Renowned games developers take Wrexham conference to the next level

The world record holding co-creators of one of Britain’s best-loved games characters the guests of honour at a games development conference in Wrexham this weekend.

The Oliver Twins – who developed the ‘Dizzy’ games, featuring one of the UK’s most recognisable ‘80s game characters – will be the keynote speakers at the Level Up Conference, Wrexham Glyndwr University’s annual games conference on February 29.

The twins will be talking about their 35-year career in the games industry, which saw them gain a Guinness World Record in 2018 as ‘Most Prolific 8 Bit Videogame Developers’ after developing an amazing 25 Amstrad games, 17 Spectrum games & 11 NES games.

Of these 53 games, almost half became number one bestsellers – generating around five million sales, and at one point representing over 15% of all UK games sales.

Rich Hebblewhite, senior lecturer and conference organiser said: “I’m so pleased to have Andrew and Philip visit us!

“After starting Blitz Games in 1990, they built it into one of the largest and most successful UK Game development Studios.

“They didn’t stop there, setting up Radiant Worlds with co-founder Richard Smithies which they sold to Rebellion in January 2019 – and then building a consulting agency called Game Dragons to pursue their passion for inspiring and supporting the next generation of UK game developers.

“Their games inspired me to learn programming which is how I got here today, so this year’s event definitely has some extra meaning to it personally!”

Other guest speakers will be Team 17’s Jasper Barnes and Deborah Farley from UK Games Talent – along with a host of local and regional industry guests. The event also includes a session on how to develop your CV and portfolio and will be followed by a networking and gaming session at Glyndwr’s Lazy Lion student union bar and pizzeria.

The conference, now in its 7th year, is one of several major annual industry events organised by the award-winning games programme team at the university.

Rich added: “The Level Up Conference is a great chance to meet with and hear from leading games industry figures, along with a range of highly talented local and regional developers.

“The event has become a cornerstone on our calendar and run for nearly a decade and is a vital part of the learning experience for our students – as well as a great event for anyone from the wider community who is looking to break into the industry or simply interested in games and gaming.

“If you have any interest at all in games and technology, you should definitely head to WGU on the 29th of February!”