Andrew Nicholas Oliver and Philip Edward Oliver, together known as the Oliver Twins, are British

twin brother Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

s and

video game designer Video game design is the process of designing the rules and content of video games in the Video game development#Pre-production, pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, storyline and characters in the Video game development ...

s. They developed

computer games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

while they were still at school, contributing their first type-in game to a magazine in 1983. They worked with publishers

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...

for a number of years following their first collaboration '' Super Robin Hood'', creating the ''Dizzy'' series of games and many of Codemasters' Simulator Series games. In 1990 they founded Interactive Studios which later became Blitz Games Studios. In October 2013 they founded Radiant Worlds,Develop
/ref> based in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

, with long time friend and colleague Richard Smithies.

History

Philip and Andrew Oliver first began programming computer games while at school (Clarendon School in

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

). They discovered their interest in computing when their brother bought a used ZX 81 when they were 13. They bought a faster

Dragon 32 The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are 8-bit home computers that were built in the 1980s. The Dragons are very similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer, and were produced for the European market by Dragon Data, Ltd., initially in Swansea, Wales, before mo ...

in September 1982, with a bigger memory. They tried to improve the type-in games they found in magazines and eventually created their own game, ''Road Runner'', which was published as written code in ''Computer and Video Games Magazine'' in January 1984. The same year they won first prize in a national TV competition (''The Saturday Show'') to design a computer game.

Codemasters

Their first game for

, '' Super Robin Hood'' for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") 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 ZX Spec ...

, was published in 1986. The Codemasters publishing relationship led to the origin of the ''Dizzy'' series and the ''Simulator'' series.

Interactive Studios (Blitz Games Studios)

In 1990, at the age of 22, they started Interactive Studios, later called Blitz Games Studios. Apart from their own games, the Oliver Twins were also responsible for porting a number of other prominent games to the

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

platforms, including ''

Theme Park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

'' and ''

Syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndic ...

''. After 23 years, Blitz Games folded in 2013, with the loss of 175 staff, and owing millions to creditors.

Radiant Worlds

In October 2013 they founded Radiant Worlds, based in Leamington Spa, UK, with long time friend and colleague Richard Smithies to develop '' SkySaga: Infinite Isles'' for Korean-based

Smilegate Smilegate () is a South Korean video game company. It is headquartered in Pangyo, Seongnam, South Korea. It develops, publishes, and services online games on mobile and PC platforms. Established in South Korea in 2002, it is the creator of ''Cr ...

. SkySaga was an ambitious online voxel based game based on an original concept by members of the Blitz Games Studios team. In August 2017 Smilegate put SkySaga on hold and the Olivers and Smithies put the company up for sale. In January 2018,

Rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

, a UK games developer and publisher, purchased the company and renamed it to Rebellion (Warwick). The twins remained with Rebellion until February 2019, at which point they left to form a game consultancy business.

''Dizzy'' revival

In 2015 Philip Oliver found a hand drawn map titled ''Wonderland Dizzy'' while preparing for a talk the twins were due to give at that year's ''Play Blackpool'' event, after looking around further a disk was found which contained the full uncompiled source code of a game with the same name which they had written 22 years earlier for the NES but had forgotten about. The twins came into contact with Lukasz Kur via a ''Dizzy''

fansite A fansite, fan site, fan blog or fan page is a website created and maintained by a fan of or devotee to a celebrity, thing, or particular cultural phenomenon. Fansites may offer specialized information on the subject (e.g., episode listings, ...

, who fixed a few bugs in the game's code and translated it into a few languages before compiling it. The game was released online and free to play on 24 October 2015. In 2016, they released a second lost Dizzy game, ''Mystery World Dizzy'', which was originally scheduled for release on the Nintendo in 1993. In May 2017 the twins announced they would be working on a new ''Dizzy'' game, their first for over 20 years. In a fun video for the

ZX Spectrum Next The ZX Spectrum Next is an 8-bit home computer, initially released in 2017, which is compatible with software and hardware for the 1982 ZX Spectrum. It also has enhanced capabilities. It is intended to appeal to retrocomputing enthusiasts and ...

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign they revealed the game would be inspired by the classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by author L. Frank Baum, and would be called Wonderful Dizzy.

Leadership

Both of the Olivers take an active role in supporting the UK games industry. Philip Oliver is one of the founders of developers' trade body TIGA and has served as an active board member (currently a director) since its inception in 2001. He was also a director on the board for '' e-skills UK'' for several years. The brothers received honorary doctorates in 2008 from Coventry University (in business administration (DBA) and technology (DTech) for Philip and Andrew respectively) in recognition of their contribution to the growth of the electronic games industry both regionally and internationally, and were honoured as Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts in 2010. After Philip attended the launch of the UK Government's Next Gen Report (also known as the '' Livingstone''-Hope Report) in February 2011 about challenges faced by the UK Games industry, he established Made in Creative UK which with Andrew they run as a not for profit campaign to raise awareness of the world class game developers and digital creatives developers based in the UK. The campaign has over 350 supporting companies and many high-profile supporters, including Sajid Javid MP (Culture Secretary & Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills). The Oliver Twins' early games and story inspired many people to develop video games as a career, and this was captured in Chris Wilkins and Roger Kean's book ''Let's Go Dizzy: The Story of the Oliver Twins'', published December 2016 through Fusion Retro Books. A video shot at the launch of the book entitled ''Videogame Legends – Computerphile'' prompted

Markus "Notch" Persson Markus Alexej Persson ( , ; born 1 June 1979), known by the pseudonym Notch, is a Swedish video game programmer and designer. He is the creator of ''Minecraft'', which is the best-selling video game in history. He founded the video game deve ...

, the creator of ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

'', to tweet that he was one of those inspired by the Oliver Twins games: "I grew up loving and being inspired by their work." In December 2017 Guinness World Records awarded the Oliver Twins the record for "Most Prolific 8-bit videogame developers". They developed 26 different commercially released games for 8-bit computers and consoles from 1984-1992 and wrote a total of 49 games overall, taking into account titles released for multiple platforms.

Games developed

* ''Road Runner'' - ( Computer & Video Games Magazine) December 1983 -

(Type-in listing) * ''Gambit'' (initially called Strategy) - (

Acornsoft Acornsoft was the software arm of Acorn Computers, and a major publisher of software for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. As well as games, it also produced a large number of educational titles, extra computer languages and business and util ...

) April 1984 -

BBC Model B The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a family of microcomputers developed and manufactured by Acorn Computers in the early 1980s as part of the BBC's Computer Literacy Project. Launched in December 1981, it was showcased across severa ...

* ''Tellscope'' - (

Acorn User ''Acorn User'' magazine was founded by Acorn Computers in 1982, contract-published by Addison-Wesley, to coincide with the launch of the BBC Micro. It covered the range of Acorn home computers, the BBC Micro and Atom at first and later the Elect ...

) November 1984 -

* ''Easy Art'' - (

Interceptor Micros Interceptor Micros, also known as Interceptor Software and later as Interceptor Group, was a British video game developer, developer/video game publisher, publisher of video games for various 8-bit and 16-bit computer systems popular in Western ...

) -

(Original written for the

for Firebird but never released) * ''Cavey'' - ( Players) -

* ''Panda Sprites'' - (Interceptor Micros) -

* ''Rescue Mission'' - (Beebug) -

* ''Magic Maths'' - (Players) -

* ''Magic Clock'' - (Players) -

* ''Killapede'' - (Players) -

* ''Excaliber'' - half complete & unreleased -

* '' Super Robin Hood'' – (Codemasters) November 1986 –

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

C64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness Wor ...

, ST,

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

* '' Ghost Hunters'' – (Codemasters) February 1987 –

* ''

Grand Prix Simulator ''Grand Prix Simulator'' is a racing game developed by The Oliver Twins and published by Codemasters for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and Atari 8-bit computers. The ZX Spectrum conversion was done by Serge Dosang. The game was e ...

'' – (Codemasters) April 1987 –

Atari ST Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's Atari 8-bit computers, 8-bit computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available i ...

* '' Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure'' – (Codemasters) June 1987 –

* ''

Professional Ski Simulator ''Professional Ski Simulator'' is an isometric 3D sports simulation game released by Codemasters in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. It was later released for the Atari ST and Amiga as ''Advanced Ski Simulator''. Game ...

'' – (Codemasters) October 1987 –

* ''3D Starfighter'' – (Codemasters) November 1987 –

* ''Fruit Machine Simulator'' – (Codemasters) February 1988 –

, ''

'',

* ''

Treasure Island Dizzy ''Treasure Island Dizzy'' is a puzzle video game published in 1989 by Codemasters for the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, and later ported to the Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, NES, Amiga, Atari ST and Atari Jaguar. ''Treasure Island ...

'' – (Codemasters) August 1988 –

, PC DOS * ''Advanced Pinball Simulator'' – (Codemasters) October 1988 –

* ''Pro BMX Simulator'' – (Codemasters) November 1988 –

, ''

'', ''

'',

* '' Fast Food Dizzy'' – (Codemasters) December 1988 –

, PC DOS * ''Grand Prix Simulator II'' – (Codemasters) February 1989 –

* '' The Race Against Time'' – (Codemasters) May 1989 –

* ''Jet Bike Simulator'' – (Codemasters) September 1989 –

* '' Incredible Shrinking Sphere'' – (published by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

) October 1988 –

, ''

'', ''

'',

* '' Fantasy World Dizzy'' – (Codemasters) October 1989 –

, PC * ''

Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson ...

'' (published by

) August 1989 –

, ''

'', ''

'',

* ''Operation Gunship'' – (Codemasters) August 1989 –

* '' Kwik Snax'' – (Codemasters) November 1989 –

, PC * '' Magicland Dizzy'' – (Codemasters) February 1990 –

, PC * '' Dizzy Panic!'' – (Codemasters) May 1990 –

, C64, Master System, Game Gear * '' Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk'' – (Codemasters) August 1990 –

, C64,

, PC * '' Bubble Dizzy'' – (Codemasters) November 1990 –

, PC * '' Spellbound Dizzy'' – (Codemasters) December 1990 –

, PC * '' Dizzy Down the Rapids'' – (Codemasters) April 1991 –

* '' Fantastic Dizzy'' – (Codemasters) April 1992 –

, Mega Drive/Genesis, PC, Game Boy, Master System, Game Gear. * ''Firehawk'' – (Codemasters) September 1992 –

* '' Crystal Kingdom Dizzy'' – (Codemasters) December 1992 –

, PC * ''Robin Hood Legend Quest'' – (Codemasters) January 1993 –

(Quattro Adventure),

, * '' Dizzy The Adventurer'' – (Codemasters) November 1992 –

(Bundled with Aladdin) * ''Go! Dizzy Go!'' – (Codemasters) November 1992 –

(Quattro Arcade) * ''BMX Simulator'' – (Codemasters) March 1993 –

(Quattro Sports) * ''The Excellent Dizzy Collection'' – (Codemasters) November 1993 – Master System, Game Gear * '' Wonderland Dizzy'' – (FusionRetro Kickstarter) November 2015 –

* ''Dreamworld Pogie'' – (FusionRetro Kickstarter) May 2017 –

* ''Mystery World Dizzy'' – (FusionRetro Kickstarter) February 2018 –

Key to formats... They are in order of release, the first in the list being the first and main version, from which others were derived. Bold Designed and written by The Oliver Twins. Plain Font Converted by other people to these formats. ''Bold + Italic'' Converted to these formats by The Oliver Twins.

Later games (Developed after 1993)

Games created or published by Complex Software, Interactive Studios, Blitz Games Studios, and Radiant Worlds: *''

Puss in Boots "Puss in Boots" (; ; ; ) is a European fairy tale about an anthropomorphic cat who uses trickery and deceit to gain power, wealth, and the hand in marriage of a princess for his penniless and low-born master. The oldest written telling version ...

'' (Q4 2011) *'' Michael Phelps: Push the Limit'' (Q4 2011) *'' SpongeBob's Surf and Skate Roadtrip'' (Q4 2011) *'' Fantastic Pets'' (2011) *'' Yoostar 2'' (2011) *'' Droplitz Delight'' (2010) *'' SFG Soccer: Football Fever'' (2010) – Published by Blitz 1UP *'' The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout'' (2010) *''

The Biggest Loser Challenge ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize ...

'' (2010) *'' Dead to Rights: Retribution'' (2010) *'' All Star Karate'' (2010) *'' Biggest Loser'' (2009) *''

Karaoke Revolution ''Karaoke Revolution'' and its sequels are music video games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, GameCube, Wii, Xbox, and Xbox 360, developed by Harmonix and Blitz Games and published by Konami in its Bemani line of music games. The original c ...

'' (2009) *''

iCarly ''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...

'' (2009) *'' KrissX'' (2009)- Published by Blitz 1UP *'' Fluttabyes'' (2009)- Published by Blitz 1UP *'' Mole Control'' (2009)- Published by Blitz 1UP *'' Clover: A Curious Tale'' (2009)- Published by Blitz 1UP *'' Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao'' (Q4 2009) *'' Droplitz'' (Q3 2009) *''

PowerUp Forever ''PowerUp Forever''Was mistakenly announced as ''Infinitum'' in the original press release. is a downloadable multidirectional shooter developed by Blitz Arcade and published by Namco Bandai for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade, and the PlayStat ...

'' (2008) *'' Buccaneer: The Pursuit of Infamy'' (2008)- Published by Blitz 1UP *'' Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2'' (2008) *'' Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade'' (2008) *'' Bratz Girlz Really Rock'' (2008) *'' Tak and the Guardians of Gross'' (2008) *''Project Aftermath'' (2008)- Published by Blitz 1UP *'' Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore'' (2008) *''SpongeBob SquarePants – Underpants Slam'' (2007) *'' Bratz: The Movie (video game)'' (2007) *'' Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol'' (2007) *'' Big Bumpin''' (2006) *''

PocketBike Racer ''PocketBike Racer'' is an advergaming title developed by Blitz Games and published by King Games for the Xbox and Xbox 360 video game consoles. On November 19, 2006, Burger King started selling it for an additional $3.99 USD ($4.99 in Canada) w ...

'' (2006) *'' Sneak King'' (2006) *'' SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab'' (2006) *'' Bratz: Forever Diamondz'' (2006) *''

Reservoir Dogs ''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarant ...

'' (2006) *'' Pac-Man World 3'' (2005) *'' Bratz: Rock Angelz'' (2005) *'' The Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown'' (2004) *'' Bad Boys: Miami Takedown'' (2004) *'' Barbie Horse Adventures: Wild Horse Rescue'' (2003) *'' The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules'' (2003) *'' Zapper: One Wicked Cricket'' (2002) *'' Taz: Wanted'' (2002) *''Lilo & Stitch: Trouble in Paradise'' (2002) *'' Fuzion Frenzy'' (2001) *''

The Mummy Returns ''The Mummy Returns'' is a 2001 American fantasy action-adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It is the sequel to the 1999 film ''The Mummy'', and the second in ''The Mummy'' film series. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Jo ...

'' (2001) *''

Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 animated adventure comedy film directed by Peter Lord and Nick Park and written by Karey Kirkpatrick from an original story by Lord and Park. Produced by Pathé and Aardman Features in partnership with DreamWork ...

'' (2000) *''The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea'' (2000) *'' Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge'' (2000) *''

Action Man Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe. Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of ...

: Destruction X'' (2000) *''

: Mission Xtreme'' (1999) *'' Glover'' (1999) *''

WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American techno-thriller film directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a ...

'' (1998) Radiant Worlds *'' SkySaga: Infinite Isles'' (Alpha released Q4 2014Develop Online News Story
/ref>)

References

External links

Official Oliver Twins website

Blitz Games Studios website

Desert Island Discs style interview with Andrew Oliver

interview with the Goddess from GIGnews
The Dizzy Fansite
page dedicated to Oliver Twins games
Wonderland Dizzy website

Mystery World Dizzy website
{{Codemasters 1969 births Living people British twins British video game designers British video game programmers British computer programmers Oliver Twins