Dizzy · Protagonist · Debut: 1987 · ZX Spectrum / Amstrad CPC / Commodore 64 · Created by The Oliver Twins (Philip and Andrew Oliver)
An egg with boxing gloves, created by the teenage Oliver Twins for Codemasters in 1987, who became the star of one of Britain's most successful game series of the 8-bit era.
Dizzy first appeared in Dizzy – The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure, published by Codemasters in 1987. He was created by the Oliver Twins, Philip and Andrew Oliver, and he is about as simple as a character can be: an egg with big eyes, a smiling face and boxing gloves. The design suited the limited graphics of the 8-bit home computers, and his round body gave the games their distinctive tumbling, rolling movement. The Dizzy games were puzzle-adventures: players explored a connected world, collected objects and worked out where to use them, while avoiding the many hazards that could break an egg. Treasure Island Dizzy (1988), Fantasy World Dizzy (1989) and Magicland Dizzy (1990) followed, and most of the series reached the top of the British charts. The series became one of the most successful British franchises of the late 1980s and early 1990s, sold at Codemasters' budget prices to a huge audience. Dizzy also reached consoles with Fantastic Dizzy (1991) on the NES. Further development effectively stopped because ownership of the character was split — the Olivers held the copyright and Codemasters the trademark — but a lost NES game was rediscovered and released in 2015 as Wonderland Dizzy.
Dizzy was a phenomenon of the British budget market, where full games sold for a few pounds on cassette. His adventures showed that a cheap game could still be a carefully designed one, and they made the Oliver Twins two of the best-known developers in Britain while still in their teens.