Iain Simons

Based in Nottingham, Iain Simons is the director of Game City Festival, which he founded in 2006, where Richard Jacques performed a candle-lit piano recital of hit SEGA tunes. The main aim of this free event is to engage technology and culture, involving people in a screen based art, bringing video games to life, even by setting up scenes from games with the help from theatre designers. Game City involves a wide variety of professions in the creative industry such as musicians, designers, stage light technicians, theatre/costume designers to name but a few. "A lot of people think our event is basically a big arcade, but it's a lot more than that" he says, but you don't have to be interested in video games to come along to this event.
 He  is a very interesting man when it comes to his C.V. His first job was as piano player in a pub, which he goes on to advise that music is an extremely important skill to have in the game industry as a lot of musicians are needed in games. He then worked at McDonald's on the grill, he laughs, "well, the opportunity was there. And I was really fast." He landed at a theatre next, working as a casual technician which gained him some decent skills and an insight into production. In 1994 he graduated from university then took part in directing events and continued as a musician for a while. He basically continued to jump at any and every chance he got in the game and directing industry, performing, taking part in holding workshops and even wrote a few books, "just write a book. It doesn't even matter if it isn't any good, I have found that if you have written a book people suddenly start listening to you", Iain advises, "get involved in summer camps or theatre, you learn a lot more about production than anywhere else ." Iain began writing about video culture to a range of audiences in magazines and so on, and worked as a programmer and designer before becoming a part time lecturer as he realised it was time that he needed to make a steady income and get a bit of money behind him, later becoming a company director/creative director which gave him the essential skills for working as a game critic, event producer and of course, his current role as a festival director for Game City. Other projects Iain is working on is Game City Nights, Game City Prize, Woodthorpe Grange/ Takahashi Playground, National Video Game Archive and Save The Video Game

Iain's Advice For the Creative Industries:

1. When you first start out, you will have to 'volunteer' and do a fair amount of unpaid work for people. However, when you begin to gain experience and you can finally tell your contacts that you have wrote/been mentioned in a column for this magazine and that magazine, or produced a music video for this band, directed this and that event, performed here and there, designed the costume for this theatre production and so on...START CHARGING ASAP! It is very important to get paid for what you do as soon as possible, or you won't get anywhere very fast, because "if you are paid for something then you are a professional."
2. "Writing an invoice is not the same as being paid." You may still find yourself having to keep reminding the person or company to pay you, because at first, very rarely is it done and dusted when you send of an invoice.
3. "Look after your contacts." It is really important that you "keep them happy." These are the people who pay you," and talk about you to other useful people.
4. "People are surprisingly simple."
5. "Write a book. It makes you look valuable!"
6. "It's easier to apologise than to ask for permission." Just ask people, and if they turn your work down, ask another person. He says don't worry if you make a mistake or get turned down, "you might actually be surprised," he goes on to talk about his own experience on emailing the editor of a games magazine, he asked for permission to write a column in their magazine, and they were more than happy to let him.
7. "Be nice. It really is that  simple. Don't get drunk and write something horrible about your contacts, as tempting as it is, you must protect your contacts. They are everything."
8. "Get good at apologising." then it will be so much easier when you make a mistake.
9. "Most people are frightened in case they fail." fear of failure will get in the way of your success, you might be surprised if you just try, "but prepare yourself to fail." 
10. He advises to always share your ideas, "they are the most valuable thing," even if you think your idea sounds stupid, "not everyone else can have the ideas you're having."

Take a look at Game City!!!