Philip and Andrew Oliver, who started their games business in Philip's bedroom.
1985年的英国。还在学校的17岁双胞胎Oliver兄弟(Phillip and Andrew Oliver)用自己家的一台计算机,23小时开机半小时时间关机冷却,一周七天两人昼夜交替轮轴上机加上机纸双人同时编程,几周后Super Robinhood由Codemasters基于CPC硬件平台发行。现在看截图其颜色和画面与Space Invaders别无二致。
The first time Philip Oliver realised that he was in the games business was when he and his twin brother Andrew started thinking about their first employee.
"We had been working from my bedroom for a couple of years," he remembers. "We finished sixth form and decided not to go to university, but went to buy a house. We thought 'should we employ people?' but it actually took about a year to make that decision.
"We'd been used to working with each other and knew each other and what we were good at. And we thought other people would be the same, that they'd work as hard – but a lot of people who came in were just after the money."
The twins, who had hit the big time with popular 8-bit platform game Dizzy (published by Codemasters), discovered how to build a business the hard way – sometimes even the simplest things were alien to them because they'd never had proper jobs before.
"We'd never worked for anyone, or even worked in an office environment before: I didn't even know how to use a filing cabinet," he says. "We lost so much in the first year, but then it started to get better."
Prospects improved, but really things haven't changed too much over the years for the Oliver twins – they now run Blitz Games, the same company they founded as Interactive Studios in 1990.
Blitz employs 230 people and concentrates on a string of licenced titles such as American Idol and SpongeBob. As chief executive and chief technology officer respectively, Philip and Andrew still keep an eye on things.
They've had some interesting times over the years, but a few key moments have stuck in their minds.
"The Dizzy thing of course, although it actually took a couple of years to happen. Even though it was a hit back then, I never believed that people would still be asking about it years later," he says. "Also, we backed PlayStation when a lot of people said that Sony were crazy going up against Nintendo and Sega. I remember trying to convince people that it was a good idea."
The business has grown steadily rather than meteorically. "We've never had one of those monumental breaks," he says. "A few times we got so close – Frogger 2 was selling 35,000 copies a week when Atari and Konami fell out and had to be discontinued."
"The UK used to be a hotbed of creativity and thriving businesses … now it's a bit glum," he adds. Then again, he doesn't see much else he could turn his hand to.
"We always knew there would be an industry, but we never projected what we'd do in the future. We were just too busy thinking about what we'd do next week. If you'd have said then that we'd still be going in 20 years, I'd have laughed."
Games created or published by Interactive Studios/Blitz Games Studios
Droplitz Delight (2010)
SFG Soccer: Football Fever (2010) - Published by Blitz 1UP
Dead to Rights: Retribution (2010)
All Star Karate (2010)
Biggest Loser (2009)
Karaoke Revolution (2009)
iCarly (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 (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[1](2007)
Bratz: The Movie (video game) (2007)
Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol (2007)
Big Bumpin' (2006)
PocketBike Racer (2006)
Sneak King (2006)
SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (2006)
Bratz: Forever Diamondz (2006)
Reservoir Dogs (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 (2001)
Chicken Run (2000)
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (2000)
Action Man: Destruction X (2000)
Action Man: Mission Xtreme (1999)
Glover (1999)
WarGames (1998)
[edit] Games published by Codemasters
Super Robin Hood – November 1985 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, NES
Ghost Hunters (video game) – February 1986 – CPC, Spectrum
Grand Prix Simulator – April 1986 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga
Dizzy - The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure – June 1986 – CPC, Spectrum, C64
Professional Ski Simulator – October 1986 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga
3D Starfighter – November 1986 – CPC, Spectrum
Fruit Machine Simulator – February 1987 – Spectrum, CPC, C64, ST, Amiga
Treasure Island Dizzy – August 1987 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, NES, PC DOS
Advanced Pinball Simulator – October 1987 – CPC, Spectrum C64
Pro BMX Simulator – November 1987 – CPC, Spectrum, C64
Incredible Shrinking Sphere – November 1987 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga
Fast Food Dizzy – December 1987 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, PC DOS
Grand Prix Simulator II – February 1988 – CPC, Spectrum, C64
The Race Against Time – May 88 – CPC, Spectrum, C64
Jet Bike Simulator – September 1988 – CPC Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga
Fantasy World Dizzy – October 1988 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, PC
Ghostbusters II (published by Activision) – August 1988 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga
Operation Gunship – August 1989 – CPC, Spectrum, C64
Kwik Snax – November 1989 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, PC
The CD Games Pack – December 1989 – CPC, Spectrum, C64
Magicland Dizzy – February 1990 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, PC
Dizzy Panic! – May 90 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, Master System, Game Gear
Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk – August 1990 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, PC
Bubble Dizzy – November 1990 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, PC
Spellbound Dizzy – December 1990 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, PC
Dizzy Down the Rapids – April 1991 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga
Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy – April 1991 – NES, ST, Amiga, Mega Drive/Genesis, PC, Game Boy, Master System, Game Gear.
Firehawk – September 1991 – NES, ST, Amiga
Crystal Kingdom Dizzy – December 1991 – CPC, Spectrum, C64, ST, Amiga, PC
Robin Hood Legend Quest – February 1992 – ST, Amiga
Aladdin Deck Enhancer – November 1992 – NES
Dizzy The Adventurer – November 1992 – NES (free with Aladdin)
Dreamworld Pogie – Never Released – NES (on Aladdin)
Go! Dizzy Go! – Never Released – NES (on Aladdin)
Wonderland Dizzy – Never released – NES (on Aladdin)
The Excellent Dizzy Collection – November 1993 – Master System, Game Gear