Yipe! 5 - Kevin's Various Updates
Yipe 5 Updates
Hey there. I like to share some of my thoughts about what I'm working on within the World of Yipe here and there. This page actually started because I had a bunch of links to the App Store all over the website. And well, sometime over the last few years, the iPhone version of Yipe 5 was no longer supported by Apple. If you still have your 2012 era iPhone that you didn't update to the latest iOS, you might be lucky enough to still be able to play Yipe 5 on an iPhone. However, for the rest of us, we're here to let you know... you can play again! And in the meantime, you can also read more various updates below.
March 1st, 2021
It sure has been fun getting Yipe 5 up and running! One of the most fun parts has been working with the beta testers. Getting to hear what people thought as they jumped in. It was a mix of people who had played the iPhone version as well as long term Yipe! III users. I can't think everyone enough for their feedback and encouragement in testing out the game.
One of the last things on my list to do before really opening up the game to the world was to add a better way to save your game characters. To do this, I wanted people to be able to create accounts and manage their saved games.
Saved Games!
So cool to see multiple character files again!
This would also allow you to play on any device you want and access your saved games. I consider my own MySQL DB, AWS amplify and Google Firebase along with some research on other options. Diving into these types of integrations got a bit over my development head and I reached out to a developer I've worked with in the past, Rajat. He recommended Firebase and we moved forward! This past weekend, we got our first pass of an integration with Firebase up and running and games saved to the cloud. Pretty cool! I'm now working on cleaning up the rest of the website to better speak to accounts and also remove the legacy iPhone App Store content and links. If you haven't checked out the game, try registering for an account and playing here!
January 9th, 2021
Hi there. It's 2021. Ready for some Yipe!? I'm looking for some people to test the new web version of Yipe 5. Go ahead... give it a try. Play Yipe here. Let us know how it goes: Email Yipe.
December 13th, 2020
Ok, had to take a couple months off of Yipe progress. No fun. The real job required a lot of extra work lately and thus ate into making progress with Yipe. But here we are in the final couple weeks of 2020 and I'm working towards getting an MVP version of Yipe up and running by the new year that I can share more publically. The biggest remaining pieces are finishing up the NED cave and then the final cave sequences and end game stuff. One really cool update... Dylan gave me a number of updated graphics to plug into the new web version. Some larger res versions that were needed and a couple new things as well. Here's a few recent screenshots:
The homescreen with a cool, new image from Dylan
Love me some Idle Hands!
Cleaned up the new player creation flow and added some storyline screens
Soon to be starring... YOU!
Yipe Hell introduces a new monster...
Do you have to die to get here? Hmm....
September 6th, 2020
It's a three day weekend and the kids are at Nana's house. Guess what that means? Time for some Yipe! Things are coming along pretty well and I've been adding a nice combination of all the prior functionality along with some new things. One of those new things is the Gardener's hut. This offers a new mini-quest option to mix up your activities in the World of Yipe! There's also a new way to see your in-game messages you've encountered along the way, a few new world grids and items and I've even been trying to improve the mobile friendliness of the app. A big thank you to the beta testers that have been playing along with me as the game progresses, including EJ, Ryan, Tyler, Audun and Beau.
Endless grinding can be fun and all... but how about a new way to earn gold? Welcome to the Gardener's Hut!
Keep your eyes out for this new Hut!
One of the Hut quests is collecting spider legs. Sound fun?
Oh look, 3 spider legs!
August 20th, 2020
Here it is, just past midnight in mid August.
This is when I find the time to actually make progress on Yipe. House is quiet and my brain won't let itself go... so to do something relaxing and fun, I work on Yipe. It's been just over a month since my last update. Summer ended, kids are back in school and the day job is in full swing with a ton of things going on. But I know I can't leave you all hanging, so here are some of the latest screenshots and reveals.
Nothing like the friendly confines of the King's Castle! Notice the cool play/pause controls for the music? Click on an image for the full size version.
The King is still the King, let's see what delusional update he has for you today
Added a new game mechanic, where the Weed Killer is now something you actually use:
Use this on your weapon to really take down those evil plants
Standing outside that insect cave ...
That's a lot of flies
July 19th, 2020
There's a lot of tile types in Yipe!
I needed to create an easy way to recreate the grids of Yipe. And in this web version, there's more real estate to work with than on an iPhone. Thus, the Yipe World Builder was born. This also allows me to collaborate easier with Dylan, who can now create grids with his amazing art.
And here's what happens when your kids help you test the new app...
June 28th, 2020
Why write about progress when I can show you some screenshots?
World creation has been coming along nicely ...
Yeap, the grass still feels nice.
Are you excited to grind some zombie bunnies???
A quick view into the newly designed (with original Yipe artwork) shops ...
I'll take one Rusty Rake please.
June 6th, 2020
I started this page due to the fact the app store links I had scattered all over the site no longer worked. And so I thought instead of taking those off, I'd link to a page where I could tell you all about the progress of Yipe V returning!
Here's a very early stage sneak peak ...
On, no! Donut Master!
More background...
A lot of this started during the covid era of 2020. As a family, we had extra time. Not traveling, no commute to work, way less social events, etc. I needed something to do in my extra time that was fun! Yipe! Another interesting factor in this was seeing the various online apps my kids were using to help with home learning. From various online typing games to all the project sharing apps, it opened up my eyes to how a browser based app might be perfect for Yipe.
My web programming skills are by no means solid and my overall programming skills were rusty. But I started researching 2D graphics, sprite based drawing and other basic concepts of Yipe to see what HTML5 had to offer. Lo and behold I find the canvas element. Another tutorial on drawing your sprites to canvas... another tutorial on processing user input... and... Woah! I've got a prototype! And I'll have to say, it sure was fun making quick progress on the game. It went much faster than I anticipated. Granted, I then had to slow down and structure my javascript better and continue to come up to speed on overall web development. But wait... can't I just tweak that combat formula a bit? Add some shop code in so I can upgrade my weapon?
Must add some items...
