Dizzy series
Encyclopedia
The Dizzy series of computer games
, published by Codemasters
, was one of the most successful European computer game brands of the late 1980s. The games were based around a central figure: an intelligent egg-like creature called Dizzy. The games would typically involve Dizzy trying to save his friends and family the Yolkfolk, often from the schemes of his arch nemesis, the evil wizard Zaks.
Most of the games in the series were platform game
s, with an emphasis on puzzle solving, similar to graphic adventures. Dizzy would roam around various fairytale-like locations, collecting objects, interacting with other characters, and solving logical puzzles. Rather than jumping in the conventional platform-game way, Dizzy would somersault and roll around the landscape; hence the name "Dizzy". The eight games which follow this style, usually referred to as the arcade adventures, are considered the 'core' games in the series; however, several spin-off titles were released, including Fast Food Dizzy
, Kwik Snax
and Dizzy Down the Rapids
.
Four games in the series were included in the Top 50 best games of all time in a special issue of Your Sinclair
magazine in 2004.
(who later formed Interactive Studios). The Oliver Twins left the series after Fantasy World Dizzy
, and the remaining games were developed by Big Red Software
.
The first game in the series, called Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure
, was released in June 1986. At this point, Dizzy was not specifically intended to be an egg; the shape had been chosen because it was easy to rotate and animate. The Yolkfolk characters were not introduced until the third game, Fantasy World Dizzy
.
The earlier games were all programmed primarily for the Amstrad CPC
and ZX Spectrum
, with most of the games converted for the Commodore 64
, Atari ST
and Amiga
at various stages. A few games were also converted for the NES
, Mega Drive, Game Gear, and DOS
. Some were unofficially ported to the Russian Electronics BK-0010 and Radio 86RK.
1987
1990
1991
1993
1993
1994
The Excellent Dizzy Collection (available on the Sega
Master System and Game Gear) was originally intended to include the 9th game in the core Dizzy series, Wonderland Dizzy. However the Codemasters marketing team were unhappy with the idea of two similar games in the same package, and it was decided that since Dizzy The Adventurer (a renamed Dizzy: Prince Of The Yolkfolk) was already almost completed and was generally agreed to be the better of the two games then it should be the one included. Following this decision work on Wonderland Dizzy was effectively halted. Wonderland Dizzy's place in the compilation was taken by a conversion of Dizzy Panic. The third game in the pack was Go! Dizzy Go!, an action-oriented game which had not been previously released.
1987
1988
1990
1994
This game featured similar gameplay to the Dizzy series (although the game was much shorter) and stars Giddy, an egg very much like Dizzy except that rather than wear boxing gloves he simply had very large hands.
There was a sequel, Giddy 2, also on Amiga, and a third game, Giddy 3, made in 2000 for DOS, then ported in February 2009 to Windows
, Mac OSX, Wii
, AmigaOS 4
and MorphOS
.
have expressed interest in resurrecting the series, although the twins concede;
The Oliver twins's software company, Blitz Games
(with the permission of Codemasters) have experimented with their artists to demonstrate what the Dizzy series might look and feel like if revisited and produced a one minute video clip with an online petition to see if there was consumer interest. The online petition was later moved to Yolkfolk.com.
The creators have also expressed interest in re-releasing the existing titles to handheld platforms such as mobile phones.
In October 2011, the website EggCitingNews.com was registered by Codemasters Software Ltd. The main page on the site featured a pair of eyes peering from an egg carton, accompanied by the phrase "Guess who's back?".
On November 23rd 2011, the website DizzyGame.com was opened, featuring details of the new release. The first game to be released on a mobile platform will be Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, developed by Paul Ranson, who worked on the original 1991 title, with updated music by Codemasters' sound designer Mark 'TDK' Knight.
Codemasters announced that a new verson of Dizzy: Prince of the Yolfolk will be released on December 9th 2011
Although Codemasters have not spoken about their approach to the property, other than not to allow free distribution of the genuine titles, and Blitz make clear that they do not consider their statement a definitive or binding legal text this has led to a comparatively high number of fan titles for the Dizzy series.
In 2006, a specialised game engine was released called DizzyAGE, enabling fans to easily create their own games in the style of the original Spectrum games. Fans previously had to use other game engines, which were not always suited to the puzzle style of the Dizzy games. The makers of DizzyAGE continually update the engine, and run a competition each year to find the best game from the previous year. There are currently over 50 fan games listed on the DizzyAGE website.
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
, 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...
, was one of the most successful European computer game brands of the late 1980s. The games were based around a central figure: an intelligent egg-like creature called Dizzy. The games would typically involve Dizzy trying to save his friends and family the Yolkfolk, often from the schemes of his arch nemesis, the evil wizard Zaks.
Most of the games in the series were platform game
Platform 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...
s, with an emphasis on puzzle solving, similar to graphic adventures. Dizzy would roam around various fairytale-like locations, collecting objects, interacting with other characters, and solving logical puzzles. Rather than jumping in the conventional platform-game way, Dizzy would somersault and roll around the landscape; hence the name "Dizzy". The eight games which follow this style, usually referred to as the arcade adventures, are considered the 'core' games in the series; however, several spin-off titles were released, including Fast Food Dizzy
Fast Food Dizzy
Fast Food is an arcade style video game much in the design of Pac-Man featuring the video game character, Dizzy the anthropomorphic egg designed by the British born Oliver twins...
, Kwik Snax
Kwik Snax
Kwik Snax is an arcade style maze video game play developed by the Oliver Twins and was published in 1990 by Codemasters for the Amstrad, Spectrum, Commodore 64, DOS, and Amiga...
and Dizzy Down the Rapids
Dizzy Down the Rapids
Dizzy Down the Rapids is an arcade style action video game that was published in 1991 by Codemasters for the Amstrad CPC, Spectrum, DOS, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Amiga....
.
Four games in the series were included in the Top 50 best games of all time in a special issue of Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
magazine in 2004.
Development
Dizzy was created by the Oliver TwinsOliver 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...
(who later formed Interactive Studios). The Oliver Twins left the series after Fantasy World Dizzy
Fantasy World Dizzy
Fantasy World Dizzy is an arcade adventure video game released in October 1989 by Codemasters and designed by the Oliver twins.The game is considered the third in the Dizzy series and was developed under the name Dizzy III...
, and the remaining games were developed by Big Red Software
Big Red Software
Big Red Software, also known as The Big Red Software Company Ltd, was a computer game developer set up in the UK in 1988 by Paul Ranson. It was bought out by, and merged with, Eidos Plc in 1995 along with Simis and Domark forming Eidos Interactive....
.
The first game in the series, called Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure
Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure
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...
, was released in June 1986. At this point, Dizzy was not specifically intended to be an egg; the shape had been chosen because it was easy to rotate and animate. The Yolkfolk characters were not introduced until the third game, Fantasy World Dizzy
Fantasy World Dizzy
Fantasy World Dizzy is an arcade adventure video game released in October 1989 by Codemasters and designed by the Oliver twins.The game is considered the third in the Dizzy series and was developed under the name Dizzy III...
.
The earlier games were all programmed primarily for the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, with most of the games converted for the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
at various stages. A few games were also converted for the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, Mega Drive, Game Gear, and DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
. Some were unofficially ported to the Russian Electronics BK-0010 and Radio 86RK.
Core series
- Dizzy – The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure - 1986
- Treasure Island DizzyTreasure Island DizzyTreasure Island Dizzy is a computer puzzle game published in 1987 by Codemasters for the Amstrad, Commodore 64, Spectrum, DOS, NES, Amiga and Atari ST....
(Dizzy II) - 1987 - Fantasy World DizzyFantasy World DizzyFantasy World Dizzy is an arcade adventure video game released in October 1989 by Codemasters and designed by the Oliver twins.The game is considered the third in the Dizzy series and was developed under the name Dizzy III...
(Dizzy III) - 1989 - Dizzy 3 and a half: Into Magicland (Dizzy 3.5) - 1991
- Magicland DizzyMagicland DizzyMagicland Dizzy is a platform adventure game published in Europe in 1990 by Codemasters for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga platforms. By 1992 there were also DOS, Atari ST and Amstrad CPC versions available. It is the sixth game in the Dizzy series, and the fourth adventure-based Dizzy title...
(Dizzy IV) - 1990 - Spellbound DizzySpellbound DizzySpellbound Dizzy is an adventure video game, featuring the character Dizzy, released in December 1990 by Codemasters. The series was originally developed by the Oliver twins; however, they had little involvement with this title other than executive sign off - confident in leaving Big Red Software...
(Dizzy V) - 1991 - Dizzy Prince of the YolkfolkDizzy Prince of the YolkfolkDizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk is an adventure video game published in December 1991 by Codemasters for the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, DOS, NES and Amiga. It was the sixth game in the Dizzy adventure series...
- 1991/2011 - Fantastic DizzyFantastic DizzyFantastic Dizzy is a 1991 video game developed by Codemasters. It was published to several platforms, including Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, NES, Amiga and DOS.The game was originally intended to be released in time for Christmas in 1990, but because of a legal action between...
- 1991 - Crystal Kingdom DizzyCrystal Kingdom DizzyCrystal Kingdom Dizzy is an adventure video game featuring the character Dizzy released in December 1992 by Codemasters. The Oliver Twins—who were heavily involved in the design and programming of previous Dizzy games—had less involvement with the title..The game is the last title to...
- 1992
Spin-Off games
These are games which feature Dizzy but have puzzle or action oriented gameplay which is substantially different from that of the main series.1987
- Fast Food
1990
- Kwik SnaxKwik SnaxKwik Snax is an arcade style maze video game play developed by the Oliver Twins and was published in 1990 by Codemasters for the Amstrad, Spectrum, Commodore 64, DOS, and Amiga...
- Dizzy Panic!Dizzy Panic!Dizzy Panic! is a puzzle video game published in 1990 by Codemasters for the Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Sega Master System and the Sega Game Gear...
- Bubble DizzyBubble DizzyBubble Dizzy is an arcade style action video game developed by the Oliver twins and published in November 1990 by Codemasters for the Amstrad, Spectrum, DOS, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Amiga....
1991
- Dizzy Down the RapidsDizzy Down the RapidsDizzy Down the Rapids is an arcade style action video game that was published in 1991 by Codemasters for the Amstrad CPC, Spectrum, DOS, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Amiga....
1993
- Go! Dizzy Go!
Compilations
1992- Dizzy's Excellent Adventures
- Kwik Snax
- Dizzy Panic
- Dizzy Down The Rapids
- Dizzy: Prince Of The Yolkfolk
- Spellbound Dizzy
1993
- The Excellent Dizzy CollectionThe Excellent Dizzy CollectionThe Excellent Dizzy Collection is a video game compilation published by Codemasters in November 1993. The title includes three stand alone games, based on the video game character Dizzy created by the Oliver Twins...
- Go! Dizzy Go! (Previously unreleased)
- Dizzy the Adventurer (A renamed conversion of Dizzy: Prince Of The Yolkfolk)
- Panic Dizzy (A renamed conversion of Dizzy Panic)
1994
- The Big 6
- Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk
- Crystal Kingdom Dizzy
- Fantastic Dizzy (in an enhanced AGA version)
- Treasure Island Dizzy
- Spellbound Dizzy
- Magicland Dizzy
The Excellent Dizzy Collection (available on the Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
Master System and Game Gear) was originally intended to include the 9th game in the core Dizzy series, Wonderland Dizzy. However the Codemasters marketing team were unhappy with the idea of two similar games in the same package, and it was decided that since Dizzy The Adventurer (a renamed Dizzy: Prince Of The Yolkfolk) was already almost completed and was generally agreed to be the better of the two games then it should be the one included. Following this decision work on Wonderland Dizzy was effectively halted. Wonderland Dizzy's place in the compilation was taken by a conversion of Dizzy Panic. The third game in the pack was Go! Dizzy Go!, an action-oriented game which had not been previously released.
Games available on cover tapes/disks
1986- Dizzy - Crash Special Edition
1987
- Treasure Island Dizzy - Crash Special Edition
1988
- Dizzy - Amstrad Action Special Edition
1990
- Easter Eggstravaganza (An Easter themed variation on Fast Food Dizzy given away with Amiga Action magazine)
- Dizzy 3 And A Half - Into Magicland (A short game which acts as a prologue to Magicland Dizzy)
1994
- Christmas Dizzy (Given away with the January 1994 issue of Amiga Power)
Parody games
- Wibble World Giddy (Available on an Amiga PowerAmiga PowerAmiga Power was a monthly magazine about Amiga computer games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and ran for 65 issues, from May 1991 to September 1996....
cover disk)
This game featured similar gameplay to the Dizzy series (although the game was much shorter) and stars Giddy, an egg very much like Dizzy except that rather than wear boxing gloves he simply had very large hands.
There was a sequel, Giddy 2, also on Amiga, and a third game, Giddy 3, made in 2000 for DOS, then ported in February 2009 to Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OSX, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
, AmigaOS 4
AmigaOS 4
AmigaOS 4, , is a line of Amiga operating systems which runs on PowerPC microprocessors. It is mainly based on AmigaOS 3.1 source code, and partially on version 3.9 developed by Haage & Partner...
and MorphOS
MorphOS
MorphOS is an Amiga-compatible computer operating system. It is a mixed proprietary and open source OS produced for the Pegasos PowerPC processor based computer, PowerUP accelerator equipped Amiga computers, and a series of Freescale development boards that use the Genesi firmware, including the...
.
The Yolkfolk
The yolkfolk were the egg characters who make up Dizzy's friends and family, and as such were the main characters in the series.- Dizzy was the main character of all of the Dizzy games, and was the one controlled by the player. Like all of the yolkfolk, Dizzy was an egg with boxing gloves, and had no identifying features. First seen in Dizzy: The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure.
- Daisy was Dizzy's girlfriend in the series, and the object of several of the games was to rescue her from some terrible fate. Daisy was identified from the rest of the yolkfolk by her hair. First seen in Fantasy World Dizzy.
- Denzil tried his best to be the 'cool' one, and was never away from his music. Denzil could be identified from the rest of the yolkfolk by his walkman and shades. First seen in Fantasy World Dizzy.
- Dora was a late addition to the yolkfolk, and one of the youngest. Dora could be identified from the rest of the yolkfolk by the bow in her hair. First seen in Magicland Dizzy, she is Dizzy's sister.
- Dozy was the sleepiest of the yolkfolk, and was almost never awake. Dozy could be identified from the rest of the yolkfolk by the fact that he was always asleep, and often had floating Z's to show this. First seen in Fantasy World Dizzy.
- Dylan was a HippieHippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
, and very interested in nature. Dylan could be identified from the rest of the yolkfolk by his headband. First seen in Fantasy World Dizzy. - Grand Dizzy was a yolkfolk elder, and Dizzy's grandfather. Grand Dizzy could be identified from the rest of the yolkfolk by his walking stick and white beard (originally a black moustache in his first appearance in Fantasy World Dizzy).
- Danny was Dizzy's nephew from a neighbouring village. He appeared only once in a ZX SpectrumZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
exclusive, Into Magicland - a five screen mini-adventure given away with the Christmas edition of CrashCRASH (magazine)Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.-Development:...
magazine in order to promote Magicland DizzyMagicland DizzyMagicland Dizzy is a platform adventure game published in Europe in 1990 by Codemasters for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga platforms. By 1992 there were also DOS, Atari ST and Amstrad CPC versions available. It is the sixth game in the Dizzy series, and the fourth adventure-based Dizzy title...
.
The future
The Oliver twins and Codemasters who both own 50% of the intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
have expressed interest in resurrecting the series, although the twins concede;
The Oliver twins's software company, Blitz Games
Blitz Games
Blitz Games is a division of Blitz Games Studios and is responsible for producing its family titles, which are often licensed games based on well known IP. It is located in Warwickshire, England...
(with the permission of Codemasters) have experimented with their artists to demonstrate what the Dizzy series might look and feel like if revisited and produced a one minute video clip with an online petition to see if there was consumer interest. The online petition was later moved to Yolkfolk.com.
The creators have also expressed interest in re-releasing the existing titles to handheld platforms such as mobile phones.
In October 2011, the website EggCitingNews.com was registered by Codemasters Software Ltd. The main page on the site featured a pair of eyes peering from an egg carton, accompanied by the phrase "Guess who's back?".
On November 23rd 2011, the website DizzyGame.com was opened, featuring details of the new release. The first game to be released on a mobile platform will be Dizzy: Prince of the Yolkfolk, developed by Paul Ranson, who worked on the original 1991 title, with updated music by Codemasters' sound designer Mark 'TDK' Knight.
Codemasters announced that a new verson of Dizzy: Prince of the Yolfolk will be released on December 9th 2011
Fan created games
The Oliver Twins have explicitly stated that they will normally tolerate fan created games based on the Dizzy franchise that are made freely available, respect the brand and include a prescribed license message.Although Codemasters have not spoken about their approach to the property, other than not to allow free distribution of the genuine titles, and Blitz make clear that they do not consider their statement a definitive or binding legal text this has led to a comparatively high number of fan titles for the Dizzy series.
In 2006, a specialised game engine was released called DizzyAGE, enabling fans to easily create their own games in the style of the original Spectrum games. Fans previously had to use other game engines, which were not always suited to the puzzle style of the Dizzy games. The makers of DizzyAGE continually update the engine, and run a competition each year to find the best game from the previous year. There are currently over 50 fan games listed on the DizzyAGE website.
External links
- Yolkfolk.com The Dizzy Fansite
- Fantastic Dizzy (video footage of a possible future Dizzy game in 3D)
- The inside story of Dizzy at Codemasters software
- Dizzy Stories - Fan games created using DizzyAGE
- Release of Android and iOS version
- Smileys Dizzy style