Blip!
Release type: Shareware
Release date: 1995
Levels: 18
Author: Adam Tyner
Related games: Jon '95, Bear Fun Show, Alan!
Not to be mistaken for Dattorz's Blipp in: Power Panic!.
Blip! is one of Adam Tyner's more inscrutable games. It's ambitious and complicated, yet it's also whimsical and apparently slapdash. Things happen, or exist in the game, because they do. Because it seemed funny at the time, or it seemed cool, or Tyner was just trying to figure something out in the doing. And yet there was such dedication here to seeing those notions through, as random as they can seem.
The game features a new protagonist, Blip, who is in fact a mutated form of Adam's "fierce attack dog," Mr. Bear. Following an apparent train of thought from Jon '95, Blip's sprite occasionally morphs back and forth into the dog form of Bear. The structure is circular, in that (after choosing a difficulty level) the player is sent to a hub world with full access to half a dozen levels. Once in a level, there's no leaving until you find the exit -- which tends to take some deal of exploration. At the end of the level, you receive an item that will later on help to access the endgame.
Also following on from Jon '95, Blip! makes generous use of scanned photographs both as level backgrounds and in its in-game cinematics.
A feature that harks back somewhat to Bear Fun Show is that at the start, Blip is unarmed and defenseless. There's a weapon pick-up a minute or two into the first area, Waffle Land, and many upgrades thereafter in the levels and in a store off the hub area. Still, it's easy to bypass that first pickup and go for quite a while with no option but to soak up the gradual damage. Luckily as in many of Tyner's other games, enemies tend to freeze on contact with the character, meaning damage tends to chip away rather than cause immediate problems.
The game certainly exhibits variety. The levels almost read like a self-referential best-of list for Tyner's past work. The exploration levels take the form of the typical Adam Tyner side-scrolling maze (e.g., Mister Spiff IV), or top-down webs of rooms and corridors drawn from the currently-missing Questor games. There are single-screen shooter levels that riff off of Tyner's and Alan Caudel's earlier Star Avenger, and there's a reverse-gravity spike avoidance skill challenge. Mister Spiff himself even shows up toward the end...
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Contents
Story
You are a little Yorkshire Terrier named Mister Bear. While playing with your master, you disappear into an interdimensional vortex! After waking up in another world, you realize that you're a Blip, small blue creature with a puffy pink nose. A Bliptician (a Blippian scientist) can change you back, but he needs several things to do so.
All weaponry on Blippia comes in the form of orbs. Pick up the toaster, the donut, the Happy-face sticker, a bomb, and a Blip doll to get through the first map. You need corn, a flower pot, an eclair, scissors, and a green tube to get through the second map.
Instructions
Map
You start off on the map. To pick up different items, go to different places. For example, go to Waffle World to get the toaster.
ONLY OPEN THE GATEWAYS TO THE FINAL EXIT WHEN YOU HAVE ALL 5 ITEMS OR YOU'LL HAVE TO REPLAY SOME LEVELS OVER AGAIN!!!
The Shop
Pick up enough MoolOrbs (the green orbs that fade into $ signs) to purchase stuff in the shop on the map. The prices are in green. Press P whenever necessary. To sell, go to either map (1 or 2) and press D. Select the item you'd like to drop. Sorry, but the first weapon only gives $5, not the full $10. The other weapons give the full amount.
Weaponry
You start off helpless. Whenever you see an orb with P next to it, that means the orb can be picked up. The higher the number (1-3), the more powerful the weapon is.
Ammo
Orbs with JUST a number are AmmOrbs. You MUST have a weapon orb to use it. "1" gives you 100 shots for the BuzzSaw, "2" gives you 100 shots for the DiamondCutter, and "3" gives you 100 shots for the HalfSaw.
The Levels
Map One
Waffle World
- This is the first level you should go to. Pick up the brown orb as your first weapon. When you see the grass, don't fall down! You could end up stuck on some spikes. Look out for the toaster irons. They're safe so long as they're not orange. Toasters'll shoot heat seeking toast at you. Don't let Orball (an eyeball), Chagrin (a red smiling guy), or Jawbreaker (a blue guy who searches for you) hit you or you'll lose energy. Lose all 25 HP and you are dead.
Blip Avenger
- This is a pretty easy set of two levels, but make sure you are armed. You can only take 5 hits before you die in these levels. Remember--your health is carried over! In part 1, just survive until you are sucked into the Blue Block to part 2. There, just pick up the little chocolate donut, man! When the light at the bottom turns purple, the donut will open it. The donut is the goal for this set of levels. Don't let the enemies get you. They'll follow you until they disappear or you shoot 'em! The enemies in part one are Wing General, Typhoon, Pluckman, and Fleeball. In part two, watch out for Fadeout, Trimarker, Spin Cycle, and HectareWorm.
Questville
- This level is like Questor. Look for Happy-face stickers to open the OrBoxes. Don't let the Woefully Inept Mage, PowerBulb (the snowman guy), or Searchor (kind of looks like Questor) get you. You need at least the Diamond Cutter (Orb 2) to attack.
Bomberblip
- Zowie! Touch the grey tiles to open the lock. Look out for Hammaman, El Spud, and Greeneye. This level doesn't require a special weapon. Press ENTER to drop a bomb. After a short time, it'll explode. Don't get caught in the explosion or you'll get toasted!
Fly Boy
- Oh, this level isn't very complicated. You fly up automatically. Just get to the exit. Oh yeah! There are spikes everywhere.
Map Two
(You need at least the Diamond Cutter for these levels and the HalfSaw for Blip Arcade.)
Corntown
- Nifty! Look out for Smiley, Bocaboca, and Redhead! It's a lot like Waffle World.
Blip Needle
- Just like the second part of Blip Avenger. Don't let Sunstroke, Windfall, Toadboy, or Arrowhead get you, though! The second part of this level is like the first part of Blip Avenger. Snarl, Shades, Kone, and Terrier are the baddies this time.
Questville II
- Like Questville, just look through the maze and find the exit. If Starhoop, Timepiece, or the AntiBlip find you, you're in trouble!
Hydroblip
- Toss bombs up in the air to blow up Purplenickle and Greenthumb. Survival is the key!
Blip Arcade
- Mister Spiff is controlling you in a game of life and death! The neat thing is that you control Mister Spiff. The evil Blip clone is trying to destroy you. When he melts, touch him to open the gate to freedom! You need the HalfSaw to attack him.
Credits
Programmed by:
- (surprisingly enough) Adam Tyner!
Special thanks to:
- Alan Caudel
- (gave me ideas for some levels and took the photos of Bear)
- Brandon Routolo
- (this is a modified version of a game I made for him)
- Seattle Filmworks and their neat Pictures on Disk software
- (supplied the photos)
Availability
This game is not known to have been distributed in any form, prior to its addition to the Archive.
Archive History
On October 20, 2010, Caudel posted a comment to a YouTube video of Peach the Lobster, under the name dummyduckrulz; following up the conversation, on June 29, 2011 he provided a link to a collection of games recently uncovered by Adam Tyner. This initial archive included:
Links
Downloads
- Blip! (529 kB)
