Line #34 VideoGame/MissionInSnowdriftland


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mission_in_snowdriftland_cover.jpg]]
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3	''Mission in Snowdriftland'' is a very unusual website. First released in December 2006, then once again in 2010, this site is two things in one. First of all, it's an Advent calendar. A new panel opens up every day, and behind them lie various video game-themed goodies--originally related to the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS in 2006, and {{Indie Game}}s in 2010. However, ''obtaining'' those goodies is a matter of more than just waiting for the appropriate day--
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5	Secondly, ''Mission in Snowdriftland'' is a slick, pixelated retro-style {{platformer}} with old-fashioned graphics, hop-'n'-bop action, and a sweet chiptune soundtrack.
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7	In Video Game World, there lives a snowman named Chubby Snow. He's [[IncrediblyLamePun snowbody]] special--he's just an ordinary snowman, like you see in the background of every SlippySlideyIceWorld ever. And, in fact, he's getting a little tired of being [[PlayingATree used as a prop]]. He doesn't want much--just a developer who will put him in a proper place in some level. He heads off to United Pixel Heroes (UPIXO) headquarters to look for a better job.
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9	As it happens, he wanders in just as the UPIXO staff find themselves in a ''very'' big mess. The nefarious [[BigBad El Pix]] has entered the secret teleport station, gone to Human World, and stolen a number of critical game-files. Without them, who knows what El Pix could do to Video Game World! The company head orders their best men be sent out to stop him!
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11	The only problem, however--El Pix is a penguin. An evil, spiteful one, but a penguin nonetheless. His home is in Snowdriftland, one of the [[SlippySlideyIceWorld very coldest corners]] of Video Game Land. An ordinary hero would freeze to death! You'd need someone like a--a polar bear, or another penguin, or a snow... man...
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13	Hey, guys? [[WhyAreYouLookingAtMeLikeThat Why Are You Looking at Chubby Like That?]]
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15	Every panel of the game represents a new level. A new one opens up each day, and is related to a different game. Completing the panels unlocks things like avatars, icons, and wallpaper for each featured game.
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17	The original game was produced as part of an advertising deal with Nintendo. When the contract ran out, the game came down. It was presumed gone for good after that... until the re-release was announced. And when the re-release ended, the game went back down again. It remained [[MissingEpisode lost]] for 14 years, before being found again in a playable state on the developers' website by Spriters Resource user P-P in 2018. Unfortunately, with Adobe Flash shutting down at the end of December 2020, it appears the game may truly be lost forever...
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19	...[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EphH4hwkr2g or is it?]]
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21	----
22	!!''Mission in Snowdriftland'' contains examples of:
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24	* AdorableEvilMinions: The colorful penguins! The donation screen even {{lampshade\|Hanging}}s it by encouraging you to donate to help find [[PunchClockVillain better work for them.]] Ultimately, [[spoiler:the Cave Ur-Penguins get a new job at the Pixel Circus and the Mama Penguin gets married to Professor Schwabbel]].
25	* AdvertisementGame: The original release, and the first rerelease, accompanied each stage with an advertisement for a game released that Winter.
26	* BigBad: Fear the wrath of... EL PIX!
27	* BossBattle: There's only one in the game, but you need to get all the game files in order to face off against El Pix.
28	* BubblegloopSwamp: The second world has some aspects of this mixed in with those LostWoods.
29	* CartoonCreature:
30	** The boss of UPIXO is... some kind of elephant? Maybe?
31	** Professor Schwabbel somewhat resembles an octopus.
32	* ConvectionSchmonvection: Chubby has proven problems with melting, if the intro is anything to go by. So ''how'' is it he survives the LethalLavaLand again?
33	* CraniumRide: The mammoths in world 3.
34	* FloatingLimbs: Chubby's hands aren't connected to his body. His feet seem to be, though.
35	* FloatingPlatforms: The clouds in World 3.
36	* GiantMook: The "Mother Penguins" in some levels, which appear with groups of smaller penguins and [[MamaBear charge you to keep you away]].
37	* GiantSpider: In the second, forest world. No, we ''don't'' know how they survive the extreme cold; [[MST3KMantra stop asking us!]]
38	* GoombaStomp: Naturally, as part of the retro vibe.
39	* GottaCatchEmAll:
40	** Snowflakes. In the original release, collecting more snowflakes allowed you to unlock better goodies at level end. In the 2010 re-release, it just gives you a nice little snowflake icon next to the panel. (However, it's teased they will unlock something.)
41	** You also need to recover all the stolen files (i.e. clear every level) in order to have your showdown with El Pix.
42	* GrimyWater: The forest is full of it. It seems to be mud, which Chubby can no more swim in than he can water.
43	* HappyDance: Chubby does one upon completion of a level. He does a different one for beating El Pix.
44	* HailfirePeaks: ''Every world,'' more or less, is some other world-type crossed with SlippySlideyIceWorld.
45	* HeartContainer: Every world has a hidden heart in it which can be used to increase Chubby's health.
46	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:At the end of the game, El Pix gets a graphics patch, correcting some pixels in his head, and is now one of the most requested UPIXO heroes alongside Chubby.]]
47	* LethalLavaLand: The final parts of the fourth world. ...Wait, what happened to that "coldest corner of Video Game Land" bit?
48	%%* TheLostWoods: The second world.
49	* MamaBear: One of the enemy types is a Mama ''Penguin.''
50	* PlayingATree: Chubby was a bit fed up with being used as the most ignoble props.
51	%%* TheProfessor: Professor Schwabbel.
52	%%* SlippySlideyIceWorld: Look at the title, and you tell us.
53	* {{Snowlems}}: Chubby himself, a living snowman.
54	* SpikesOfDoom: The fourth world is full of them in stalactite/mite form.
55	* SuperDrowningSkills: Somewhat understabably--ever seen what happens to snow that falls into water?
56	* UndergroundMonkey: The blue penguins walk faster than the other colors.
57	%%* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue
58	* WhyAreYouLookingAtMeLikeThat: Chubby, in the intro. Even the painting in the UPIXO lobby looks at him!

Context VideoGame / MissionInSnowdriftland