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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....


128K ZX Spectrum

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........

The Title Screen
Pip The Pipistrelle title screen


The water in the suns reflection moves on the moth check screen (creature sprite 2-3 frames)
Pip The Pipistrelle moth check! 141 Pip The Pipistrelle arion ater


The usual conveyor effect is used for the surface of the water.
Pip The Pipistrelle a bridge too far Pip The Pipistrelle cloud


The crumble feature is used for the layers of frozen ice on the moat and again a conveyor effect is used for the surface of the pool.
Pip The Pipistrelle frozen moat Pip The Pipistrelle going pear shaped


Two of the more difficult screens in the game,`operation bat` is the real name for bat protection program by the uk police.
Pip The Pipistrelle operation bat Pip The Pipistrelle phobia


Time to reflect is one of the quiet walk-through screens that give Pip a welcome break.
Pip The Pipistrelle the crane Pip The Pipistrelle time to reflect


UFO has a moving conveyor belt for the centre of the space craft,the pile of bones crumble when stood on.
Pip The Pipistrelle ufo crash site Pip The Pipistrelle zoo


Three of the ten `tribute` screens hidden in the tower layout,Halls of the things tribute is quite possibly my favourite screen of all.
The things wander left and right and the lightning bolt bounces up/down as in the original spectrum game.

Pip The Pipistrelle halls of the things Pip The Pipistrelle pitfall!
Pip The Pipistrelle nebulus




PIP ON THE WEB
Pip The Pipistrelle review at retrogamescollector.com
Pip The Pipistrelle at worldofspectrum.org

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Pip The Piperstrelle by Purple Unicorn Software © Jj 2012+