Projects Overview – What I’m Building and Why

This is an evolving list of the major projects I work on. Each one represents something I care about — from infrastructure and open protocols to browser-native frameworks, games, and developer education.

I’ll expand this page over time as projects evolve or new ideas take shape.

🛰 Xode RPC

Description:
Xode RPC is a public-good infrastructure project — a highly available Arbitrum RPC service that helps keep Livepeer orchestrators online and healthy. I run and maintain a fleet of RPC nodes, handle patching, pruning, upgrades, and provide peace of mind to those who rely on consistent service.

How It’s Used:
Several orchestrators in the Livepeer community rely on Xode RPC. Some pay in ETH, others via Stripe in USD, but the goal remains the same: keep orchestrator nodes running reliably and confidently.

Why It Matters:
For a long time, RPC outages were a major problem in the Livepeer network. This project helps solve that. It’s a paid service, but it operates like a public good — reducing uncertainty for node operators and raising the overall health of the network.

Future Ideas:

  • Stay focused on Arbitrum RPC (no plans to expand to other chains for now)
  • Continue automating maintenance tasks
  • Document reliability metrics and uptime stats

☁️ Livepeer Cloud SPE

Description:
The Livepeer Cloud SPE (Special Purpose Entity) is a treasury-funded initiative designed to make Livepeer’s AI and video infrastructure easier to use, experiment with, and build on. I co-founded this project to offer real-time tools, transparent dashboards, and public infrastructure that grows network usage.

What I Maintain:

  • Free-to-use RTMP + AI inference gateway powered by Livepeer
  • Performance dashboards showing orchestrator rewards, fees, and reliability
  • Security patches and protocol upgrades for Livepeer nodes

Next Steps:
We’re planning a new treasury proposal focused on growing demand. The goal is to use the Ziply Games platform as a real-world demo of Livepeer’s AI video inference capabilities — including funding inference credits and boosting marketing around it.

FIFA World Cup 2026 is our internal target — we want something playable and exciting in time for that global moment.

Future Ideas:

  • Run real-time AI inference on interactive games
  • Onboard more orchestrators into experimental workloads
  • Share knowledge and code once unique use cases are proven

🎮 Ziply Games

Description:
Ziply Games is a platform for quick, browser-based, multiplayer games that require zero installation. It’s an experiment in SEO, Livepeer integration, and browser-native game development.

Games So Far:

  • Tic-Tac-Toe
  • Rock Paper Scissors
  • Hangman
  • In-progress: custom games like Scattergories-style word puzzles, crossword generators, and more

User Contributions:
While the core games will be curated, users will be able to generate parts of the game experience — like word lists for puzzles or themes for rounds.

Why It Matters:
This project is both a playground and a real-world product. It supports the SPE’s mission by creating demand for Livepeer’s AI inference layer, especially as we begin to integrate real-time video and generative content.

Future Ideas:

  • Monetization via ads or game-based microservices
  • Real-time generative avatars and video via Livepeer inference
  • SEO as a growth strategy, not an afterthought
  • Potential demo app for how local-first, multiplayer, AI-driven browser games can work

🧱 Local-First Framework (Web Components + Streams)

Description:
I’m building a lightweight, game-agnostic frontend framework that’s fully browser-native — no React, no Angular, no build step. Just Web Components, IndexedDB, and reactive streams.

Core Features:

  • CQRS + Event Sourcing patterns
  • IndexedDB-backed state with liveQuery updates
  • Automatically managed reactive streams to DOM
  • No framework lock-in, no npm bloat

Why It Matters:
Frontend development has become unnecessarily complex. This framework is an effort to bring back a “view-source” era of simplicity — while still being reactive, testable, and capable of building serious apps.

Current Status:
I’ve gone through several iterations. Early attempts using raw browser events hit limitations — too brittle, too entangled. Moving to CQRS + observable streams has solved many of those headaches.

Future Ideas:

  • Open source the framework
  • Package starter templates for game devs or indie creators
  • Offer it as a modern replacement for React in small-to-medium projects

🧠 mikezupper.com + Dev Education

Description:
This site is the hub for everything I work on — from Livepeer to games to the web platform itself. It’s where I document, reflect, and eventually teach.

Current Work:

  • Weekly blog series (“What I Built This Week”)
  • Project updates and architecture discussions
  • Reflections on tooling, tradeoffs, and how to build lean

Upcoming Content:

  • Dev newsletter (free + paid tiers)
  • Screencasts, walkthroughs, and visual architecture docs
  • Short and long-form courses:
    • Backend with Rust
    • Web development without frameworks
    • Local-first architecture and data modeling

Community Ideas:

  • Launch “The Zoop Troop🫡⚡️” — a perpetual learning community
  • “Professor Zoop” persona for storytelling and teaching
  • Podcast focused on developer tooling, architecture, and indie building
  • Workshops, merch, and digital events

More projects coming soon…