May ‘22
Today the focus of our program illuminates a shared surname associated since the early days with many of the great titles that shone during those years. We are talking about the brothers Philip and Andrew Oliver, the Oliver Twins as they are known in the world, two of those young talents who, like so many, they decided to get on the video game boat at a time when everything was yet to be invented, and that also like so many, from their teenager years managed to fulfill their dream of being an active part of the development for almost all the machines that shone during the decades.
March '22
Nintendo 64-era cult classic Glover, a platformer which stars a four-fingered glove, is getting a re-release on PC developer Piko Interactive announced Monday.
Glover was originally created by Interactive Studios and published by Hasbro. The game was originally released in 1998 on Nintendo 64, and it came to PlayStation a year later.
April ‘21
DJ Slope speaks with the creators of #Dizzy The Oliver Twins about their crazy history within the world of video games. Being responsible for 15% of the entire UK gaming market before taking on America with the NES and then the world with sooooo many licensed games at Blitz + Glover!
April '21
I've been having great fun with Evercade so I should share my thoughts on another delightful compilation. Here are The Oliver Twins!
The Oliver Twins Collection is certainly a solid grab bag of 8-bit treasures so if you're looking for a variety of NES games that you may not have played before then you'll enjoy what this compilation has to offer, especially if you like adventure games.
April ‘21
Great news Dizzy fans as we've just been informed via Saberman that you can now download the Extended Edition of the classic game ' Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure ' for the ZX Spectrum. This game released way back in 1987 as a personal favorite of mine on the Amstrad, is an Adventure game in which you play as Dizzy, and must defeat the evil wizard Zaks with a Cauldron mix of a Leprechaun's Wig, a Cloud's Silver Lining, a Vampire Dux Feather, and a Troll Brew!
March '21
The first Dizzy game from The Oliver Twins in 28 years is a cause for a celebration! Did you know....
Also - A CRASH SMASH --
When it comes to Spectrum characters, Dizzy is as big as they get.
March ‘21
This all started when I became aware of a new "Super" Spectrum. Initially, I approached my old mate Philip Oliver about doing Dizzy for the Next, But they had that covered already so they offered me Pogie, which was a decent platform game on the Nintendo NES.
March '21
Today Evercade and Blaze Entertainment are happy to announce that the first payment of donations for over £11,000 has been made to the National Videogame Museum. The funds raised from all sales of The Oliver Twins Collection Cartridge from Evercade will continue to be donated until 31st December 2021, meaning that more donations will be made in future.
March ‘21
Very pleased to play our part in this.
There are calls for more government investment to be put into the UK gaming industry, which has one of its largest hubs in Leamington Spa.
The town is the base for dozens of developers and it is predicted another 500 could be created over the next two years.
More people have been using video games during the pandemic as they've been forced to stay at home.
March '21
The Oliver Twins' iconic video game character Dizzy stars in its first new adventure for 26 years. But, as David Crookes discovers, it's likely to mark the end of a wonderful jurney.
Feb ‘21
We are absolutely thrilled that Dizzy was able to win Game Of The Year, 34 years after his debut. But in truth, it's largely down to the hugh effort, dedication and talent of a great group of Dizzy fans, who came together to make this happen.
Thanks Guys!!! Read More
Play it here, in the web browser
Jan '21
The Oliver Twins explain how they made their first game in 25 years – and how you can use FUZE to make your own
Jan ‘21
Dizzy is back, by way of the almighty Oliver Twins, on the ZX Spectrum! Wonderful Dizzy is certainly a return to form for everyone's favourite 8-bit egg, but it's a bit more than just a nostalgia trip -- it's as modern and new a Dizzy game as it could possibly be, and one of the best Spectrum games of 2020.
2021
Dec '20
Wonderful Dizzy is Truly Wonderful! We review the new game by The Oliver Twins.
Since I wasn’t a British kid in the 80s and never owned a ZX Spectrum until recently, iconic characters like Monty Mole, Miner Willy, or Dizzy don’t bring me any nostalgia as they do to many of you. I think this is a good thing because I can enjoy many of these games with fresh eyes and an open mind, and this is my experience with Wonderful Dizzy.
Dec ‘20
Wonderful Dizzy - Could this be the best Dizzy game yet for the ZX Spectrum?
I am a huge Dizzy fan, I have pretty much every Dizzy game in my collection and have always tried to feature the latest Dizzy games from fan based games to those found and released by The Oliver Twins.
Dec '20
Dizzy will be a name familiar to anyone who enjoyed the 8-bit heyday of gaming.
TDF Score 9/10
Overall : Dizzy EXACTLY as you remember him. Wonderful Dizzy is everything we could have hoped for and more.
Nov ‘20
Nov '20
The Oliver Twins spent Spring lockdown getting back into Designing and Programming. This time on FUZE the education programming language on the Ninetndo Switch.
What started out as a small demo turned into a Full game and the Best version of Dizzy Fast Food ever written, thanks to the wonderful, powerful FUZE.
Oct ‘20
One of the newest carts is The Oliver Twins Collection. This twelfth cartridge comes with eleven different games — all of which were developed by The Oliver Twins, hence the name of the collection. While this developer duo is not especially well known in North America, they were superstars in Europe. Their egg character Dizzy remains an icon in the region all these years later.
Oct '20
Studios in Leamington Spa have been producing hits since the days of the ZX Spectrum – and now the town is serving as a model for regional investment. With 50,000 residents and pristine regency architecture, Leamington Spa seems like any other scenic countryside settlement. But this Midlands town, once a hotspot for holidaying Victorian aristocrats desperate to bathe in its healing waters, has quietly become one of the UK’s video game industry biggest hubs.
Oct ‘20
The Oliver Twins sequel to Grand Prix Simulator was their final contribution to the popular Codemasters simulator series. Philip Oliver explains how regrets over their original game inspired it's much-improved sequel.
Oct '20
We speak to the team behind Dizzys newest adventure.
You can't keep a good egg down, and the hero of the Yolkfolk has been very visible in recent times, with plenty of rediscovered NES projects keeping Dizzy in the spotlight.
Now though, something very special is upon us....
Oct ‘20
You're making me Dizzy, my head is spinning
While The Oliver Twins arguably found the most fame on home computers like the ZX Spectrum and C64, they – via publisher Codemasters – supported Nintendo's 8-bit console with gusto, as this collection attests
Oct '20
Wow, This guy put a lot of work into making a video version of The Oliver Twins Book.
Great fun to watch.
How two twins and an egg took on Ninendo's Super Mario
Oct ‘20
When you think of NES games, a legendary pair of brothers always springs to mind. - Mario & Luigi.
But another fraternal duo, the Oliver twins — Andrew and Philip — should be equally lauded for making the 8-bit gaming system synonymous with addictive side-scrolling platformers. They created the British answer to Super Mario Bros., 1991’s Fantastic Dizzy
Evercade Retro Console gets the
Oliver Twins Collection
Oct '20
This collection, includes 11 games: Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantastic Dizzy, Go! Dizzy Go!, Dizzy The Adventurer, Panic Dizzy, Wonderland Dizzy, Mystery World Dizzy and BMX Simulator, FireHawk, DreamWorld Pogie and Super Robin Hood.
[What a bargin!]
Fan Converts the original Dizzy to the Commodore Plus4/C16
Sept ‘20
Spotted this on Twitter:- Retro Recollections
I wonder if the @TheOliverTwins have seen this fantastic fan made port of Dizzy for the #Commodore #Plus4 and expanded C16 that came out recently? I can finally play #Dizzy on my childhood 8bit micro!
We've seen it now - Amazing!
Story Behind Cavey
Fusion Retro Magazine : Issue 14
Sept '20
Arguably Cavey was the first true game the Oliver Twins wrote. Chris Wilkins asks how and why they developed it and what they learnt from it.
Preserving the Oliver Twins' gaming Legacy : Wireframe
Aug ‘20
Coronavirus has had far-reaching effects on society, and its impact will last for many years yet. Lockdown has meant different things to different people. The games industry hasn’t been hit too badly; obviously, there are exceptions, but by and large,......
Squeezing WarGames onto the PlayStation 1 : Wireframe
Aug '20
How the Oliver Twins managed to fit WarGames: Defcon 1 onto Sony’s debut console. As Sony entered the console market with the PlayStation in 1995, Hollywood film studios were beginning to take video games more seriously.....
Get the full Wireframe Magazine here
VideoGame Stamps of the World
Retro Gamer Magazine
July ‘20
In January, Royal Mail premiered a set of retro gaming stamps. While the UK was the first country to first issue postage stamps, it was not the first to issue videogame stamps.......
Retro Gamer : A dizzying website
July '20
An interview with Darran about the new website and The Oliver Twins Collection cartridge for Evercade.
Story Behind the New Website
Fusion Retro Magazine : Issue 12
July ‘20
Chris interviews us to learn the background as to why we created this new website.
Buy Fusion Retro Game Magazine here
Dizzy 1 - now on Atari XL/XE
3rd July ‘20
It’s a lovely surprise that Dizzy fans are so dedicated that some make new games whilst others convert our original games. Thank you Irgendwer and Fandal for this new version, it’s lovely to see the results of your hard work and thank you for sharing with the retro community.
Creating Character
Retro Gamer - Issue 208
July '20
“The eighties saw an explosion in recognisable videogame characters, inspired by the cartoon characters beloved by kids worldwide. We look back at why gaming heroes became so important.”
Evercade retro console gets
The Oliver Twins Collection
10th June '20
Evercade, the brand new handheld retro gaming console, today announced the next cartridge in its library – ‘The Oliver Twins Collection’, featuring 11 games including: Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantastic Dizzy, Go! Dizzy Go!, Dizzy The Adventurer, Panic Dizzy, Wonderland Dizzy, Mystery World Dizzy and BMX Simulator, FireHawk, DreamWorld Pogie and Super Robin Hood.
Site of the Fortnight!
Web User Magazine
May '20
We are delighted that Web User Magazine were impressed enough by our new website to award us “Site of the Fortnight” in their Best New Website section.
Accompanied by a great article and a 5 Star rating too!
How to make a video game Podcast with Auroch Digital
19th May '20
“We had some extra special guests in this bonus podcast episode - The Oliver twins! Mike, Jem, and Matt chat to the creators of Dizzy and games industry legends who are the most Prolific 8-bit videogame developers ever! Tune in to hear behind the scenes development stories and to get advice about starting your own career in gaming.”
Time for a New Website
May '20
Our first Website was little more than a Word Doc. saved in HTML back around 2000 after we secured the OliverTwins.com domain.
Around 2008 a website developer at Blitz Games found time to make a prettier version, which has had a good run, but with the advent of Covid-19, we’ve found ourselves with some time on our hands and have produced this all new website using WIX.
Story Behind Jet Bike Simulator
Fusion Retro Magazine : Issue 11
May '20
In this 4 page article we explain to Chris Wilkins the story behind creating Jet Bike Simulator and Jet Ski Simulator - and you’ll learn the differences between them, and why perhaps the first should have been called Personal Watercraft Simulator.
Buy the full magazine here
National Videogame Museum Interview
27th April '20
We had great fun being interviewed by Conor Clarke on Twitch for their #LoveVideogames series . We also played a crazy version of Mr & Mrs called Dr. & Dr. to see how much we know each other. I wonder how that played out?
Story Behind Advanced Pinball Simulator
Fusion Retro Magazine : Issue 10
March ‘20
In this 4 page article, we explain to Chris Wilkins the story behind creating our first and last Pinball game.
Buy Fusion Retro Game Magazine here
Retro Gamer : Making of Grand Prix Simulator
March '20
A look back at why and how we made Grand Prix Simulator, way back in 1987.
Codemasters first car racing game.
Squeezing the NES: Wireframe Article Issue 34
March ‘20
We wrote a technical article on how we managed to squeeze Super Robin Hood onto a 64kB NES Cartridge. The article gets quite technical and even has a link to the source code!
Get the full Wireframe Magazine here
Our Thoughts On Amstrads CPCs
Fusion Retro Magazine : Amstrad CPC Special
February ‘20
In this 4 page article, we explain to Chris Wilkins why we loved developing games on the Amstrad CPCs - what a fantastic computer Amstrad created!
ROYAL MAIL ISSUES RETRO GAMES STAMPS
7th January '20
Royal Mail announces a set of stamps which feature classic British-designed gaming icons - including Lara Croft, Lemmings and Dizzy.
"Dizzy (1985) - was devised by the Oliver Twins and published by Codemasters. It went on to become one of the most successful British game franchises of the era. "
Story Behind Operation Gunship
Fusion Retro Magazine : Issue 9
January ‘20
In this 5 page article we explain to Chris Wilkins the story behind creating our Rambo inspired top down helicopter shooters - Operation Gunship and it’s NES sequel - Firehawk.
Buy Fusion Retro Game Magazine here
Creative Mornings : 'Roots' Presentation by The Oliver Twins
31st January '20
"Our monthly theme is ROOTS - “Courageous, creative work begins below the ground.”
Here in Leamington, we’re off to flyer - teaming up with the amazing Interactive Futures Conference to bring you a talk from The Oliver Twins."