Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure
Encyclopedia
Dizzy, or Dizzy – The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure, was the first video game featuring the character Dizzy, an anthropomorphic egg. The game was designed by two British
brothers, Philip and Andrew Oliver, frequently referred to as the Oliver twins
. Dizzy was published by Codemasters
and was released in June, 1986.
so the character was required to be simple, hence the choice of an egg.
adventure where Dizzy must search the fairy tale
land of Katmandu for a Leprechaun's Wig, a Cloud's Silver Lining, a Vampire Dux Feather, and a Troll Brew and deposit them in a cauldron to make a potion to defeat the evil wizard Zaks. The gameplay involves collecting items and moving to other locations where the item is required; for example, at one point a raincoat is needed to protect against damaging rain. This is made more difficult because only one item can be carried at any given time.
Unlike later games in the series, which focus more on the inventory-based puzzles, this game features a very large number of hazards that kill the player on contact. With only three lives initially to complete the game, this makes it a very difficult game to complete by today's standards.
Dizzy remembered his Eggfather had spoken of such a potion. "It is the only way to rid our land of athletes foot, and it can also be used to destroy the Evil Wizard Zaks." Dizzy trembled with fear as he recalled these words.
Zaks brought fear to the village, he cast spells that turned people old, made men blind and caused it to rain every Sunday afternoon during Cricket. Dizzy was determined to put a stop to all this, he would be the hero of the yolkfolk.
He read on... "Fill a potion bottle with cooked Leprechauns wig, cloud silver lining, Vampire dux feather and some troll brew - cook the potion and throw it at Zaks to dissolve his reign." He covered it up and quickly made ready to liberate the land of Katmandu.
' poem The Green Eye of the Yellow God
on banners in certain screens, where they serve as clues on how to solve some puzzles.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
brothers, Philip and Andrew Oliver, frequently referred to as the Oliver twins
Oliver Twins
The Oliver Twins are two British brothers, Philip and Andrew Oliver, who started to professionally develop computer games while they were still at school. Their first game, Super Robin Hood for the Amstrad CPC, was published in 1985 by Codemasters...
. Dizzy was published by Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
and was released in June, 1986.
Name origin
Dizzy gets his name from the character's tumbles and somersaults while jumping, a feature inspired by the Oliver Twins' graphics software Panda Sprites which enabled them to rotate an image easily so each frame did not have to be manually drawn. The software distorted complex spritesSprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
so the character was required to be simple, hence the choice of an egg.
Gameplay
The game is a platformPlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
adventure where Dizzy must search the fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
land of Katmandu for a Leprechaun's Wig, a Cloud's Silver Lining, a Vampire Dux Feather, and a Troll Brew and deposit them in a cauldron to make a potion to defeat the evil wizard Zaks. The gameplay involves collecting items and moving to other locations where the item is required; for example, at one point a raincoat is needed to protect against damaging rain. This is made more difficult because only one item can be carried at any given time.
Unlike later games in the series, which focus more on the inventory-based puzzles, this game features a very large number of hazards that kill the player on contact. With only three lives initially to complete the game, this makes it a very difficult game to complete by today's standards.
Plot
Dizzy was exploring the haunted forest, looking for some berries, flowers and a piece of wood with which to make a club when he uncovered a mystifying stone slab. Brushing the dirt aside he was able to read (after a great deal of head scratching) the faint inscription "The Avawiffovee Potion".Dizzy remembered his Eggfather had spoken of such a potion. "It is the only way to rid our land of athletes foot, and it can also be used to destroy the Evil Wizard Zaks." Dizzy trembled with fear as he recalled these words.
Zaks brought fear to the village, he cast spells that turned people old, made men blind and caused it to rain every Sunday afternoon during Cricket. Dizzy was determined to put a stop to all this, he would be the hero of the yolkfolk.
He read on... "Fill a potion bottle with cooked Leprechauns wig, cloud silver lining, Vampire dux feather and some troll brew - cook the potion and throw it at Zaks to dissolve his reign." He covered it up and quickly made ready to liberate the land of Katmandu.
J. Milton Hayes
The game includes several lines from J. Milton HayesJ. Milton Hayes
John Milton Hayes , better known as J. Milton Hayes, was an English actor and poet, best known for his 1911 dramatic monologue The Green Eye of the Yellow God, much parodied by his contemporary Stanley Holloway and later by The Goon Show. He also wrote and performed many other monologues...
' poem The Green Eye of the Yellow God
The Green Eye of the Yellow God
The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God is a 1911 poem by J. Milton Hayes that is a famous example of the genre of "dramatic monologue", which was a music hall staple in the early twentieth century...
on banners in certain screens, where they serve as clues on how to solve some puzzles.
Creation
- The Oliver Twins said in an interview, on the British television show "When Games Attack", that Dizzy was originally not supposed to be an egg at all but just a face with hands and feet. They then said they accepted everyone thought he was an egg and decided to go with that.
- In the same interview, they also said they used to plan out levels on the back of spare rolls of wallpaper.