem solving.
Simon is often labelled as a 'generalist', but prefers to be described as someone that specialises in designing and creating interactive entertainment and rich-media interfaces. He likes solving problems, and finds talking in the third person uncomfortable.
Simon Oliver’s Specialties:
R&D, Prototyping, Emerging Technologies, Game Design, Interaction Design, Interface Design, Adobe Flash, Actionscript 2 (AS2), Actionscript 3 (AS3), iPhone development,Software Architecture, Software Engineering, JSFL, Low-poly modelling, Maya, Virtools, Adobe Director, Shockwave 3D, Photoshop, MEL, C++, C#, Java, OpenGL, Microsoft XNA, A.I., Havok, PhysX, Ogre
Simon Oliver’s Experience
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Founder
HandCircus
(Computer Games industry)
June 2008 — Present (7 months)
Handcircus is a micro-studio creating games, and game-centric content for a variety of platforms. From the Apple iPhone (such as the upcoming title Rolando) to touring educational exhibits (such as recent installations for the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum) - the focus is on creating fun, engaging experiences.
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Freelance Digital Consultant
Freelance
(Computer Games industry)
October 2006 — June 2008 (1 year 9 months)
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Creative Technologist
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Computer Games industry)
January 2006 — October 2006 (10 months)
Core responsibilities included R&D for emerging internal and external technologies, interaction design, prototyping, front-end architecture planning and front-end development. Key achievements:
• Set up a European video recording and editing facility at E3 in Los Angeles, allowing live coverage of the show to be distributed online.
• Implemented RSS feeds for all 22 SCEE locales, the company's first use of RSS.
• Project lead for PlayStation.com Europe front-end. Created initial prototypes to explore interaction design concepts. Planned the front-end architecture and interface with back-end systems, and created the Flash front-end in Object-orented AS2. Acted as conduit for design, usability, QA, content and server teams from around Europe.
• Project lead for European PSP Browser portal. R&D work to scope out browser functionality and the video download mechanism, and interaction design work to create an appropriate interface for the device. -
Interactive Designer
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Computer Games industry)
February 2005 — December 2005 (11 months)
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Head of Research and Development
Randommedia
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Online Media industry)
March 2002 — February 2005 (3 years)
• Head of the Research and Development programme.
• Responsible for all game design output at Randommedia.
• Involved in the production of the majority of games and installations, from programming to modelling and animation.
• Responsible for the production of web sites, architectural kiosks, and educational interfaces for children.
• Actively involved in Adobe/Macromedia beta testing for numerous products, ranging from Flash and Flash Communications server to Director. -
Creative Technologist
Preloaded
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Online Media industry)
June 2001 — March 2002 (10 months)
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Web Developer
Poolside London Ltd (subsidiary of Deepgroup)
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Online Media industry)
June 2000 — April 2001 (11 months)
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Production Assistant
InCA Productions
(Privately Held; Broadcast Media industry)
July 1999 — July 1999 (1 month)
Simon Oliver’s Education
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Nielson Norman Group
Interaction Design 2005 — 2005
Course covering the principles of interaction design, user testing and the creation of accessible interfaces taught by the founder of Apple’s HCI labs.
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St. Martin's College
Evening Course, Graphic Design, 2001 — 2001
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University of Bristol
BSc (Hons), Computer Science, 1997 — 2000
Graduated with a 2.1. Specialised in Multimedia, achieving a first in the final year project : a Java tool to allow midi data to drive 3D animation in Maya.
Additional Information
Simon Oliver’s Websites:
Simon Oliver’s Interests:
Videogames (been an avid player for over 20 years), cinema, animation (from classic Disney and Betty Boop to modern day), narrative and the elements of story (especially interactive narrative), drawing, a wide variety of music, AI, classical and modern art, interactive art and installations (especially dynamic typography), reading (especially Kurt Vonnegut, Haruki Murakami and Tom Robbins), speaking Japanese, seeing the world, all things unusual.
Simon Oliver’s Groups:
• D&AD Gaming Jury 2008
• Presented at This Happened #4 - June 2008
• Contributed to 2004 IGDA White paper on online and downloadable games
• Lectured at OFFF ’03 Media Arts festival, Barcelona
• Lectured at Brighton and Hove City college multimedia course.
• Personal work featured in “Taschen’s 100 Favourite Websites”
• Contributed work to Creative Review DVD 01
• Contributed to .net magazine
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Game Developers -
iPhone Developers - www.iPhoneintouch.com -
iphone developers worldwide -
OGRE -
D&AD
Simon Oliver’s Honors:
• Winner - Best online game - BIMA Awards 2002
• Finalist - Game category - Flash Film Festival, New York - 2002
• Finalist - Best online game - BIMA Awards 2003
• Finalist - Best online game - SXSW 2003
• Finalist - Game category - NMA Effectiveness Awards, 2003
• Finalist - Creative services category - Webby Business Awards, 2003
• Winner - Business Services category - BIMA Awards, 2002
• Winner - Design and Creativity category - BIMA Awards, 2002
• Winner - Technical Excellence category - Flash Film Festival, New York, 2002
• Finalist - External Coms/Brand Building category - EMMA Awards, 2002
• Finalist - Technical Innovation category - EMMA Awards, 2002
• Finalist - Interactivity category - EMMA Awards, 2002
• Finalist - 3D category - Flash Film Festival, Amsterdam, 2001
Simon Oliver’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
