The Lost Genius of Dizzy

In 100 years time people will look back at the evolution of computer games the way we now look back at the evolution of art or music. The Marios and Lara Crofts of this world will be equivalent to the Mozarts and Michelangelos of old, and the last 30 years or so will be viewed as some sort of renaissance, with computer games being symbolic of our scientific advancement.

However, in this beautiful brief history, one such hero has been forgotten. Somewhere between Pac-man and Sonic the Hedgehog, there was a little egg called Dizzy. This little egg starred in a collection of games released by Codemasters between 1986 and 1994. The games were created by British brothers, the Oliver Twins and included such classic titles as “Treasure Island Dizzy”, “Spellbound Dizzy” and my personal favorite “Magicland Dizzy”. The games were generally adventure games (with a few exceptions, most notably “Fast Food” and “Kwik Snax”) and centered around Dizzy, an egg wearing red boots and boxing gloves, and his quest to rescue his friends (the Yolkfolk) from the evil wizard Zaks.

The games were available on the Atari, Amiga and Commodore 64, as well as that classic 80’s computer, the Sinclair Spectrum. If like me you played these games on the spectrum, I’m sure you’ll remember how infuriating it was waiting for these games to load up. In fact it’s funny how something so frustrating at the time can seem almost nostalgic now. Something else you may also recall about playing Dizzy on the Spectrum was the inability to save games, meaning that if you were to complete one, it had to be done in one marathon sitting (with just three lives). On top of that, there was that repetitive music, which had the strange habit of sounding brilliant if you were doing well and driving you to distraction if you were doing badly.

However, in spite of the obvious flaws there was something iconic about these games. Maybe it was the cute, colorful graphics, or the addictive playability. Or maybe it was just the sheer charisma of that little egg. Whatever it was it had me hooked, along with a whole host of other game players throughout late eighties and early nineties. The only sad thing about the Dizzy story was that he never really made it big outside Europe. Sure there was the odd game on the NES or the Sega Game Gear, but it just somehow wasn’t the same, and America and elsewhere never really got to experience the genius of these great little games (and that great little egg).

If you’re reading this article and you’ve never played a Dizzy game before, I implore you to do so, because there really was something quite special about them. However if like me, you have played them before, I’m sure you’re probably thinking about getting that old, dusty ZX Spectrum out of the attic as we speak. I know I am.