Christmas Quest freeware trilogy - The gift that keeps on giving

0 Comments

Features by Jack Allin
Published:

Christmas is a time of giving, and way back in 2005, my staff and I at Adventure Gamers decided we wanted to give something a little extra special to the community that year. We brainstormed ideas, and someone blurted out “why don’t we make a game?” and we all laughed and laughed at the absurdity of the task, as we were mere weeks away from Christmas already. And then we went ahead and made one anyway, because if there’s one thing that motivates an adventure gamer, it’s being challenged with a seemingly impossible obstacle.

And so, several frantic weeks of furious writing and designing, drawing and programming later, Christmas Quest was born! In this game, a geeky young man can barely contain his enthusiasm one fine Christmas morn, because he’s asked Santa for The Best Adventure Game Ever! But as the genre fates would have it, everything is amiss – the tree is all wonky, the lights are not lighting – and our loveable dork must make everything just right for opening his cherished gift!

Whew! That was exhausting but fun, and seemed to be well-received. But we were sure never going to do that again. Except some fool got it in his head to write a throwaway gag line in the epilogue about an even bigger disaster around the corner, which would take an even bigger adventure to resolve. So the very next year, without an even bigger budget (still $0) or production time (still last-minute), we undertook the even bigger sequel we swore we’d never do. Christmas Quest 2: The Yuletide Flows In picks up literally the instant its predecessor left off with a major leak that needs repairing, this time accompanied by a feisty little elf left behind when Santa made his delivery. Naturally, the pair's hilarious misadventures all lead to a truly electric ending! (And when I say “ending” I mean “another cliffhanger.”)

Turns out a trilogy would be needed if our hapless hero was ever going to play the best adventure game ever, so there was no getting out of another sequel the following year. Christmas Quest 3: Santa’s Little Help Desk sees the wee elf spin some wildly unpredictable Christmas magic in order to fix the nerdy young protagonist’s ancient computer. And then there’s the matter of how to get the diminutive outcast home to the North Pole. And just what IS the best adventure game ever anyway?! You’ve got questions? Our stunning conclusion (finally, sort of) has answers!

The best part about both adventure games and Christmas specials is that they never really get old, so here at the Hotspot we are pleased to continue offering access to a trilogy we hope brings you all a little extra holiday cheer. Sure, they’re rough around the edges in places (they were all created in under a month, after all), but like the best homemade gifts, we like to think that’s part of their charm. And like ALL the best gifts, they are now and will forever be COMPLETELY FREE! (Available for Windows PC.) Note: At this point you'll likely need to run them in a window via the "winsetup" file included in the download.

If you’re new to the series, there’s only one rule: have fun! Try anything and everything, no matter how silly it might seem, because you just never know what might happen. (The frying pan is an inside joke, but attempting to whap things with it never gets old.) They may not be the best adventure games ever, but we hope they’ll remind you of why you love the ones that are (and the holiday season) so much.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday from all of us here at the Adventure Game Hotspot!