Jake Parker’s SkyHeart

All of the original concept art and sketches for Dizzywood was produced by the extremely talented Jake Parker. That included all of the initial character sketches for Presto, Chanjo, Olivia Kickflip, and more. He’s also responsible for the “look and feel” of the world, so when you were spending all those hours exploring through Presto’s Grove, Tanglevine Jungle and the Skylands, you were enjoying Jake’s work.

That’s why we’re very excited about Jake’s latest project, a Kickstarter for his new book, SkyHeart.

And hey, the story features a Sky Whale. That’s a whale that flies in the air. What more reason do you need?

Please take a look and consider supporting Jake’s newest work!

Grimm the Sky Whale

 

P.S. Did you know there’s an airplane prototype that’s also called the Sky Whale? It’s a huge 3-floor aircraft designed to hold 775 passengers. That’s enormous–but not as cool as an actual flying whale!

 

The Dizzywood Map

Did you know that there was an unreleased map of Dizzywood that showed far more about the known worlds than was ever revealed in the game?

The official in-game map was really quite small by comparison, encompassing only a handful of areas that were accessible, like Presto’s Grove, Presto’s Edge, Tanglevine Jungle and Canal City.

The original map, sketched by the incredibly talented Jake Parker and inked by the considerably less talented Scott Arpajian, shows many amazing places in Dizzywood that never quite made it into the game. This map was never published, and as far as we know, this is the very first time anyone outside of the Dizzywood creators has seen it!

In fact, the only place the map ever existed before was on a conference room table in the offices of Rocket Paper Scissors, the creators of Dizzywood.

Take a close look. What can you imagine happening in some of these lesser-known lands of Dizzywood?

Dizzywood Original Map
The original Dizzywood Map of the Known Lands (click for a bigger version).

A History of Dizzywood

Do you know the history of Dizzywood? Long before human Dizzywood explorers first arrived from Earth, the world had its own native inhabitants, called Ancients, Sprites and Bogies. Read on to learn more about this amazing world’s history.

A Brief History of Dizzywood

Dizzywood History - Onakasi RuinsBefore humans and animals, the world’s main inhabitants were huge elemental titans called Ancients, small faerie-like creatures called Sprites, their more wild counterparts Bogies, nasty monsters of all shapes and sizes, and the many flying and skittering critters who make up the world’s indigenous animal kingdom.

Animals from our world were the first to discover Dizzywood many thousands of years ago. Through the magic of Dizzywood, they gained a keen intelligence and developed speech as well as the ability to walk upright. These animals soon began forming communities, which mirrored the ones they had seen on earth. Ancient Egyptian cities made up of Nile alligator men sprang up in desert regions. Jaguars, snakes, and armadillos created vast Aztec and Mayan-like Empires in the area that would eventually become known as Tanglevine Jungle.

Magic in the world manifests itself naturally in a variety of ways, including pools of elixir and underground crystals. The animals have developed technology and machinery using the magical elixir, such as cars, airships, and all manner of modern devices. A group of mad scientists has even invented teleporters, robots, jetpacks, and other sci-fi devices.

Fairly recently, human explorers discovered the world. One of the explorers, a miscreant named Simon Withering, decided that he wanted to sap this newfound world of all its wondrous magical resources. Attempting to rename the world Witherland, he proclaimed himself to be Emperor and set to work gathering monsters and mad scientists to be his minions.

Dizzywood Critters

Do you remember critters in Dizzywood? Critters were a lot like pets in the game and would follow your character wherever you travelled throughout the world. What many people don’t know is that there were several different kinds of critters, each with their own story.

Crystal Critters

The first critters discovered in Dizzywood were Crystal Critters. These lovable little guys were discovered deep in the Elder Vein mines. Years ago, many woodland creatures wandered into the underground mines while the evil Emperor Withering was ransacking the sacred temple. His mining operation threw strange corrupted magicks into the air. The crystalized critters are the sad result. The good news is that the crystal critters could be brought back to life with the help of Kan the Geomancer. Here’s a look at all the crystal critters that could be found and re-animated.

  • Piglet
  • Bunnycorn
  • Lizard
  • Fish
  • Batty Fox
  • Bull Beastie
  • Double Snake
  • Flutterbird
  • Twinklepig
Dizzywood Crystal Critters Collection
The original crystal critters in Dizzywood.

Other Critters

Additional critters were found later by intrepid Dizzywood explorers. Some of the critters found later in the game included the ultra-rare TurtleBug. Here are some of the other critters that were discovered.

  • Turtlebug
  • Crested Fluppy
  • Paintbrush Gecko
Dizzywood Additional Critters
The Turtlebug, Crested Fluppy and Paintbrush Gecko were among the many additional critters discovered in Dizzywood.

Easter Greetings from Dizzywood

Easter is upon us and greetings from Dizzywood! Easter was always a fun holiday on Dizzywood, and it was highlighted by the Bjorn Brothers Easter Egg Hunt. Each of the three Bjorn Bears (Edward, Einar and Elof) would hide five eggs somewhere in Dizzywood, and it was up to Dizzywood explorers everywhere to try and find them. Some of the eggs were very easy to spot, but others required a lot more searching.

P.S. Does anyone out there remember the name of Edward, Einar and Elof’s mother? There’s a bit of Dizzywood trivia for you!

Bjorn Bear with Easter Eggs

 

The Dizzywood Look Book and Fashion Cam

One of the most popular things to do in Dizzywood was to try on all the different fashion and clothing items in the game. Many items were rare and only rewarded as quest items. Others could be purchased with coins in one of the several stores found throughout Dizzywood (Groomfur’s in Canal City was a favorite). One of the earliest fashion features was the Dizzywood Fashion Cam, which let you take a snapshot of your style and save the image to your computer for sharing with friends. A later feature of the game was the Dizzywood Look Book, which allowed players to store their favorite “looks” for immediate recall. What was your favorite look in Dizzywood? Share your fashion memories in the comments below!

Dizzywood Fashion Cam
Even the basics looked stylish with the Dizzywood Fashion Cam.

Dizzywood Concept Art

Did you know that there’s an entire album of the original concept art for Dizzywood on Flickr? Yes, all of the initial sketches for the design of the world were produced by the incredibly talented artist, Jake Parker. Jake went on to do some amazing things in illustration and animation, including work on the well-known animated movies Ice Age 3 and Rio. Actually, we’re kind of thrilled that he still features all his Dizzywood work on his portfolio page. Check out the Environments section to see some of the early sketches for the lands that eventually showed up in the game, such as the Explorer’s Camp and Canal City. You’ll even see some amazing things that never quite made it into the game, including an incredible car-racing track.

Here are some of our favorite pieces of the original concept art sketches for Dizzywood.

Panoramas From the Past

Dizzywood was made up of several different areas to explore and over the years, many were added. Some, such as Presto’s Grove and Presto’s Edge, were even changed radically during the course of the game. When you were walking through Dizzywood, however, you were usually limited to a small area in your field of view, and could never see the entire area on screen. Sometime in 2008, we produced panoramic views of some of the more popular areas in Dizzywood. Take a look at the images below. What was your favorite area in Dizzywood? Drop us a comment below!

Dizzywood Panorama of Breakwater Beach
Beautiful Breakwater Beach in Dizzywood, where it’s always Summertime.
Dizzywood Panorama of the Explorer's Camp
The Explorer’s Camp in Dizzywood. That’s Pierre by the campfire.
Dizzywood Panorama of Presto's Edge (Original)
The original layout of Presto’s Edge in Dizzywood.

Happy New Year 2014

Happy New Year, Dizzywood fans! It’s wonderful to know that even though the original Dizzywood game has been shut down for several years, so many people keep returning to this web site each day to check in and see if there’s any news about the game. It’s amazing to think that the first planning for Dizzywood began just over eight years ago!

Over the years there have been many rumors about the return of Dizzywood, and while the virtual world we all knew and loved is gone for good, some of us are still kicking around ideas behind the scenes to see if Dizzywood might return in some way, shape or form (hint: think iPad!) There’s no real news yet: just some ideas. Perhaps 2014 will be the year! In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled on this blog for a great trip down memory lane as we celebrate the Dizzywood of the past while we dream of the possibilities for the future.

Dizzywood Early Screenshot
Here’s one of the earliest known screenshots from Dizzywood, taken in the original Presto’s Grove.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone. St. Patrick’s Day was always a very festive holiday in Dizzywood. The reclusive leprechaun would visit Dizzywood, carrying a pot o’ gold that would give out gold to anyone who could find it. The mischievous leprechaun was also known to use the special rainbow emote power to celebrate the holiday in style. What are your favorite memories of St. Patrick’s Day in Dizzywood?

Leprechaun in Presto's Edge