TWO former students returned to Wiltshire College & University Centre to share the story of their game development success and debate the merits of AI with their modern day counterparts.
Twins Philip and Andrew Oliver, who studied IT in their home town of Trowbridge, had unprecedented success in the 1980s with the Simulator and Dizzy game series, which sold millions of copies at a time when gaming was in its infancy.
The pair, now 58, were back in the town to launch Trowbridge Chamber’s interactive Easter Bunny Egg Hunt and came into the college to talk to games development, media and esports students about their early success in 8-bit design and how they went on to form Blitz, one of Europe’s most successful gaming trailblazers.
They went on to form Radiant Worlds, which was eventually bought by Rebellion Games, where they remained as developers. They are now consultants and run a not for profit company championing UK games developers.
“The visit was a great success and the students were really engaged,” said Course Lead for Games Development Frazer McLeod. “They spoke about their positive experience at the college and how they were encouraged to explore game making as a viable career, even though it was more frowned upon than it is nowadays.”
The liveliest part of the visit came when the subject of AI was raised. “They are involved in an AI storytelling project so this formed part of a discussion that got everyone involved,” said Frazer.
“They were gauging people’s opinions on it and it got a mixed reaction among the students because they are very passionate about it, either pro or not so pro. It was really interesting.”
They told students about the need to embrace any new developments in technology in order to keep pace with the constant change. “They said they had to keep adapting and evolving in the time they were in the games industry,” said Frazer. “There’s this fast paced evolution you have to keep up with and you can’t rely on being good at what you do for too long because it is such a changing landscape.”
He said bringing in visitors is important to help students understand the options open to them. “The games course is well established here at Trowbridge, I’ve been delivering it for 17 years and we’ve had a number of learners who have gone on to industry,” said Frazer.
“We’ve got former students who are at Rockstar, working on Grand Theft Auto 6 and things like that and having people in to talk about their work gives the current students that industry context.
“We’re constantly trying to link with industry and showcase what the next steps are, it’s all about progression. Our students are on a journey towards a career, and although this is very early, seeing people who have gone all the way is inspiring.”
Level up your future in Games Development
Dream of designing and developing games? Interested in animation, 3D art or esports? Ready to take your skills to the next level?
Our Games Development and Esports courses will give you the skills, knowledge and industry insight to help turn your ambitions into reality – just like the Trowbridge twins who started their journey at the College before going on to shape the early games industry.
Courses are taught in dedicated Games Production Suits utilising the latest tech. We also launched Tech Trowbridge which features a large digital screen, a 10-person esports arena and 70 high-spec gaming computers.
Featured image: The Oliver twins. Credit: Trevor Porter, Wiltshire Times.
