The Freelance Elf
A downloadable game for Windows
Join Rosie Ribboner on a lighthearted quest to spread joy around town!
Deliver gifts and brighten people's day--but watch out for those who would sooner squash the spirit of the season than enjoy its sparkle!
This game is a love letter to the people and stories I love, and something very special that I do every winter. I didn't set out to create groundbreaking gameplay here--I set out to share something very near and dear to my heart.
Created for, and placed third in, RPGMakerWeb's "Sleigh the Competition" Christmas Game Jam. This is Build B, which has had bugs fixed after the game jam deadline and is now fully complete!
Download
Install instructions
Download and run The Freelance Elf.exe to extract the game files to your PC. This game does not require the RMXP RTP! When the files have been extracted, run "Game.exe" to start your adventure!
This game is designed for Windows. To play on a Mac or Linux machine, you can use Wine.
Development log
- Build B Now Available!Dec 26, 2023
Comments
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Thanks for telling me about Build B! Just played through it. Expanding the number of candy canes is a wonderful decision so I can interact with even more of the townsfolk! Very much in the theme of spreading cheer.
Perhaps this would complicate things a bit and make the game bigger than necessary, but a potentially interesting idea if you ever expand on this entry more… could be an ability to turn the scrooges around. Kind of like the joy in the town is contagious once you level up enough.
Finally got to see the ending which I think wrapped up the themes and ethos of the game perfectly. Even though Rosie was giving gifts, the game very much focuses on gift giving being an action well beyond the physical objects.
Along with the bug fixes, Build B amplifies everything I enjoyed about the initial release, which was the very realized setting with a fully formed Christmas tradition.
All-in-all, I would genuinely recommend this game to anyone looking for a quick jolt of Christmas spirit.
(realizes I accidentally rated & reviewed only, not commented)
this is such a delightful, Christmas-y game! I love Rosie, her personality and word choices, and her joyful, determined perspective. I love how much of this game is a love letter to service workers and artists. the ending just about made me cry! and the maps are stunning - they feel so full and lively, and are so fun to explore. excellently done!
This game looks beautiful and there are a lot of interesting concepts and little details. Like putting the hat back on the snowman. I can tell a lot of work and effort went into this. Since I think you are updating this, I just wanted to mention that in the library, you can walk into the desk where the snow globe is. Very nice job.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the little details, they're one of my favorite things to add. I love environmental storytelling. And I'm glad you found the snowman and his hat! That was new in Build B to round off the maximum possible amount of joy.
I thought I fixed all the passability in this build, dangit! Ah well, there will be a "Final Project 1 Last One THIS ONE Actually This One REALLY2" build coming--I watched Trihan's stream and there were definitely some minor bugs/typos that need fixing--plus I left a cheat in from my second round of testing, OOPS.
Not keen on trees and candy canes but it sometimes made me laugh a bit like that time when she meets the little kids. They couldn't believe that she was an elf. I don't think they'd ever understand the unusual concept of a traveling elf anyway. :D
By the way, the 4 Scrooges earned my respect. :P
I'm beginning to think that the games I make are simply too cute for your tastes XD Thanks for playing in spite of that!
Amazing job! Absolutely adore the art, sprites, music, and writing. The premise was right in line with the Christmas theme and just full of heartwarming joy. Just roaming around town spreading Christmas joy! I encountered what appears to be a game breaking bug. I tried to leave the Firehouse area and it just froze up. :( Which was disappointing because I was having such a jolly time. Personally, I'm not one for warm and fuzzy feel good holiday stories but this one melted my heart and really put me in a jovial mood. I love the short well written dialogue. Mapping is superb and the entire game just had a level of polish and care put into it that really sets this game apart. Very well executed and amazing job!!!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm absolutely delighted to hear that it melted your heart despite not being your preferred genre--that's perhaps the best compliment I could have dreamed of!
I'm so sorry you hit that glitch! I didn't find it in testing :U As soon as the judging period is over and my real-life Christmas tasks are attended to, I'm going to track down the source of that issue and upload a repaired build--I hope you'll play again to see the ending!
Thank you again for your kind comments, and I can't wait to watch your video!
WOW the graphics were amazing and I absolutely loved being an elf bringing Christmas joy to town.
There isn't much gameplay here, just your good old fetch/delivery quest. The game overall just feels so full of joy and Christmas spirit. And did I mention how pretty it is to look at!? From maps to busts to menus. Amazing eye candy! And the tractor with a red nose made me really smile.
Great job putting this all together. I finished all the delivery quests, but couldn't quite figure out how to complete the game.
Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that you liked the graphics--that was where most of my time went! XD Mapping (especially all the little stories you can tell with environments) is probably my favorite part of game dev, so I'm glad that you enjoyed things like the red nose on the tractor!
Ah! You hit one of the glitches, then! The triggers to check that you've completed all your tasks behave a little wacky if the last thing you do is give the carolers their gift box--reloading the map should cause them to trigger, so either save and re-load or go into a building and exit again! (In both cases, save in a second slot just in case there's any weird freezes--I've had a couple of people get them, now, but I haven't figured out what's causing them.)
Thanks so much for playing, and for your kind comment! I'm looking forward to releasing a second version with the bumps smoothed out XD
I had the honor of doing some character art beforehand, but I'm so glad to now play the finished product! This is so charming and cute, and playing through was a lovely way to get into the holiday spirit.
This was small in scope but big in heart! It was a delight to spread joy around town and get to know a bit about each of the townspeople. The dialogue made me smile throughout. There are a ton of character details and quirks that add a lot of richness to each interaction.
It's a simple mechanic but it felt so satisfying to pass out candycanes and get back a little bit of joy in return. I won't spoil the ending, but finding a way to spread that joy to those who needed it most really encapsulated the spirit of the holiday for me.
This is such a sweet little love letter to the joy of giving. Well done!
Thank you so much for your wonderful art, Crane! Your style really suited the mood that I wanted to convey, I'm so thrilled that you accepted my commission on such short notice.
The ending. Oh, the ending--I debated so much on whether or not I wanted to go that route, or if I thought it was too heavy! But I decided to go for it. It came straight from my soul, and I think it might show.
Thank you so much for playing, and for your kind comment!
It's a very sweet game, honey! <3 I delivered all the gifts, got the toys for toy drive, and looooots of candy canes for (almost) errybody... but I when I tried to exit the fire company map, the game froze! :/
Also, I think in the post office, after one of the dialogues, Rosie's admittedly lovely but for navigational purposes over-large bust remained hoverin' over the screen. I managed to talk to another person, which fixed the issue, tho! <3
Froze coming off the Firehouse map? Uh-oh, didn't run into that one in testing. I'll have a look at it (and cross my fingers that the judges don't hit the same bug!) ...in fact I think it may have been a last-second attempt to fix a minor bug with the carolers that introduced the bug you hit! Argh! XD
If you have a chance to replay, I know that giving the gift to the carolers last (after you've handed in the toys and books) should work.
I'll double check the post office! I do know there was one in the library, so I wouldn't be surprised if I missed others XD
Thank you so much for giving my game a try! I hope you have a chance to see the end too!
Ima do a speedrun replay later maybe! <3