My first game Pip The Pipistrelle was created in 10 weeks from January to March 2012 using the latest unstable version (2.3.5) of 'JSWED' the Manic Miner / Jetset Willy editor by John Elliott,the original games were of course by the legend that is Matthew Smith and clearly his inspiration lives on. It was an interesting time with my head simply exploding with ideas but i decided after having played many of the other Jetset Willy remakes and edits that i needed to make some serious design changes and break barriers to create something different,nice sprites and neat graphics are not enough as people need to see something really different now with these Jet-set clones. Those who play this game and advance up the tower will find i did just that,it is not the best looking JSW editor game but it does play better than any other i have ever seen to date.I am happy those who play it will discover that i have introduced something new to the JSW genre not seen before including the mostly vertical layout,puzzle elements,day turning to night and secret rooms. So Enjoy....
Game File | Instructions | Map | Cast Of Characters |
---|---|---|---|
Pip The Pip (.tap file) | Instructions (.txt file) | Game Map (PNG) | Cast Of Characters (gif) |
The Story
Its a cold wet morning on the hill and steam rises gently from the grass as it is warmed by the now
rising sun,on top of this hill there stands on old brick tower which has been here for over a hundred
years!,no longer used the tower and surrounding moat have fallen into disrepair but it still towers
over 60 floors high and is now home to mostly wild plants and animals such as squirrels,birds and
owls.
Suddenly something small and furry stirs to life in the grass near the tower entrance,it is a
Pipistrelle bat fondly referred to as `pips` by bat enthusiasts, the small bat sniffs the air and tries to
make sense of his surroundings. The last thing it remembers is hanging in the bat roost the night
before during a terrible storm with rain,thunder and then being struck by something carried by the
strong wind,this is not good!, he has lay on the grass all night and as he tries to move he gives a
silent hiss in pain,one of his legs is hurt real bad but he must get back to the roost and safety.
So summoning his strength he crawls awkwardly towards the tower entrance and after ducking to
avoid a swooping blackbird he makes it inside to an empty ground floor room,near a ventilation
duct he find the remains of a huge moth another victim of the storm no doubt,without hesitation he
bites into the moth but he will need more food if he is to survive the cold night which is on its way.
Looking up sonar clicking and ears twitching Pip can sense a maelstrom of activity in the tower
above him,he has a long difficult task ahead of him...
The Mission
Pip has fallen from the bat roost on the 60th floor,he is injured and too weak to fly but getting back
to the roost is not enough,in his weakened state he must collect enough Lepidoptera
(moths/butterflies),slugs,spiders,grubs or any other food to give him enough energy to survive the
cold night when (if) he does make it to the roost.
You must find ways to climb up the tower inside or the out using any means you
find,vegetation,brick-work,chimneys,anything!
The Tower
62 floors high and UN-inhabited by humans for the last 20 years except for an occasional
appearance by the land owners,but both man and woman have recently mysteriously vanished,who
knows you may find them. (?)
The inside of the tower is one screen wide with the outer brick-work to the right (East) and left
(West) taking up a further screen,but there may be other features which may increase the width of
the playing area. The tower has seen a lot of history and you will find evidence of this as you
explore with signs of industry or humans in the lower levels but as you get higher vegetation and
wildlife will take over and the playing area will not be so neat and uniform.
The Game-Features
Secret Passages and hidden areas.
The Sun rising in the East and setting in the West,day turning to night,etc
The main character Pip is injured and limps.
The use of basic visual effects to set the mood (running water,sunset,stars,etc)
256 food items with 19 of those giving a bonus life,as a rule of thumb if it does not look like a
moth,slug or insect but a symbol or something unusual then it probably will give a bonus.
128 screens including 10 special hidden `tribute` screens arranged as follows:-
A) Six connected screens that tribute six classic video games.
B) Two connected screens that tribute two classic video games.
C) A single tribute screen to a notorious video game.
D) A single tribute screen from me with a personnel message.
"Group A" have special food items and so this secret group of screens must be found,every so often
you will arrive at a screen that will give a moth check! displaying how many moths and other food
should have been eaten by that stage,if you have less you have missed some but if you are unable to
get back then press onwards and upwards you may find another way to get back...
Finally BAT TIPS and Screenshots
*Pip being a bat is fine moving on flat surfaces but on vegetation or branches he is awkward and
clumsy and can fall straight through so jumping is preferred across such material,some screens such
as `The Owls Nest` use this as a hazard and puzzle element.(vegetation uses the jsw / \ ramp cells
for each block and they are mixed together so if you keeep pushing in one direction you will drop
through.)
*Pip cannot fly but can fall from any height providing he does not land on or in a hazard,there is
only one screen where this rule does not apply but this will become obvious.
*There has been much chattering amongst the bats in the roost during the last week as there has
been two explosions in the lower area of the tower a week before the storm and since then over the
last 7 days the tower has seemed to get warmer and a throbbing can be felt gradually getting higher
up the tower day by day and thus closer to the roost!.
*The tower has much vegetation growing both inside and out but all fruit you see growing is poison
to Pip so avoid it.
*You are in a tower so check areas to the left and right for food before heading up another floor,this
is true most of the time.
Some bats that leave the roost at night do not return so be careful and good luck........
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Pip The Piperstrelle by Purple Unicorn Software © Jj 2012+