Chex Quest
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| Chex Quest | |
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| Developer(s) | Digital Café |
| Publisher(s) | Digital Café |
| Engine | Doom |
| Platform(s) | DOS,Windows |
| Release date | 1997 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media | CD |
| System requirements | DOS |
Chex Quest is a total conversion of the computer game Doom (specifically Ultimate Doom). This game, notable for being the first video game ever to be included in cereal boxes as a prize, was found in boxes of Chex cereal in 1997.[1] In addition to the original game, Digital Café later made a sequel to Chex Quest called Chex Quest 2, which was only available for download on the Internet. Eventually the promotion ended and the game's availability effectively stalled until it was posted for download on fan pages several years later. A fanmade sequel, Chex Quest 3 was also finished, and is available from Home of the Underdogs. This sequel's components, however, were all downloaded from the Digital Café website (now defunct), and the "authors" did nothing but compile them. Although a fourth had at one time been planned, it was never made, unless Chex Quest 4 is counted. However, since the author of Chex Quest 4 now refuses to let people distribute this sequel, it is generally not considered part of the Chex Quest fanon. Many .wad and Game Maker sequels were also made, such as Return of the Chex Warrior, Chex Quest Project, and the Chex Quest platformer. Almost all releases now run solely on the Doom Legacy engine. Chex Quest won both the Golden Reggie Award for Promotional Achievement and the Silver EFFIE Award for Advertising Effectiveness.
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[edit] Story
Set on a distant planet named Bazoik, the game follows the Chex Warrior, a humanoid in an anthropomorphic piece of Chex cereal armor, as he fights to eradicate the Flemoid invasion. These slimy, green creatures have infested the planet and captured many helpless citizens whom the Chex Warrior must save. The game starts at the landing pad of the research facility on Bazoik, after which you are teleported to the storage facility. The other levels include the laboratory, the arboretum, and finally, the underground caverns of Bazoik, where the Flemoids seem to be making a home for themselves.
[edit] Weapons
In Chex Quest, the weapons, called Zorchers, assist in sending the Flemoids back to their own dimension.
| Type of Zorcher | Weapon from Doom it Replaced | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bootspoon | Fist | Mêlée, weak weapon |
| Super Bootspork | Chainsaw | Mêlée, slightly stronger than Bootspoon; rapid enough to keep single enemies at arm's length |
| Mini Zorcher | Pistol | Standard weapon; slow rate of fire |
| Large Zorcher | Shotgun | Stronger than Mini Zorcher; will zorch most basic flemoids in one firing |
| Rapid Zorcher | Chaingun | Rapid firing weapon |
| Zorch Propulsor | Rocket Launcher | Fires zorch energy in a blast radius or "gateway" and affects many Flemoids within an area; may cause the player to be hit with slime (losing health) if too close to the gateway. |
| Phasing Zorcher | Plasma Gun | Rapidly fires high-damage projectiles |
| Large Area Zorching (LAZ) Device | BFG9000 | Extremely large area of attack, will 'zorch' almost every Flemoid in sight as a result of a huge energy "gateway" opening |
[edit] Flemoids
In Chex Quest, the enemies are creatures supposedly made of phlegm that the Chex Warrior (you) must send back to their own dimension.
| Name of Flemoid
(Flemoidus ~) |
Enemy from Doom it Replaced | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Commonus | Trooper | Basic enemy with a weak melee attack[2] |
| Bipedicus | Shotgun guy | Stronger enemy with a shotgun-strength melee attack[2] |
| Bipedicus with Armor | Imp | Armored enemy that shoots a powerful slime ball that only appears in Chex Quest. |
| Cycloptis | Pinky Demon | A "flying" enemy that only has a melee attack that only appears in Chex Quest. |
| The Flembrane | Baron of Hell | A wall of slime that shoots damaging slime balls, is the boss of the first Chex Quest |
[edit] Items
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Mini / Rapid Zorcher Recharger | +10,+50 to Mini and Rapid Zorchers |
| Large Zorcher Recharger | +4,+20 to Larger Zorcher |
| Zorch Propulsor Recharger | +1,+5 to Zorch Propulsor |
| Phasing / LAZ Device Recharger | +20,+100 to Phasing Zorcher and LAZ Device |
| Glass of Water | +1% to Health (up to 200%) |
| Bowl of Fruit | +10% to Health (up to 100%) |
| Bowl of Vegetables | +25% to Health (up to 100%) |
| Supercharged Chex Breakfast | +100% to Health (up to 200%) |
| Slime Repellant | +1% to Armor (up to 200%) |
| Chex Armor | +100% to Armor (up to 100%) |
| Super Chex Armor | +200% to Armor (up to 200%) |
| Slimeproof Suit | Temporary protection in slimepools. (This item only appeared once in Chex Quest 1 and never in the 2nd one.) |
| Zorch Pack | Maximum capacity of weapons doubled, also gives recharge equivalent to small recharge to all weapons |
| Computer Area Map | Reveals all areas of the current level on the map view |
| Yellow/Red/Blue Keys | Opens initially locked yellow, red, or blue doors depending on the color of the key |
[edit] Relations to Doom
Some parameters used to start Doom are also used to start Chex Quest. Despite Chex Quest's major changes from its predecessor, there are still a few remaining relics (e.g. levels from other Ultimate Doom episodes).
While Doom has a cheat code scheme in which every cheat starts with 'ID', the codes in Chex Quest are based on the names of the people in the production crew of the game, with a few exceptions. PC speaker sound effects from the DOS version of Doom have been modified and are used in Chex Quest. Whereas Doom is rated M for Mature, Chex Quest was made to be a child-friendly game for all audiences. Nearly every graphic and sound effect from Doom has been replaced, from textures to enemies to weapons.
- The Leftover Levels
Chex Quest has only the first five levels from Ultimate Doom converted for the game. Some leftover levels are playable (as Chex Quest conversions) only via the level warp parameter at startup. These leftover levels include maps 6 through 9 from episode 1 as well as all maps in episodes 2, 3, and 4. In these levels the music reverts to the original score from Ultimate Doom. After the level warp parameter is used to access maps E3M1 or E4M1, the remainder of the levels (through map 5) within the episode selected can be accessed by completing the levels in the episode in order (just as with the standard level progression in Doom or Chex Quest). Unfortunately, bugs prevent any of the other levels from launching upon completion of the level before it, and similarly E4M9 cannot be reached from E4M2 as previously. Completion of E2M5 (via either exit) displays the end graphic originally displayed at the end of The Shores Of Hell, the second episode of the original Doom, and completing E3M5 displays the end sequence from Inferno, the final episode. Likewise, completing E4M5 displays the end graphic from Thy Flesh Consumed, the final episode of Ultimate Doom. Both of the latter two end sequences feature a decapitated rabbit named Daisy.
Episode intermission texts which originally (i.e. in Doom) were displayed upon completion of E1M8, E2M8, E3M8, and E4M8 are now found in modified form for Chex Quest. Thus completion of E1M5 in Chex Quest now displays the new message: "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE NEXT MISSION? PRESS THE ESCAPE KEY TO CONTINUE..." Interestingly, completion of the leftover level E2M5 now displays the message: "YOU'VE DONE IT!!" which never appears in the original Ultimate Doom. Likewise, the episode intermission text displayed upon completion of E3M5 reads: "WONDERFUL JOB!", and that displayed upon completion of E4M5 reads: "FANTASTIC" again neither of which ever appeared in the original game. This has led to speculation that the creators of Chex Quest had originally intended to include a much larger-scale conversion of Doom with four separate episodes.
The skins for the more difficult enemies from Doom have not been converted as these enemies were not employed in Chex Quest levels, but rather the skins have been removed entirely in order to tone down Doom's hellish imagery. This introduces an additionally terrifying experience for those playing the "leftover levels" as these difficult enemies still exist in a completely invisible form. This also goes for items like the partial invisibility, berserker pack, light amp goggles, and all skull keycards. In addition, the music from the original registered Doom as well as the overworld graphics (depicting Gigeresque scenes of death and hell) and maps that were not modified (E1M6 through E4M9) were left intact, allowing anybody with WAD file editing knowledge to create their own copy of registered Doom (specifically Ultimate Doom). However, a project with a similar advantage entitled Freedoom was developed subsequent to Chex Quest.
[edit] Today
Chex Quest has gained a devoted fanbase since its cereal-box release in 1997. Typically simultaneous fans of the Doom series, Chex Quest fans have produced a host of fan-made sequels (Chex Quest 4, and various Chex Quest 3s) and projects including the Chex Trek series and the Zorchmatch mod. Most of these fan projects display a keen awareness of the irony of a child-friendly version of Doom, and referential in-jokes demonstrating knowledge of Doom are plentiful. Such in-jokes can be traced to the original Chex Quest series as previous non-essential Doom decorations have been "translated" into their non-essential Chex Quest equivalents more or less exactly. Thus the bloodied bodies and the twitching torsos from Doom become the goo-covered cereal pieces and the cereal victims twitching to extract themselves from goo in Chex Quest. In fact, the "health" meter represents the Chex Warrior's ability to move, with 0% representing being completely covered in slime and unable to move; further, the picture of the Chex Warrior in the status bar display becomes progressively more coated in slime, as opposed to bleeding, as does the face in Doom or Wolfenstein 3D. Chex Quest fans also tend to be fans of Chex cereal, and several fan creations spoof the blatant commercial aspects of the game with examples of over-the-top product placement as well as with counterexamples of inferior cereals.
As of 2007, a member of the Chex Quest community, Boingo the Clown, is making a revamped version of the game, The Ultimate Chex Quest. Other fans have made maps, graphics, and even other games on non-3d platforms such as Game Maker. There are also several message boards devoted to this game. Modern cheat code sites still offer cheat codes for this somewhat antiquated video game, despite the fact that most video games or promotions offered in cereal boxes are often forgotten shortly after their release.
Also, after the release of id Software's Doom 3, a small mod team began constructing a new chapter in the Chex Quest universe. Chex Trek: Beyond the Quest is a modification based on the Doom 3 engine. Though never completed, a new singleplayer campaign was in development, and a beta release demo can be downloaded from their site. It aimed to provide updated gameplay, effects, totally remodeled weapons/enemies from the original, and a host of new ones. More information, pictures, development, news etc. can be found at the Chex Trek Website.
One of, if not the largest fan-made Chex Quest project to date, Newmaps: A Chex Quest Mod seeks to create 36 all-new maps set in the Chex Quest universe. It is actively being worked upon by the author, Xbolt. More information can be found at the Newmaps website, and at the Newmaps WIP page at Wads In Progress
A Windows 95 port has been made. This is called Chex Quest 95. It supports custom maps created by users using Doom Builder. It can also support any Ultimate Doom map. It has a Doom 95 interface. Online and LAN play are available as well.
The popularity of Chex Quest is mirrored by the popularity of Cap'n Crunch's Crunchling Adventure, another cereal-box giveaway game which has likewise gained a cult following.
It is possible to play Chex Quest on some iPods and other portable audio players through Rockbox or iPodLinux with iDoom. One simply replaces the Doom .WAD files with the Chex Quest equivalents.
[edit] Notes and references
http://www.freewebs.com/chexquest95/index.htm Chex Quest 95 Homepage
- ^ http://www.psbpr.com/howWeCanHelp/help_case_studies/case_chex.html PSBPR.com 04-13-07
- ^ a b Strictly speaking these are still ranged attacks, as in Doom, but they won't fire unless you are in melee range.
[edit] External links
- Chex Quest 95 Home Page
- Chex Quest Fan Forums
- The Chex Quest Wiki
- The Chex Trek Official Site and Forums
- The impact of the Chex Quest promotional campaign
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